As you know, your child did an oral history interview assignment prior to January 5th. Their notes are now the basis of a biography.  The biographies are being written, edited, and typed in class.  The assignment has proven to be a wonderful experience because it connects students with older, extraordinary realtives and friends.   

Geometry is about to take center stage.  Students will build upon their prior knowledge of operations performed with integers, fractions, and decimals.  They have calculated area and perimeter.  Students will rely on their spatial sense as they explore concepts of classification of angles and polygons.  With mathematical tools they will construct angles, congruent line segments, and polygons.  Students will use sketched figures as well as shapes that are found in real life to learn about concepts of similarity and congruence. 

Symmetry is found in countless natural figures.  Recognizing symmetry enhances students' spatial visualization skills.  In Chapter 14 they will learn to classify three-dimensional figures, and name various parts of figures.  Many of these 3-D figures such as cube, pyramid, cone, and cylinder are already familiar to them in their everyday lives.  Angles and polygons are all around us and have a permanent place in future mathematics courses. 

Students are creating their own geometry books filled with vocabulary and diagrams connected to these concepts.