Florida does not produce wheat.
Now you know!
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Energy Transfer & Food
Now you know!
Monday, November 9, 2015
Multi-Digit Multiplication Strategies
Currently we are learning to multiply multi-digit numbers using three related strategies.
Area Model:
Partial Products Algorithm:
Distributive Property:
Area Model:
Partial Products Algorithm:
Distributive Property:
We have been working on two, three, and four digit numbers times one digit numbers, but will also use these strategies to multiply two two-digit numbers.
All of these strategies are important in helping students develop the place value understanding necessary to comprehend and successfully perform the multiplication standard algorithm. Problem-solvers are always working toward more efficient strategies, so I will introduce the "traditional" way to multiply multi-digit numbers later this year.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Bringing Science Back!
One of my goals for second quarter is to be MUCH more consistent with Science instruction now that we have established Math rituals and routines and I am learning how to adapt our new curriculum materials to my students' needs and time allotments. Our Math curriculum is very demanding (for students and teachers!), and just like kids (and teachers!) need a break to get outside and move (recess) each day, our brains need breaks from Math too!
Since Science is observing and wondering about the natural world around us, I personally think curriculum pacing should be more season-driven in nature. So to make content as relevant and meaningful to my students as possible, my plan is to study what's going on currently in the natural world around us.
Here in Northeast Florida, Fall lends itself to clearer skies and milder temperatures, so I thought this would be the perfect time to start working toward mastery of this standard:
Observe that the patterns of stars in the sky stay the same although they appear to shift across the sky nightly, and different stars can be seen in different seasons.
Starting this month, students will be given Northern Hemisphere constellation maps mid-month each month until the end of the school year. The last two weekends of the month, students will observe the night sky and record their observations on a constellation checklist in their Interactive Science Journals.
From month to month, we will discuss our observations. Each month we will also observe sunrise and sunset data, making conclusions about the earth's movement as we learn more about its rotation and revolution.
Since Science is observing and wondering about the natural world around us, I personally think curriculum pacing should be more season-driven in nature. So to make content as relevant and meaningful to my students as possible, my plan is to study what's going on currently in the natural world around us.
Here in Northeast Florida, Fall lends itself to clearer skies and milder temperatures, so I thought this would be the perfect time to start working toward mastery of this standard:
Observe that the patterns of stars in the sky stay the same although they appear to shift across the sky nightly, and different stars can be seen in different seasons.
Starting this month, students will be given Northern Hemisphere constellation maps mid-month each month until the end of the school year. The last two weekends of the month, students will observe the night sky and record their observations on a constellation checklist in their Interactive Science Journals.
From month to month, we will discuss our observations. Each month we will also observe sunrise and sunset data, making conclusions about the earth's movement as we learn more about its rotation and revolution.
Sadly there isn't a Study Jam on stars (yet), but hopefully this one, which is related, will get you more interested in our study of Earth and space!
Monday, September 28, 2015
Visualizing Rounding with Vertical Number Lines and Midpoints
In third grade, your student used place value understanding to round whole numbers to the nearest 10 or 100.
Fourth graders are expected to round multi-digit numbers from 1-1,000,000 to any place.
Here's how we rounded 399,499 to the nearest thousand using a vertical number line and finding/comparing the number we were rounding to the midpoint:
To use a vertical number line to round our number, first, we thought about how many thousands our number has (399 thousands) since we are rounding to the nearest thousand. We labeled the endpoint on the bottom. Then, since we are rounding to the nearest thousand, we thought of the number that is 1 thousand more than 399 thousands, which is 400 thousands and labeled the other endpoint on the number line. Our number is somewhere between these numbers.
To find the midpoint, some students found it helpful to remember that since we're rounding to the nearest thousand, the difference between how many thousands our number has (399 thousands) and the number that's 1,000 more (400,000) is 1 thousand (or 10 hundreds). The midpoint splits those 10 hundreds into 5 hundreds and 5 hundreds, so, this means the midpoint would be 399 thousands 5 hundreds, or 399,500.
Next, we placed the number we are rounding (399,499) on the number line.
Since we can see that the number we are rounding is less than half-way, it is closer to 399,000.
So, 399,499 rounded to the nearest thousand is 399,000
This week in class (briefly) and for home learning over the next several weeks, your student will practice rounding four-digit numbers to the nearest thousand, hundred, and ten. We'll gradually practice rounding five and six-digit numbers to the nearest ten and hundred thousand as well.
Why bother with a vertical number line? It visually reinforces what is happening when we round numbers--we are looking for the closest number to the number we are rounding, and visualizing greatly helps most learners retain what they are learning. What students remember they will be able to apply in solving real-life problems!
Fourth graders are expected to round multi-digit numbers from 1-1,000,000 to any place.
Here's how we rounded 399,499 to the nearest thousand using a vertical number line and finding/comparing the number we were rounding to the midpoint:
To use a vertical number line to round our number, first, we thought about how many thousands our number has (399 thousands) since we are rounding to the nearest thousand. We labeled the endpoint on the bottom. Then, since we are rounding to the nearest thousand, we thought of the number that is 1 thousand more than 399 thousands, which is 400 thousands and labeled the other endpoint on the number line. Our number is somewhere between these numbers.
To find the midpoint, some students found it helpful to remember that since we're rounding to the nearest thousand, the difference between how many thousands our number has (399 thousands) and the number that's 1,000 more (400,000) is 1 thousand (or 10 hundreds). The midpoint splits those 10 hundreds into 5 hundreds and 5 hundreds, so, this means the midpoint would be 399 thousands 5 hundreds, or 399,500.
Next, we placed the number we are rounding (399,499) on the number line.
Since we can see that the number we are rounding is less than half-way, it is closer to 399,000.
So, 399,499 rounded to the nearest thousand is 399,000
This week in class (briefly) and for home learning over the next several weeks, your student will practice rounding four-digit numbers to the nearest thousand, hundred, and ten. We'll gradually practice rounding five and six-digit numbers to the nearest ten and hundred thousand as well.
Why bother with a vertical number line? It visually reinforces what is happening when we round numbers--we are looking for the closest number to the number we are rounding, and visualizing greatly helps most learners retain what they are learning. What students remember they will be able to apply in solving real-life problems!
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Adding and Subtracting Fluently Using Standard Algorithms
In third grade, your student added and subtracted within one thousand using strategies based on place value. This year, we have learned that successful problem-solvers look for shortcuts and are always working toward the most efficient strategy to solve a problem. Fourth graders are expected to add and subtract fluently (numbers through one million) using standard algorithms.
What are standard algorithms? They are a processes or steps that when followed correctly in a given situation, will always allow you to arrive at the correct answer. Translation: it's the way we learned to add and subtract numbers vertically with "borrowing" and "carrying" (which we now call regrouping/renaming).
HOORAY! Well, at least that would be how I would feel if I was was the parent of a fourth grade Math student. Finally something you know how to do that isn't taught differently!
Here's the catch--students need to understand what's going on with place value when using these algorithms (as opposed to just crossing out numbers and making them one less, then making the number to the right ten more). Here's a sample of a think-aloud I will model in class:
Instead of teaching the addition and subtraction algorithms in isolation, I will teach the addition algorithm through using it to check subtraction, as an inverse operation.
So, the think aloud for using the standard addition algorithm to check the subtraction in the example above would sound something like this:
8 ones and 4 ones is 12 ones. 12 ones is 1 ten 2 ones.
8 tens and 4 tens is 12 tens, plus 1 ten from regrouping is 13 tens. 13 tens is 1 hundred 3 tens.
5 hundreds and 5 hundreds is 10 hundreds, plus 1 hundred from regrouping is 11 hundreds. 11 hundreds is 1 thousand 1 hundred.
1 thousand plus 1 thousand from regrouping is 2 thousands.
So, my sum is 2,132, which is the same as the minuend in the subtraction problem, which means I subtracted correctly.
2,132 minuend
- 1,584 subtrahend
548 difference (addend when checking with addition)
+1,584 addend
2,132 sum
What are standard algorithms? They are a processes or steps that when followed correctly in a given situation, will always allow you to arrive at the correct answer. Translation: it's the way we learned to add and subtract numbers vertically with "borrowing" and "carrying" (which we now call regrouping/renaming).
HOORAY! Well, at least that would be how I would feel if I was was the parent of a fourth grade Math student. Finally something you know how to do that isn't taught differently!
Here's the catch--students need to understand what's going on with place value when using these algorithms (as opposed to just crossing out numbers and making them one less, then making the number to the right ten more). Here's a sample of a think-aloud I will model in class:
Instead of teaching the addition and subtraction algorithms in isolation, I will teach the addition algorithm through using it to check subtraction, as an inverse operation.
So, the think aloud for using the standard addition algorithm to check the subtraction in the example above would sound something like this:
8 ones and 4 ones is 12 ones. 12 ones is 1 ten 2 ones.
8 tens and 4 tens is 12 tens, plus 1 ten from regrouping is 13 tens. 13 tens is 1 hundred 3 tens.
5 hundreds and 5 hundreds is 10 hundreds, plus 1 hundred from regrouping is 11 hundreds. 11 hundreds is 1 thousand 1 hundred.
1 thousand plus 1 thousand from regrouping is 2 thousands.
So, my sum is 2,132, which is the same as the minuend in the subtraction problem, which means I subtracted correctly.
2,132 minuend
- 1,584 subtrahend
548 difference (addend when checking with addition)
+1,584 addend
2,132 sum
Friday, September 25, 2015
We Have the Power to Transform Matter!
Happy Fall!
I firmly believe in making learning enjoyable and connected to the real world, even though we are a "testing grade". Yesterday, we made "school-made" applesauce in a slow-cooker. Little did I know that this fun Fall activity would lend itself so well to introducing so many science concepts!
Wednesday was the Autumnal Equinox (first day of Fall), so we discussed Earth's movement (rotation and revolution) in relation to seasons. Apples are in season during Fall, and I love food, so this lead to a conversation about matter--we observed both qualitative properties (color, form, state, sinks/floats in water, magnetic/not magnetic, reacts to acids [vinegar]) and quantitative properties (I reviewed using a balance to measure mass) of an apple.
Then we talked about energy's role in changing the form (shape) of apples when our bodies transfer potential energy from the food we eat to kinetic energy used to cut the apples,
and how the transfer of electrical energy to thermal energy changed solid apples to liquid applesauce.
I am even looking forward to future Math connections to this activity, such as when we learn to measure angles later this year and recall that Earth's axis tilts 23 degrees, or when we learn to use multiplication to convert measurement units (pounds to ounces).
I firmly believe in making learning enjoyable and connected to the real world, even though we are a "testing grade". Yesterday, we made "school-made" applesauce in a slow-cooker. Little did I know that this fun Fall activity would lend itself so well to introducing so many science concepts!
Wednesday was the Autumnal Equinox (first day of Fall), so we discussed Earth's movement (rotation and revolution) in relation to seasons. Apples are in season during Fall, and I love food, so this lead to a conversation about matter--we observed both qualitative properties (color, form, state, sinks/floats in water, magnetic/not magnetic, reacts to acids [vinegar]) and quantitative properties (I reviewed using a balance to measure mass) of an apple.
Thank you to all the parents who sent in these beautiful, delicious apples!
Then we talked about energy's role in changing the form (shape) of apples when our bodies transfer potential energy from the food we eat to kinetic energy used to cut the apples,
Thank you, Mr. Drugg, for helping cut apples!
and how the transfer of electrical energy to thermal energy changed solid apples to liquid applesauce.
I am even looking forward to future Math connections to this activity, such as when we learn to measure angles later this year and recall that Earth's axis tilts 23 degrees, or when we learn to use multiplication to convert measurement units (pounds to ounces).
8:00 Thursday
9:30 Thursday
11:00 Thursday (right before I made it nice and smooth with my immersion blender)
After chilling the applesauce overnight, we enjoyed it today with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
(I forgot to snap a picture before we devoured our treat today!)
We even integrated Language Arts! I introduced haiku poetry, and while we lined up for transitions, both classes composed haiku poems about Fall. Haiku poems originated in Japan and are 3 lines: 5, 7, and 5 syllables per line, and rarely rhyme.
Fall Haiku
By: Ms. Kirkham's Homeroom
Summer into Fall
Leaves are so cool and awesome
Leaves are red and brown
Summer into Fall
Leaves are so cool and awesome
Leaves are red and brown
Fall Haiku
By: Mrs. Remley's Homeroom
Fall is not scary
Fall, Fall, wind, breeze, trees, grass, leaves
(Can you think of a 5-syllable line to finish our poem? :-))
Fall is not scary
Fall, Fall, wind, breeze, trees, grass, leaves
(Can you think of a 5-syllable line to finish our poem? :-))
What do you enjoy most about Fall?
I love the colors! I remember the first time we visited my husband's family in Virginia during Fall. I was amazed at all the colors of the leaves; he was so embarrassed when I asked him to stop the car so I could get out and take pictures of trees in peoples' yards! He also thought I was crazy for wanting to rake leaves (I did it to be able to jump in the pile of leaves, of course! :-)).
Monday, September 21, 2015
Calling All Gamers!
Lately we've been learning how to read and write numbers in standard, word, and expanded form. We've also been comparing numbers. Do you play video games or games on a phone? Take a moment to brag comment below--tell your favorite game, your highest score (in standard form) and how you would read that number. If you're really proud of yourself, compare your score to someone else's using comparison symbols (< = >), then use words to write your comparison statement ho you would read it. And if you really want to rub it in, you can even tell how many more points your score is than the other person's!
I don't play many games, but I delight inplaying beating my brother in Words with Friends. We haven't played in a while, but it might be time because I just noticed he is one game up on me! My best score against him was 424 (four hundred twenty-four) to his average game score of 290 (two hundred ninety). 424 > 290 (Four hundred twenty-four is greater than two hundred ninety) or 290 < 424 (Two hundred ninety is less than four hundred twenty-four.). 424 is 134 more than 290, or 290 is 134 less than 424!
I don't play many games, but I delight in
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