This class will help your learner improve all facets of their math brain.  Each class will be broken into three parts: Math Talks, Critical Thinking Skills, and Problem of the Day.  

Middle school math gets so complicated that using calculators is typically the most efficient strategy... except when it isn't.  The Math Talks portion of this class will ease your child's reliance on calculators by helping them become a human computer.  Math Talks are focused 10-minute discussions and instruction on mental math strategies for integers, decimals, fractions, rational numbers, and order of operations.  Learners will solve 3 to 5 mental math problems, exploring multiple ways to solve and discussing the most efficient strategies.  The purpose of Math Talks is to provide learners with multiple strategies for solving so they can use the one that works best for them.

The Critical Thinking Skills portion of class will alternate between solving logic problems, identifying and extending patterns, and improving visual-spatial thinking and memory.  While not always numbers based, this part of class will strengthen the logical-mathematical portion of your learner's brain.

The final part of class is the Problem of the Day, the connection between learning math and using math.  Learners will apply math skills to real world situations through a complex word problem.  Different ways of representing the situation and solving the problem will be encouraged.

MT (Math Talks), CTS (Critical Thinking Skills), POD (Problem of the Day)
-Week of Sept. 12: MT - addition strategies, CTS - visual patterns, POD - percents
-Week of Sept. 19: MT - addition strategies, CTS - visual memory games, POD - ratios
-Week of Sept. 26: MT - addition strategies, CTS - number patterns, POD - perimeter and area
-Week of Oct. 3: MT - subtraction strategies, CTS - auditory memory games, POD - decimals
-Week of Oct. 10: MT - subtraction strategies, CTS - visual patterns, POD - metric conversion
-Week of Oct. 17: MT - subtraction strategies, CTS - visual memory games, POD - multiplying fractions
-Week of Oct. 24: MT - multiplication strategies, CTS - number patterns, POD - volume
-Week of Oct. 31: MT - multiplication strategies, CTS - auditory memory games, POD - circumference
-Week of Nov. 7: MT - multiplication strategies, CTS - deductive reasoning, POD - area of a circle
-Week of Nov. 14: MT - division strategies, CTS - visual patterns, POD - ratios
-Week of Nov. 21: NO CLASS
-Week of Nov. 28: MT - division strategies, CTS - visual memory games, POD - discounts
-Week of Dec. 5: MT - division strategies, CTS - number patterns, POD - percent change
-Week of Dec. 12: MT - order of operations, CTS - TBD, POD - TBD
END OF SECTION