Updates this week on where each of the math classes are at in our studies... Third grade is continuing our study of fractions. This last week, we made sure they had secured the idea of unit fractions (fractions with a numerator of 1,) and then we worked on decomposing fractions into unit fractions. For example, seeing that 3/4 is 1/4 + 1/4 + 1/4 - the basics of adding and subtracting fractions. This next week we'll continue looking at fractions on number lines and real-world uses of fractions. The lessons I am using are from the Eureka curriculum which is one that the district is considering for adoption next year. Eureka is published by a nonprofit company called Great Minds. If you are interested in taking a deeper look at this curriculum, take a peak at http://greatminds.net/maps/math/home where you can see everything they provide for free. In February, third grade will be learning geometry from the other curriculum the district is considering which is called EnVision 2.0. Fourth grade began exploring long division and the strategies that students can use to first understand the concepts behind division and eventually learn the traditional method. I know parents sometimes get frustrated with the methods we use to teach students algorithms for the basic computation. Please trust that the goal of teachers now is not to simply teach students to memorize steps to solve a problem but to truly understand why the math works and why the standard (traditional) algorithms work. With that said, 4th grade spent the week exploring the concept of division as equal grouping, repeated subtraction, and the inverse of multiplication. Below you will see their best attempts based on basic understanding to divide 253 by 11. Rest assured, they will learn more efficient methods this week. Fifth grade math students began our unit on fractions this week. By the end of this unit, we will have mastered computations with fractions and mixed numbers including subtraction, addition, and multiplication. We'll cover division in a later unit this year too. This last week we had some fun exploring equivalent fractions with fraction tiles and fraction circles. The students reviewed greatest common factors, least common multiples, and converting mixed numbers to improper fractions and back again since all of those skills will be required in the coming weeks. We learned how to create fractions in their simplest form (the form that ALL answers must be in from here on out.) Below are some shots of our equivalent fraction explorations and math graffiti.
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Tracey BeanWerner Elementary Archives
May 2018
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