Hello again.

In math, we had a quiz as a snapshot and check-in for where we are with some of our basic facts. I will hand them back on Monday. This type of testing is only one form of assessment, and I encourage the kids not to get stressed out about them.

We continued to explore multiplication and division. We worked on building our number sense by examining a multiplication problem and then trying to express it in different forms. We watched the following video as a model, discussed it and analyzed what was happening and then tackled the problem offered at the end of the video. I encourage you all to watch it. The students struggled to grasp some of what was going on, suggesting we are still building that number sense that is so important for an understanding of mathematics. I think too many confuse arithmetic (in the sense of being able to perform algorithms for addition, subtraction, etc.) with mathematics. Some students, though very proficient with the various algorithms, struggled to comprehend what was going on in the video. So, we will continue with activities that help to build number sense.

Here are some examples of the students' work on the problem in the video of showing 12 x 9 in different ways. 

We also continue (slowly!) our array city project. Students are now converting their blueprints into another scale to fit our hallway wall. Several students figured out that long division could help them as they tried to figure out how to show that 1cm = 5m in our new scale. They realized that they could divide the height of their building by 5 (m) and that the quotient would correspond to the height in cm, and so a 200m section of the Willis Tower in Chicago would become 40cm on the hallway wall. They also had to deal with remainders in some cases and decide what to do with them: round up or down, or stay exact.

In social studies, we are in India still. This week we tied our study of this country with our ongoing examination of plant and animal life cycles and our writing project of creating a Field Guide for the animals in the countries we've studied. To our toco toucan, Andean condor, Peruvian lily, and Tunisian camel we added an Indian element. Students chose either the Indian elephant or the Bengal tiger and researched it. They had to take that information and organize it into one of three sections, description, life-cycle, or adaptations. This is a good exercise to get students thinking critically about what they are reading, tests their comprehension, teaches them new vocabulary, and helps them become better writers as they take those facts and put them into their own words in an interesting way.

In phys. ed., Mr. Ellice began our hockey unit. It was awesome watching the students play and the teamwork as they passed and assisted each other. There were two lines for each team, and it was great to see them shift without complaining, as well as cheering each other on. 

See you next week!