Eighth Grade Math Gets Abstract
Like many students their age, middle school mathematicians at Belmont Day have the opportunity to grapple with increasingly abstract mathematical concepts as they progress through their school math careers. This is a fantastic mental exercise for young people, as thinking abstractly is a valuable skill for all of us in and beyond the classroom. In our current unit on quadratic expressions, eighth grade students began by working on several concrete problems involving imagining a quilt shop that cut and sold fabric blocks of different sizes. We discussed increasing and decreasing the blocks’ dimensions and how this would affect their areas. As time passed, we talked less about the quilt shop and more about mathematical expressions called binomials and trinomials. Seeing the students challenging themselves to extend foundational concrete skills and ideas into a more abstract and theoretical realm has been exciting!
– Rachel Starks Chaves, eighth grade math teacher
First Graders Ready Their Poetry Books
First graders are diligently and carefully crafting poetry books. Earlier this term, they explored different types of poetry and wrote their own poems. They then picked out their favorites, revised them, and turned them into final drafts. These drafts are now being mounted onto construction paper, outlined in black marker, and bound together to make a book. Next Wednesday, first graders will share their books, folders of drafts, and Scratch Jr. animations of their poems at their curriculum showcase.
– Julia Fox, first grade teacher
Middle School Crowns Pi Day Champions
Last Friday, we celebrated Pi Day by recognizing three outstanding middle school students for their impressive ability to memorize digits of pi.
In third place, eighth grader Sammie Cuming memorized ninety-six digits by turning them into a song. Coming in second place, seventh grader Ashley Fleming recalled 100 digits by associating them with different situations. Taking the top spot and winning the gold medal, sixth grader Rubin Xiao amazed us all by memorizing an incredible 221 digits, grouping them in sets of ten.
Congratulations to these fantastic mathematicians on their remarkable achievements!
– The Middle School Math Faculty
