Seventh Grade Math Tutorial and Step-by-Step Lessons

Learning Seventh Grade Math

Seventh Grade Math Concepts

Many states subscribe to the Common Core State Standards, which lays out the basic educational benchmarks for students from kindergarten all the way through high school. Seventh grade math addresses four main areas:

1. Ratios, proportions and percents
2. Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions, decimal numbers and negative numbers
3. Circumference and area of 2-dimensional figures and surface area of 3-dimensional figures
4. Basic statistics and random sampling

Planning Step-by-Step Lessons

Each of the four general areas has a number of subtopics, which would all be taught through individual lessons. Lesson plans generally have specific steps and methods that act as a blueprint for how to teach the concept. A seventh grade lesson plan would include:

Objectives

The objectives are what the students should learn from the lesson. What will they be able to do after class is over?

State Standards

Identify which standards the lesson applies to. This is an important step because you want to always make sure you're meeting state requirements in your lessons.

Materials

List what manipulatives, visuals, audios or interactive activities will be used to teach and practice the material. Listing the materials can help you keep track of everything you will need, so you can be prepared for class.

Basic Points

The basic points can be a quick reference to remind yourself of what specific points you want to cover in the lesson. This section should be simple and to the point.

Review

Consider what information will be reviewed to prepare students for the new material. Here, you'd want to activate any prior knowledge that the students may have.

Motivation

Figure out how you will motivate the students to want to learn the material. It can be helpful if the students feel the importance of learning the concept.

Activities

Write the activities that will tie together the materials, basic points and motivations. Activities can reinforce students' learning.

Closure

Wrap up the lesson by having the children discuss what they learned, any new insights they have gained and where they may still be uncertain about the topic of the day. These discussions can help you identify what you need to go over the following day.

Lesson Plan Example

Here is an abridged seventh grade math lesson plan on ratios and proportions to give you an example of a math tutorial for a specific topic.

Objectives

Students will understand that a ratio is the comparison of two numbers, is written as a fraction and the proportion of two ratios is an equation showing the equality of the two ratios.

Connections with state standards

According to the Common Core State Standard 7.RP.2., seventh grade students are able to both recognize and symbolize proportional relationships (www.corestandards.org). This lesson introduces students to proportional relationships.

Materials

For this lesson, you'll only need worksheets.

Basic points

1. A ratio is comparing one thing to another.
2. A ratio may be written as a fraction, or with a colon between the two numbers being compared.
3. When two of these comparisons are equal, it is called a proportion and is the same as two fractions being equal.

Review

Review fractions and finding equivalent fractions.

Motivation

We use ratios every day. When we go on a trip, we figure out how long it is going to take to get where we want to go if we drive the speed limit. At the grocery store, we look at prices that tell us how much the meat is per pound. When we work for $5 an hour, we can figure how much we will earn if we work 4 hours. These are all ratios.

Activities

1. Use charts to figure equivalent ratios. For example, to figure how long it will take to go 350 miles if you drive 70 mph, the top row of boxes in a chart could be labeled 'Hours', with the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. The second row would be labeled 'Miles' and, in the following box, write 70. The students will fill in the rest of the boxes.
2. Students would complete worksheets with similar charts individually.
3. Translate those charts to fractions, then compare pairs of fractions using proportions.
4. Show that before they figured out what all the missing numbers in the chart were, they could have written some proportions with one variable. Example: 1 hour/70 miles = x hours/350 miles or 1:70=x:350

Closure

Discuss the following questions:
1. Tell me what a ratio is.
2. Have you ever used a ratio, or heard your parents use one? When?
3. How could you have written that ratio?
4. How could that have been part of a proportion?
5. Where are you still puzzled about ratios and proportions? (You will follow this up in the next lesson.)