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Descriptive Statement: Problem posing and problem solving involve examining situations that arise in mathematics and other disciplines and in common experiences, describing these situations mathematically, formulating appropriate mathematical questions, and using a variety of strategies to find solutions. By developing their problem-solving skills, students will come to realize the potential usefulness of mathematics in their lives.
 

Topic/Unit Timeline	Cumulative Progress Indicators	Objectives	Suggested Activities	Materials	Evaluation
Problem Solving Timeline All year All year	Building upon knowledge and skills gained in the preceding grades, and demonstrating continued progress in Indicators 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, by the end of Grade 8, students will: Use discovery-oriented, inquiry-based, and problem-centered approaches to investigate and understand mathematical content appropriate to the middle grades.	Investigate new concepts by engaging students in discovery-oriented activities  Verify connections between concepts by participating in inquiry-based activities	See Work Together section of each lesson. See Think and Discuss section of each lesson.	See teacher’s edition for a list of materials needed for each lesson. Same as #1.	Group assessment Peer assessment
Timeline  2nd Q 4th Q 4th Q  4th Q All year	Recognize, formulate, and solve problems arising from mathematical situations, everyday experiences, and applications to other disciplines.	Solve problems involving savings Determine the fairness of games using random digits Solve problems that involve the percent of increase or decrease Solve problems involving markup and discount Solve real-life problems using fractions, decimals, percents, and variables	See Lesson 4-3. See Lesson 9-8 See Lesson 10-6. See Lesson 10-7. See Investigation activity in each chapter.	Algebra tiles, Hot Page software, math journal Dice, math journal Math journal Same as #3 See teacher’s edition for a list of materials needed for each lesson	"On Your Own" examples, teaching resources provided by the publisher, Hot Page record sheet "On Your Own" examples, teaching resources provided by the publisher Same as #2 Same as #2 Portfolio assessment

 
 

Topic/Unit Timeline	Cumulative Progress Indicators	Objectives	Suggested Activities	Materials	Evaluation
Problem Solving Timeline 2nd Q 2nd Q 2nd Q 3rd Q 3rd Q	Construct and use concrete, pictorial, symbolic, and graphical models to represent problem situations and effectively apply processes of mathematical modeling in mathematics and other areas.	Justify business decisions based on graphs Construct solutions to problems by drawing a diagram Apply and graph direct and inverse variation in other areas Apply the concept of proportions to solve real-life problems  Construct solutions to problems involving right triangles using the sine and cosine ratios	See Lesson 5-8. See Lesson 5-6. See Lesson 6-8. See Lesson 8-3. See Lesson 8-8.	Graph paper, ruler, Hot Page software, math journal Spreadsheet, Investigations software "Unidentified Flying Cubes" Spreadsheet, Hot Page software, math journal Hot Page software, math journal Math Tools "Geometry" software, math journal	"On Your Own" examples, teaching resources provided by the publisher, Hot Page record sheet "On Your Own" examples, teaching resources provided by the publisher Same as #1 Same as #1 Same as #2
Timeline 3rd Q 4th Q  4th Q	Recognize that there may be multiple ways to solve a problem, weigh their relative merits, and select and use appropriate problem solving strategies.	Construct solutions for word problems by working backward  Solve problems involving percent using proportions and equations Construct solutions to word problems using more than one strategy	See Lesson 7-7. See Lessons 10-3 and 10-4. See Lesson 11-7.	Math journal Hot Page software, Investigation software "Crisis in Hydrotown", math journal Calculator	"On Your Own" examples, teaching resources provided by the publisher "On Your Own" examples, teaching resources provided by the publisher, Hot Page record sheet Same as #1
Timeline 1st Q 1st Q	Persevere in developing alternative problem-solving strategies if initially selected approaches do not work.	Determine whether a problem has too much or too little information Apply the strategy of guess-and-test in solving word problems	See Lesson 1-10. See Lesson 3-7.	Calculator Investigation software "Mission: Mars"	"On Your Own" examples, teaching resources provided by the publisher Same as #1

 

Resources  The Stowaway Adventure -This multidisciplinary Internet based learning experience has been designed to expose                                                        students to real world problem solving through unique uses of instructional technologies Let's Have a Field Day! -To give students the opportunity to apply mathematics to real world situations and                                                     produce meaningful information that can be applied to decision making. Math in Daily Life Good News Bears  -a Webbed interactive Stock Market learning project for K-12