Leveling the Educational Playing Field Goes Way Beyond That

Things are changing so fast these days that it is hard to plan beyond the next hour. Schools have had to implement distance learning programs almost overnight. Whether or not students will be back in the classroom in the fall and what those classrooms will look like is anyone’s guess. These uncertain times have certainly provided an opportunity for new circumstances. One of these is the question, should the SAT and the ACT be eliminated from the admission requirements at some colleges. 

Wealth Biased

There has been a movement toward the elimination of the SAT and the ACT for the last few years. Some colleges took this  step well before the CoVid-19 pandemic. The school of thought is that these tests are “wealth biased.” That is more than just the “Varsity Blues” scandal where wealthy parents paid proctors and admissions directors to doctor test scores and other application materials....

How To Create an Effective Home Learning Space

Never before has it been more important to understand how to create an effective home learning space. Remember just a few weeks ago when our students needed an efficient place to do their homework. Well, now ALL of their work is “homework,” so it is more important than ever to provide them with the best possible learning space. 

You do not have to spend hours watching HGTV or scanning Pinterest, thousands of dollars at IKEA, or hiring a professional designer to know how to create an effective home learning space. In fact, you don’t even need to have a dedicated room. All you need is the proper atmosphere and attributes, good lighting, and convenient supplies. 

Atmosphere and Attributes: 

First, when considering how to create an effective home learning space, consider your child. Are they easily distracted by noise or visual stimuli? Are they able to work independently for periods of time or...

Top Three Things to Make Home Learning More Effective

No-one knew in January, or even February, that schools would close and ALL students would be learning from home. We didn’t have time to prepare and many of us are struggling. While there isn’t any magic pixie dust, here are the top three things to make home learning more effective. 

Place:

We are conditioned to behave in certain ways in specific locations. When you walk into a library or church, you speak softly. When you lay down in your bed, you get sleepy or at least relax. The second example is very important. Your child’s bed is not a productive work space. 

Designate: 

Single Use: The first thing you can do to make home learning more effective is to designate a work space. If possible provide a small table or desk to be used specifically for school work. 

Multi-Use: If that isn’t feasible, create a different atmosphere when working at a multi purpose space. For example, if...

Problem of the Day #9 April 3, 2020

Grade 6: If 4 out of every 25 people have red hair, what percentage of people have red hair? 

Grade 7: Mrs. Johnson asks her students where they would like to go on vacation. Out of everyone in the class, 10 want to go to Hawaii, 14 want to go to Italy, 7 want to go to France, 3 want to go to New York and the rest are undecided. If 20% of the students want to go to Hawaii, how many students are in the class? 

Grade 8: Saturn in 1.4 x 10⁹ km from the Sun and Venus is 1.1 x 10⁸ km from the Sun. How much further from the Sun is Saturn than Venus? 

Algebra: Judy Jetson skateboarded from her house to her friend’s house at an average speed of 16km/h. Then she and her friend took a hovercraft to the mall. The hovercraft traveled at 80km/h. The entire trip took 4 hours and was a total distance of 224 km. How long was Judy riding her skateboard and how long was she and her friend in the hovercraft? 

...

Problem of the Day #8 April 2, 2020

Grade 6: A survey indicated that for every 3 students who use a laptop 5 students use an iPad. If there are 48 students overall, how many use and iPad??

Grade 7: There are 30% more boys than girls enrolled in virtual school right now. If there are  920 students total, how many girls are there?

Grade 8: The sum of 4 consecutive integers is 118. What is the smallest integer?

Algebra: It takes 45 minutes for 3 people to wash 5 cars. How long will it take 9 people to wash 12 cars? 

Geometry: A cylinder has a radius of 4 inches and a height of 6 inches. It is filled with water to a height of 5 inches. If we drop a cube with a volume of 50 cubic inches into the cylinder, will the water flow over the edge? 

Algebra 2: John and his family are thinking about discontinuing their cable TV service. Currently they pay $80 per month for basic cable and $10 for each premium channel. If they go with streaming...

April Fool’s Day Problem of the Day

Today we are going to take a short break for the typical problem of the day. The first of the April Fool’s Day problems is appropriate for all age groups. The second will test your knowledge of Algebra so is best left to 8th graders and above. I hope you enjoy these brain teaser math tricks. 

Problem 1

Write down a three digit number. The first and third digits must differ by more than 1.      735

Reverse the digits to form a second number.        537

Now subtract the smaller number from the larger.   735 - 537 = 198

Now reverse the digits in the answer you got in step three and add it to that number.    198 + 891 = 1089

Multiply the number by 1 million    1089 X 1,000,000 = 1,089,000,000

Subtract 733,361,573 from that number

1,089,000,000 - 733,361,573 = 355,638,427

Under each of the digits in your answer, write the letter which corresponds to it using the...

Problem of the Day #7 March 31, 2020

Grade 6: Solve the following equations: 

Grade 7: Solve the following equations: 

-47 + 23 =                  15 - ( -7 ) =             22 + ( -12) =        -52 - ( - 26) = 

Grade 8: Solve the following inequalities: 

Algebra: Write the equation for the line with the given characteristics: 

parallel to 2x+3y = 5 containing the point (6, -5)

perpendicular to -4x+2y = 6  with a y-intercept of 3

containing the points ( 3, -7 ) and ( 8, -12)

Geometry: Find the area of the following polygons: 

Algebra 2: Solve the following...

March 30, 2020 Problem of the Day

Grade 6: Convert the following %s into decimals and fractions in simplest form:   20%,  35%,  72%,  175%,  5%

Grade 7: Solve the following problems: 

Grade 8: Find the mean, median, mode and range of the following set of numbers: 2, 7, 11, 11, 16, 24, 29, 33

Algebra: Solve the following problems: 

Geometry: Find the midpoint and the distance between for the following points:   (5 , 7) and (-3 , 5)       (9 , 4) and (3 , 5)

Algebra 2: Solve the following inequalities:

-4 < m - 5 < 2               9 + 2b < 7  or 7 - 5b < -8 

...

March 27, 2020 Problem of the Day

Grade 6: Solve the following problems:

                                  =                 

Grace 7: Solve the following equations: 

2x - 3 = 15                                    4x + 9 = 57

Grade 8: Simplify the following expressions. Write your answers in exponential form.  

Algebra: Solve the following radical equations: 

=                                   

Geometry: solve for the variables

...

Problem of the Day March 26, 2020

Grade 6

Label the three triangles as right, obtuse or acute and equilateral, isoceles, or scalene. Find the missing side length in triangle ABC.  

Grade 7

Find the area and the circumference of the circles below: 

Grade 8

Plot the following points on the coordinate plane: ( 4 , 2 ) , ( -2 , 4 ) and 

 ( -6 , -4)

Algebra

Write the equation of the line through the points ( - 2, 4 ) and ( 6, 8 ). 

Geometry

Find the measure of the labeled angles. Name the Theorem you used to get your answer. (Alternate Interior Angles, Consecutive Angles, Corresponding Angles, Vertical Angles, Alternate Exterior Angles)

Algebra 2

Graph the following system of inequalities: 

-3x + y < 2  and 2x + y > 1

Trigonometry

Use sin, cos and tan to find the labeled sides or angles. 

Pre-Calculus

Graph the following sin function: