Yesterday, in lieu of a winter party, Mr. Young and I mixed up students for the last hour before specials. Students spent half the time in my room with crayons, colored pencils, watercolors and play-dough.  In Mr. Young's room they played good old-fashioned board games. Simple. Wirefree. Fun. It was wonderful. =)


Thank you for the opportunity to work with your children this year. They make me smile each day, and are my favorite part of my job.

Have a splendid holiday season, and best wishes for a healthy and joyous 2011.

"Challenge Math"

Your child might come home talking about  how they, or other students, attend "challenge math." I felt it might be important to explain briefly about what this opportunity is, and what it is not.

Before each unit in math students take a pretest. This isn't a test to study for, and it is not included in their "grade." Students are asked to complete as much as they can, and skip those problems that they do not understand. Much of what is on a pretest is new material that they have not yet been taught. I correct the pretests and determine, by pretest score and student need, which students will attend challenge math for that unit. The student groups change for each unit. If students score particularly high on the pretest (usually somewhere around 80% or above), there is a need for some differentiation and additional enrichment. Challenge math is not ELP, nor is it a "priviledge." It is a learning service for those who indicate a need for some more in-depth study. Students who score very high on the pre-assessment, for example above 90% may do some "contract math" where they are working on some different or additional problem solving opportunities within the classroom. Students shouldn't be setting a goal to be in challenge math, it is a program for students who show a need for such services.

Many students score lower on the pretest, but pick up material quickly and learn the content with each lesson. This is a good place to be. If a student is progressing quickly through the unit, but does not attend challenge math, he or she will still be given opportunities to enrich or extend their learning within the regular education classroom.

If you have any questions, please let me know. Thanks! :)

Unit 6 Math Test

The Unit 6 math test has been postponed until after winter break to allow students more time for practice. The areas that most students still working on are converting improper fractions to mixed numbers, and mixed numbers to improper fractions, and finding fractional equivalents.

Converting improper fractions into mixed numbers - the "shortut": Divide the numerator by denominator. If there is a remainder, convert the remainder into a fraction by by bringing the divisor down.

For example: 9/4

9/4 = 2 remainder 1
Bring the divisor 4 down, and place it under the remainder. The answer would be 2 1/4.

Converting mixed numbers to improper fractions - the "shortcut":

Is there a shortcut to changing a mixed number into an improper fraction? Yes, there is. It works like this: to change a mixed number into an improper fraction, multiply the whole number by the denominator of the fraction and add the numerator to this product to get the numerator of the improper fraction. Use the same denominator.

Here is an example and an explanation of why the shortcut works.

Change 2 3/10 to an improper fraction.

Shortcut: Take 2 x 10. The answer is 20. Add the numerator, 3, to 20. 20 + 3 = 23. We keep the denominator of 10, so the improper fraction is 23/10.

This shortcut works because multiplying 2 x 10 is like breaking the two wholes up into 10 parts each. Then we add the three parts we already have for a total of 23 parts which are each a tenth of the whole. http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/58944.html

Math Unit 5

Just a note to let you know that we skipped around in unit 5 math a bit. Some of the skills in the unit are not fifth grade standards, so while we touched on and practiced these concepts, less time was spent teaching to the mastery level. I mention this because you child will have some skipped study links. Tonight (Thursday) study link 5.9 and boxes 5.10 were assigned. Our plan is to complete the assessment before winter break, dependent on how students perform on skills from the beginning of the unit in the review. If they aren't ready to test, we will plan to do so a few days after returning from break.

When the bold branches
Bid farewell to rainbow leaves -
Welcome wool sweaters.
~B. Cybrill

 

Since the last post, I have apparently been in hibernation. I've found my blogging often goes in spurts, I'll update several times in a row, and then somehow it gets buried someplace on my "To Do" list. One of my resolutions for the new year is to be better about communicating more regularly, perhaps setting time aside on regular intervals to update you on what is going on in our classroom.

 

First of all, I'd like to send a belated thank you for coming in to celebrate learning at conferences. Mr. Young and I were fortunate enough to have 100% attendance. I feel lucky to be working with families who are willing to be active and positive partners in their children's educations.

SCIENCE
In science we have been busy dabbling in chemistry during our mixtures and solutions unit. Our goal is to be able to answer the following essential questions by the end of our unit:

• How is chemistry used in our daily life?
• What is a chemical reaction?
• How do I design scientific investigations to find answers to my questions?
• What defines a substance as a mixture or a solution?
• How can I communicate my scientific thinking in writing?

Students have investigated three concepts so far. The first concept investigated was the differences between mixtures and solutions, and ways to separate mixtures. We define mixtures as two or more things mixed together. Solutions are special types of mixtures where one material (a solute) dissolves into another (a solvent) so that the solute seems to disappear. Solutions are not easy to separate. We separated salt and citric acid solutions using evaporation. When the water evaporated from the salt water solution it left behind salt crystals. Salt crystals have a characteristic shape and look like this:

 

    

We also investigated the concept of saturation. When a solution is saturated, the solvent cannot absorb or dissolve any more solute. Students systematically added solid material (salt or citric acid) to 50ml of water and shook, until no more solid material could be dissolved. (A layer of solute covered the bottom.) Then students determined the amount of solute it took to saturate the solution by filtering out the undissolved material, and weighing the solution in comparison to 50 ml of plain water.

 

Recently we experimented with concentration. Students were particularly excited because the first part of this investigation involved sample different concentrations of cherry Kool-Aid and comparing the properties. While students liked the most concentrated version best (the sticky sweet variety, of course) they were able to determine the correct recipe using their sense of taste to detect variations in concentration. We followed this investigation by comparing concentration of salt water solutions, not by taste (yuck!) but by weighing equal amounts of each solution.

 

Next we will learn about chemical reactions. We will mix (carefully selected) chemicals and look for evidence as to whether chemical reactions occurred.

 

While we are trying to develop scientific thinking, and understanding of "BIG PICTURE" ideas about science, having a strong grasp on unit-specific vocabulary helps students to communicate their thinking in speaking and writing. In addition to playing the memory game that I sent home prior to Thanksgiving break, some students may benefit from vocabulary flashcards or reviewing at home. We do review vocabulary on a daily basis in class, but if your child is having difficulty, home practice is helpful. Also, please ask your child to communicate what they are learning in science. You can start by asking "What did you do in science today?" and follow up with "So, what did you learn from that?" We are working hard to build the bridge between the 'fun' of the experiment and the important content that is being discovered through the experiences. 

 

MATH

In math we have been working with fractions, decimals and percents. We will be working with the essential question "How do I use fractions, decimals and percents in real life situations?" By the end of the unit students will be responsible for demonstrating understanding of the following concepts:

• Writing equivalent fractions.
• Comparing the value of fractions using >,< and =
• Converting between fractions and mixed numbers.
• Adding fractions with like denominators.
• Measuring segments of a circle graph.
• Constructing circle graphs.
• Converting between fractions and percents.

Fractions, decimals and percents will encompass a large part of our learning this school year. These concepts are important,  as knowledge of and ability to use these types of notations is necessary for solving problems in everyday life, and in many occupations.

All for now...

Stay warm!

Mrs. J.