Week of October 24-28

This week, the 3rd graders explored the concept of volume and capacity by learning about the English measurements: fluid ounces, cups, pints, quarts, pottles (half-gallons), and gallons. We learned a cool way to remember how to convert from one measurement to another.

Then we tried to figure out what types of lemonade we would buy for a class party based on the size and cost of each brand of lemonade. We want to be smart consumers and make sure we are getting the most for our money!

Hands-on exploration of liquid measurement!

in 4th grade, we learned about compound events and explored all the possible combinations when you roll two dice and find the sums or products. We learned that not all sums and products are equally likely. By making a tree diagram, list, or table, we were able to prove that some sums and products were more likely than others. For example, the only way to get a sum of 2 is to roll 1 + 1, so P(2) = 1/36. To get a sum of 7, you can roll 1 + 6, 2 + 5, 3 + 4, 4 + 3, 5 + 2, or 6 + 1, so P(7) = 6/36 or 1/6.

Students learn that making a table is a really efficient way to find all possible sums and products when you roll two dice.

In 5th grade, we continued to use the design recipe to define functions. We learned a new function called "put-image" that allows us to place one image on top of another in a specific location using x,y coordinates. I challenged the students to use this new function to create a flag of their choice. The image below shows how by using definitions and ratios, we are easily able to change the values for width and height and still get the red circle in the center of the flag.