7th Grade Connected Math

This course covers the topics listed below.  Students learn to recognize and generalize patterns and relationships and apply this knowledge to increasingly more difficult problems.  Units will cover: 

• An Introduction to Algebra: variables, tables, graphs and symbols as representations
• Similarity: similar figures with congruence as a special case
• Proportional Reasoning: rate, ratio, proportion, and percent
• 3-D Measurement: surface area and volume
• Integers: operations with positive and negative numbers
• Linear Relationships: expressed in words, tables, graphs and equations
• Probablility: expected value.

8th Grade Connected Math

This course covers the topics listed below.  Students continue to grow in their knowledge of mathematics using the strategies and concepts learned in the previous two years.  Units will cover:

• Functions: an introduction to modeling with linear and other functions
• Pythagorean Theorem: right triangles, slope, area and irrational numbers
• Exponential growth: graphing and writing exponential functions
• Quadratic growth: graphing, writing, and solving quadratic functions
• Symbolic expressions: simplifying expressions and solving more complicated linear equations
• Transformational geometry: symmetries and their relationship to algebraic properties
• Statistics: gathering data from samples to make predictions about populations

Discovering Algebra

Discovering Algebra provides a practical blend of technology-related and paper-and-pencil problem solving tools.  Explorations and investigations emphasize symbol sense, algebraic manipulations, and conceptual understandings.  Students make sense of important algebraic concepts, learn essential algebraic skills, and discover how to use algebra.  This course allows students to experience algebra as an activity and a process that encourages the use of multiple representations-numerical,graphic, symbolic, and verbal.  Topics in this course include: graphing, linear equations, quadratic equations, functions, exponents, data analysis, proportional reasoning, probability, systems of equations and inequalities.

Discovering Geometry

Discovering Geometry provides an opportunity for students to explore geometric relationships with a wide variety of tools, including compasses, computers, and graphing calculators.  Students perform constructions, measure figures, observe patterns, discuss their findings, write their own definitions, and formulate and prove geometric conjectures.  Topics include properties of triangles, polygons, and circles, transformations and tessellations, area and volume, the Pythagorean Theorem, congruence and similarity.

Discovering Advanced Algebra

Discovering Advanced Algebra provides an opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of challenging topics in mathematics including recursion, transformations, matrices, series, probability and applications of statistics.  A major focus is on a variety of functions including exponential, power, logarithmic, trigonometric, rational, and quadratic and other polynomial functions.  The text provides a balanced mix of data-analysis and pure-algebra techniques in a hands-on investigative approach.  Students practice, reason, apply, and review as they progress through the curriculum.  Algebraic techniques equip students with multiple problem-solving strategies and prepare them for higher-level courses that may be algebra intensive.  They learn to be selective about choosing between technology tools and by-hand methods.