The infamous … which (quickly and without fail) turns quite famous; 1, 4, 8, 9 Math Assignment has officially begun in Grade 7!
100 equations, 100 solutions, 100 proofs, and with only 4 numbers. Students in Grade 7 are using their advanced Order of Operations skills to find solutions that equal 1-100 by only using four numbers, 1, 4, 8 and 9.
Along their learning journey, they have explored and are now applying BEDMAS rules, along with laws of exponents, roots, summations, and factorials. Some students this year even learned and incorporated floors, ceilings and logs! Impressive!
They’re pretty much half way through, with due date fast approaching (before the Winter Break), and the groans and complaints are now ever so lovely changing to ” I need only one more!”, and “can I stay in at Study Hall to work on it?”, and the always heartwarming “YEEESSS! GOT IT!” heard from the back of the class.
Students then work on their paper and pencil organization to show proof, yes (that’s showing all of your steps) in proper form, for….you guessed it…every, single, equation.
To conclude; this assignment always ends with a reflection portion, where students share and reflect, on what they learned during this assignment, how they handled struggles or challenges,, where and when they found and patterns or connections with their equations etc etc. As SEL, is so much a part of the Math Curriculum, having students so happy, enthused and proud of their math struggle to success is what it’s all about!
….as excited as I am, hearing and seeing the pride and smiles at the end of this assignment- it just means that the day becomes closer to when I correct 100 equations from each assignment (yes, I correct each one…) so..this year,…21 kids and a potential 100 equations each…well… I’ll let YOU do the math on that one!
