They should respond to questions that arise naturally during the course of the class with answers which demonstrate confident and well-conceived use of estimation strategies and sense of number. Technology plays an important role in number sense at these grade levels. Calculators can be wonderful exploration tools when examining numerical relationships. Many insights about the relationships between fractions and decimals, for instance, can be attained by simply dividing the numerators of fractions by their denominators. Generalizations about what kinds of fractions produce what kinds of decimals start to flow very freely in such open-ended explorations.
Computer software can also be very useful.
Spreadsheets, for example, can show a great many ratios on the screen at the same time. The cumulative progress indicators for grade 8 appear below in boldface type. Each indicator is followed by activities which illustrate how it can be addressed in the classroom in grades 7 and 8. Understand money notations, count and compute money, and recognize the decimal nature of United States currency. Students use time-cards and pay rates to compute weekly wages and deductions for various workers.