12/1/11

Well, it is the first day of December.  The countdown until Christmas begins.

Yesterday in math we learned how to turn a phrase into an algebraic equation and define the variable.  For example:   Johnny is 2 times older than his little brother Mikey.
m = Mikey's age    j = Johnny's age
j = 2m
example:  Anne went on a trip across the country with her two friends.  If they were charged $40.00 for each of their bicycles that they brought.  How much was the trip?
c = cost of each bus ticket
T = total cost of trip
T = 3c + 3 x 40   or  T = 3c + 120

In social studies we reviewed a few key concepts.  We reviewed what a polis, acropolis, and the agora are.  We also talked about the Parthenon and that temples were built in honor of gods and goddesses.  Another thing we talked about was that Hippocrates was the father of medicine.  I told the students that they needed to know the vocabulary words on pages 291-306.  That covers almost everything on the test.  We also talked about how to measure distance accurately on a map.

Today we are taking the social studies midterm.  If everyone finishes early enough we will continue with chapter 6 in math.  If not, there won't be any homework tonight.