Written Commentary We will cover a variety of different word problems during this unit. One main topic on which we will focus on will be ratio and proportion problems. My three goals for the sequence will be that students can understand what a word problem is asking for, set up the problem correctly, and see how the problem relates to the real world. The reason that I am focusing on these goals is because students have such a hard time relating what they do in math class to the real world. As much as possible, I will use problems that students can see how they relate to the real world.
Ninth graders are still very concrete learners.
They often have a hard time visualizing the problems that we do in math. Hands on activities usually help this age student to grasp the concepts that we are covering. Most students come from low to medium economic families. The students in my Pre-Algebra classes come from various backgrounds in mathematics. When students enter the ninth grade they must register for either Algebra I during their ninth grade year or Pre-Algebra.