Field trip tomorrow and don't forget to study MATH!

Homework:  Review/revise for math and science test on Friday.  Get lunches and wet-able clothing ready for tomorrow morning.
-----------------------------------------In class ------------------------------------------------------------
We completed our math study guide today.  In small groups, I am revising with students who have 'red' or 'yellow' on some standards.  They are doing such a great job of traffic lighting their work, although they still seem nervous sharing if there is a concept they don't know verbally.

Being able to say "I don't know" is such a strength!  Students are learning to be the leaders in their education...to have the understanding to know what they need help with and to be confident enough to ask for help.  I notice some students color code well but then do not come to small group support when offered.  I am trying to 'find them out' before Friday's end of year math test.

I have also had some great discussions where students share that they talk at home about what they don't understand and family members (even big brothers, sisters or cousins) are taking time help out.  BIG HUGS for all your support!
 
However....if you find your student truly does not understand a concept, please let me know by using those 'red' and 'yellow' circles (or the words).

Here is to a great field trip tomorrow.  I am looking forward to getting very wet and seeing all the little creatures we find living in the inlet!

Have a good Wednesday....

Traffic lights...what is my student taking about?

Homework:  Page 3 and 4 in math study guide.  Traffic light EACH question.
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We traffic light our work...sometimes each question, depending on the standards we are covering.  What does traffic lighting mean and how does it help students learn?

Traffic lights help students use assessment for learning!

Well.... students learn to use red, yellow and green when they personally assess their work.  We use hand signals in class that also match the lights.  Red reflects "I have no clue." So I would set up time to work with that student 1 to 1 or in a small group.  If they are 'yellow'..they feel they can do some of the work.  However, they have questions or don't feel confident.  We might still work in small groups or they could team with another student who is green.

Green = "I got this and can do it  independently!"  If I see more than one green for a standard AND all the work is correct, I know this student is ready for some above level work and, possibly, ready to move to a new standard!

Homework should be traffic lighted.  If you helped your child understand, have them place a yellow and also a green.  Using both colours lets me know the student had questions, but with support, understands the concept now.

Maybe I should implement traffic lights at home when my own children do their chores!!!! :)
Have a good evening!

Homework May 9, 2011

Homework and Dates to Know
End of Year Math Test Friday - Click for PDF version of study guide
Tonight's math homework: Page 1 and 2 of packet.
Tomorrows:  page 3 and 4.  For GSP it is due on Thursday.
All questions should be traffic lighted... "Green": I totally get it.    "Yellow":  I have some questions still.  "Red": I have no clue.

Questions:  Can I traffic light a page at a time?  No.  Each question represents a different learning goal (standard).  I want you to be able to share with me which standards you feel you know well and which ones you need help on.

Dates to Know:
Tues - Keep Brevard Beautiful in the afternoon.  Our schedule will be modified to support the visit.
Thurs - Get ready to get wet as we explore the Sebastian Inlet!  Our field trip is Thursday!
Friday - TEST day.  There is no getting around it.  You have a Social Studies, Science and Math test.  So start studying a little each day and you'll feel prepared.

If you have any questions, you can e-mail me through Ed-line NOW!!!

Terrific Tuesday and homework

What a great way to start the day!

What a another surprise!  My chair was decorated by little elves so bright and cheerfully!  Each time I sit down I will think of you all!  Thank you bunches!

Today we continued to edit our poem and took a look at some of the other math standards we will find on the end of the year math test coming up in a little over a week.  We should be able to take fractions such as 1 1/2, 5 3/4, 7 1/4 and turn them into decimals.

Since we are approaching 5th grade, we no longer use terms like 'point 25' and instead use '25 hundredths'.  It's kind of tricky...but using the correct math vocabulary helps us remember the value of our decimal numbers.  We can also use our decimal vocabulary to turn a decimal back into fractions!!!  '5 tenths' = 5/10!
Very cool!

Tonight we are working on our FAST FACTs.  At the beginning of each week, we take a Fast Fact quiz to test ourselves on multiplication or other calculations.  This week we are reviewing our math multiples, finding equivalent fractions and reducing fractions.  On Friday, we take the quiz again...but this time, we get a grade.  So through the week, if we don't feel 'strong' on the calculations we are working on, we can study them.

the bottom of FF this week covers fractions!

Hope you have a terrific Tuesday!

Monday, May 2nd... Thank you and Homework (good homework!)

First, "THANK YOU!"  Wow!  What lovely flowers I received today. If I can take a picture and upload fast enough...I will place them here.  Mrs. Johnson is like a guardian angel and let me know today that we should be working on our spelling words.   Hmmmm.... not one student mentioned a word about spelling!  How surprizing! :)

Thank you for the beautiful flowers!  

That said, I will work to get together some appropriate spelling words for you to revise tomorrow.  We are going to finish up our poetry books this week and work through the rest of the year on Persuasive essays!

Today we revised 3 areas of math... finding equivalent fractions, finding the equivalent decimal of a fraction and multiplying fractions (doubling, tripling, eg.  We will have a  review test on Wednesday so today we thought about what we knew and didn't know about those topics...asked questions, thought about the 'why' and 'how'...and traffic lighted our understanding.  From there, students choose the homework they felt they could do comfortably... reteach, practice or enrichment.  All worksheets are linked below if needed.  I was really impressed by their ability to think about their understanding and learning!!!  I feel they are right on.

Homework is in PDF format....
Click below to retrieve document.

Reteach  (yellow)                 Practice (yellow to green)                Enrichment (solid green ready to move on)

Wow new blog design and no homework!

Countdown...less than 24 hours until Endeavor's launch!

Hi! Well, what do you think? I have a wonderful techy, shabby chic friend who makes blog designs and she came up with this one for our class!!! I was excited and surprised to see the design today because we talked my thoughts on Earth and space science.  Very excited...

OK... No homework.  We worked hard today.  I am truly making their minds think.  Our students know how to calculate numbers, yet have found challenge with choosing the right operation when solving real world problem.   Today we reviewed how to divide the numerator by the 'demonator' (I have no idea why I keep writing that...I'm thinking too much Phineas and Ferb) to get the equivalent decimal.  We tried some harder versions 8/11 and such.  Then we moved on!

Our goals today was to look behind the scenes to see what happens when we double, triple or quadruple fractions.  Some students just knew double 1/2 was a whole...but we took a number line and really worked through what we were adding.  Then, we worked some unusual fractions like 8/11.

Tomorrow we will learn the 'easier' way of multiplying fractions by whole number and try our hand at solving problems where we are increasing the servings for recipes and the ingredients.

Remember...tomorrow is  a BIG day!  We have a Royal wedding and our Endeavor launch!

Homework and a look at our learning about fractions and decimals.

The shuttle Endeavor's crew for STS 134!  Launches Friday at a space center near YOU! Approx 3.47pm! Nasa.gov

Question? E-mail me from our main web page... What are you doing for the Endeavor launch on Friday?

Homework

Convert the following fractions into decimals:

1/5, 1/8, 2/5, ½ , 2/4

--------------What we are learning.------------------------------------------------------------------------

I share with students each day their 'must', 'should', 'could'. These are learning goals (or targets) we are striving for during our lesson or longer unit. For math, today, we were exploring how to change the fractions in our cupcake recipes into decimals.

Must: Know that a fraction is a way of representing division and able to write a fraction as a division problem.

Should: Know the names of fraction parts.

Could: Take the numerator of a fraction and divide it by the denominator to find the equivalent decimal.

Why? As we increase our recipes servings, we will have to increase the ingredients. Some students found that they used decimals to find the number of 'times' they needed to make the recipe in order to serve a larger number of people for a party. By using decimals, the students were able to reduce the amount of 'remaining' cupcakes they found they would have when first using 'multiples' of the original serving size.

For example, Ava needed 54 cupcakes using a recipe that yields 12. She tried 12 X 5 =60 but felt that would be too many extra cupcakes. Since Ava was thinking as a bakery owner, she want to make as close to 56 cupcakes so she wasn't spending any extra money making cupcakes she didn't need.

So...she tried 12 X 4.5 = 54. Ava felt she was a strong enough baker who wouldn't need extra cupcakes and knows she needs to make her recipe 4.5 times.

WHICH LEADS US TO TODAY! :) Here is a good web page on converting fractions to decimals.

http://www.wikihow.com/Change-a-Common-Fraction-Into-a-Decimal

Today we learned the 'what' behind fractions. How fractions are really a way to record a division problem waiting to be solved. Students took n

notes as we even talked a little about algebra.

So... taking ¾. 3 is the numerator represented by 'n'. 4 is the denominator represented by 'd'. If fractions represent the division problem 'n' divided by 'd', we wrote it out as we would normally with 'n' underneath the division symbol and 'd' in the front of the division symbol. (This is hard to write out not having the dividing image).

Then we took ¾ as our example and divided 3 by 4 making sure we put the 3 underneath and 4 in the front.

When we found that we could take no '4's out of a 3, we added a decimal point on the top of the division system right after the 3, then placed a '0' to the right of the 3. This lets us know that any numbers to the right of the decimal are not 'whole'. So we are finding parts! You can follow along belong. Just watch for where you place the decimal point and where you place the zeros you need to solve the problem.

REMEMBER! Decimals have NO remainders. So you need to keep solving until you have nothing left to divide OR the numbers repeat!

Homework

Convert the following fractions into decimals:

1/5, 1/8, 2/5, ½ , 2/4