This year, students will be studying mathematics from the Connected Mathematics Program (CMP) materials.  CMP aligns to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and prepares students for college and careers, as this curriculum is problem centered.  This means students will investigate mathematical ideas within the context of a realistic problem, as opposed to looking only at numbers.  Some problems involve real-world applications or unusual situations, while others are purely mathematical.  A problem’s context provides a vehicle for understanding and remembering the mathematical concepts. CMP is also aligned to the Standards for Mathematical Practice found within the Common Core State Standards.  Students will be expected to reflect on the practices used within their investigations.  The Mathematical Practices are:

1.  Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

2.  Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

3.  Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

4.  Model with mathematics.

5.  Use appropriate tools strategically.

6.  Attend to precision.

7.  Look for and make use of structure.

8.  Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

7th Grade Books:

·       Accentuate the Negative: Integers and Rational Numbers

·       Stretching and Shrinking: Understanding Similarity

·       Comparing and Scaling: Ratios, Rates, Percents, and Proportions

·       Moving Straight Ahead: Linear Relationships

·       Shapes and Designs: Two-Dimensional Geometry

·       Filling and Wrapping: Three-Dimensional Measurement

8th Grade Books:

·       Thinking With Mathematical Models: Linear and Inverse Variation

·       Looking for Pythagoras: The Pythagorean Theorem

·       Growing, Growing, Growing: Exponential Functions

·       Butterflies, Pinwheels, and Wallpaper: Symmetry and Transformations

·       Say It With Symbols: Making Sense of Symbols

·       It’s in the System: Systems of Linear Equations and Inequalities