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BJHS Course Descriptions - Mathematics

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Students at Bloomington Junior High School participate in a mathematics curriculum that encourages success for all students.  Building on the foundation fostered through the s district elementary schools, Bloomington Junior High School students are encouraged to use what they have learned to solve complex, relevant problems through the application and understanding of multiple strategies for solutions.  Open-ended, extended response problems and extensive group work, supported by computational and procedural review, foster thought processes and skills necessary for a twenty-first century world.

Curriculum choices at Bloomington Junior High School are based on a set of concepts that address the five mathematics goals of the Illinois Learning Standards: number sense, measurement, algebra readiness, geometry, and probability/statistics.  Listed below are general topics for each grade level, along with school accommodations for various levels of learning.  Repeated concepts are discussed with greater depth at each grade level.

Grade 6

Grade 7

Grade 8

·        Fractions

·        Ratios

·        Proportions

·        Percents

·        Estimation

·        Computation (with and without a calculator)

·        One- and two-step real world problem solving

·        Selection and use of appropriate measurement tools.

·        Concrete and graphic modeling for problem solving

·        Identification, classification, and comparison of two-dimensional figures

·        Solving for perimeter and area of two-dimensional figures

·        Application of number properties and order of operations

·        Use of common patterns as a basis for algebraic reasoning

·        Creation and use of various graphs, charts, and tables

·        Analysis of the probability of situations using multiple organizational methods

·        Flexible grouping based on student ability is at the discretion of the team teachers

·        Availability of classroom teacher and special education instructor on a regular basis

·        Fraction, decimal, and percent review

·        Application of operations with fractions, decimals, percents, ratios, and proportions in real-world situations

·        Estimation

·        Application of exponents (squares and cubes) to area and volume problems

·        Scale drawings

·        Identification, classification, and comparison of two- and three-dimensional objects

·        Solving for perimeter, area, and volume of two- and three-dimensional objects

·        Selection and use of appropriate measurement tools, including protractors

·        One-step equation solving using multiple representations

·        Translation between words and algebraic expressions

·        First quadrant coordinate grid work

·        Prediction of linear relationships

·        Evaluation of expressions

·        Creation and use of various graphs, charts, and tables

·        Advanced Topics class offered for independent learners ready for mastery of both seventh and eighth grade mathematics concepts in one school year

·        Availability of classroom teacher and special education instructor on a regular basis

·        Scientific notation

·        Exponential expressions

·        Estimation and predictions

·        Application of operations with numbers in real-world situations

·        Application of primes, composites, factors, divisors, and multiples in problem solving.

·        Use of numeric, graphic, or symbolic representations of variables, expressions, and equations

·        Inequalities

·        Use of perfect squares and square roots in problem solving

·        Coordinate grid work

·        Description, classification, and comparison of three-dimensional figures

·        Symmetry, congruency, similarity, scale, perspective, and angles of two- and three- dimensional shapes in real-world situations

·        Application of Pythagorean Theorem

·        Probability

·        Algebra class, the equivalent of ninth grade algebra, offered for students who successfully complete Advanced Topics in Grade 7 or transfer in with prerequisite skills

·        Availability of classroom teacher and special education instructor on a regular basis