Seventh and eighth grade math provides important moments to help children review what they have learned, and to go deeper in foundational topics. The seventh grade has been practicing the long division algorithm. The goal is to build proficiency, of course, but also to understand more profoundly how and why it works. It is also an opportunity to consider the role of place value in the base 10 number system, and how it underpins all the computational algorithms.
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| Acting out the division of $10,483 among 12 nieces and nephews. |
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| Deciding when to send the executor of the estate to the bank to trade in thousand dollar bills for hundreds. |
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| A student making the connection between the distribution of the estate and the long division algorithm. |
Meanwhile, algebra students are continuing to imagine what it means to learn "the science of reduction and comparison." They thought they understood in September. But they needed to consider it anew in October. Now in November, the study of the distributive law, associative laws and commutative laws requires further, deeper consideration.