Week of December 15-19

Class 5a completed our first engineering design challenge.  We had to build a bridge strong enough to hold 100 pennies out of 1 sheet of 8.5 x 11 paper.  The engineers worked very well together, and all were successful.
Class 5b had our last class come to play our carnival games.  Next week, we will try the paper bridge challenge.
No hw this week!

In 4th grade, our ELA students joined the classes, and we entered the world of engineering.  Our design challenge was to create a tower at least one foot tall that could hold up our stuffed animal cow for at least 10 seconds.  We could use 100 index cards, two feet of tape, and our creativity.  This challenge proved to be quite difficult, but we did have some successful groups.  At the end of the challenge, the groups shared their successes and failures, and we all had ideas of how we could improve our towers in the future.  Check out some of our towers below:

HW: enjoy the break!



In third grade, we turned in our floor plans and cost sheets for our shore houses.  I was so impressed with the creativity and effort that everyone put into their projects!  We also learned how to solve matrix logic problems, and 3c enjoyed figuring out some stories with holes.  After the break, we will embark on our engineering unit!
HW: enjoy the break!

Week of December 8-12

This week, 5a invited Mrs. Weisbrot's class to play our carnival games.  We showed off our knowledge of theoretical and experimental probabilities, and, by the end, the players understood that we had to make the games slightly unfair in order to make a profit.  We also took our final unit test.
HW: Skunk questions: you must answer #6.  You must also choose to answer either #4 or #5.

5b had 5-3 and 5-4 come and play our games today.  Afterwards, numerous students stopped me in the hall to tell me how much fun they had!  Your games must have really entertained them!
HW: study for unit test; Skunk questions: you must answer #6.  You must also choose to answer either #4 or #5.

In 4th grade, we shopped at our classmates' stores and figured out the prices of the items for sale.  Some of the equations that go together stumped us until we realized we could isolate and variable on one side of the equation and use substitution to solve the problems (see last week's post for two examples where this method would work).
After that, we learned another method of solving equations using a strategy called "Hands-on Equations." We used a pan balance and manipulatives to figure out the value of our variable.  Click the link below for more practice using pan balances.
http://illuminations.nctm.org/Activity.aspx?id=3531
HW: Finish the problems from the packet (you can use the balance, coins, and dice to help you, or, if you feel comfortable, you can try it without the manipulatives).


The third graders took the unit assessment today.  Then we did a quick tutorial on google drawings and talked about our floor plans we drew for homework.  The main issue was that some rooms were not big enough.  We realized this once we counted out floor tiles.  See the floor plan below for an idea of reasonable room sizes.

HW: adjust room measurements and/or floor plans as needed.  Fill in the Floor Plan Dimension and Cost Worksheet (add more rows on the back or make a copy if needed).  You can also try to create a room or two using google drawing, but this is completely optional.

Week of December 1-5

This morning, Mrs. Kregeloh's class and Mrs. Feldman and Ms. Zagarola's class came in to play the carnival games we created.  Not only did the classes have fun, but they also learned about experimental and theoretical probability and why carnival owners must make their games slightly unfair.  Next week, one more class will come to our carnival, and we will also take our unit test (don't forget to study)!
After the carnival, we learned how to play a game called SKUNK.  For homework, students must play and record a round of the game and answer questions 1-3 on a separate page, making sure to explain all thinking.


Class 5b played and reviewed one another's games in order to prepare for our carnival next week.  Make sure all posters include the name of the game, directions, goal/how to win, and decorations. Also, remember to type or write the theoretical probability (including chart, diagram, or list) of the player winning and losing and the experimental probability based on your trials and your reviewers' trials.
In addition to finalizing your games, your homework is to play and record a round of the game SKUNK and answer questions 1-3 on a separate page, making sure to explain all thinking.

Joyce and Varenya's carnival game

Class 4c took their unit test and started to shop at their classmates' stores.  Some of the equations really stumped them!  See if you can solve these equations:

This week, the third graders were introduced to our final project, a webquest where students will take on the role of an architect and use measurement skills to redesign a shore house that was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy. You can check it out at: http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=248649

The homework this week is to study for the unit test by reviewing the mathematician's journal, complete a floor plan on grid paper, and some students still need to finish part 1 where they must copy a shape from level 3 of a perimeter/area activity onto grid paper and show how to find the perimeter and area. 

Week of November 24-26

This week, 5a finalized their carnival games.  They played and reviewed another group's game, and now we are ready to invite our classes in to play!  Here's one example of a game created by Christie and Isabel.

HW: Finish carnival game (including poster with directions, name of game, goal/how to win, etc. and separate sheet with theoretical and experimental probability).
***Study mathematician's journal including glossary to prepare for unit test.***

5b created the rules of their games and figured out the probability of the player winning and losing.  Their hw is to finish #5-8 and complete p. 59.  Their games should be ready to be played by another group next week so it can be reviewed.


4a and 4b took their post-test on algebra this week.  Everyone made huge improvements!

4c finalized their mall ads and are ready to shop next week.  Don't forget to study for the unit test!

Week of November 17-21

This week, 5a continued to work on their probability games.  By next week, they should be ready to be played and evaluated by our G&T classmates so that we can make final adjustments before inviting our classes in to play our games.

HW: p. 59

*Due to the lockdown, 5b did not meet this week.  We will continue to work on our games next week.

Classes 4a and 4b worked to finalize our mall ads.  Next week, we will shop in one another's stores and find the values of the variables in the ads.

HW: study for unit test by reviewing mathematician's journal (including glossary)

*Class 4c did not meet this week because Mrs. Emmich chaperoned the 2nd grade field trip.  We will finalize our mall ads next week.


Classes 3a and 3b explored boxes by looking at their faces, edges, and vertices.  We also found the perimeter and area of each face and used our measurements to calculate the total surface area.

HW: finish box poster and complete p. 75 in mathematician's journal



Classes 3c learned about surface area today.  We figured out that you must find the area of each surface of a rectangular solid and then add those areas together to find the total surface area of the figure in square units.  We talked about how much frosting it would take to cover the 4 sides and the top of a whole cake compared to individual pieces of the cake once it is cut up.  We realized that it would take a lot more frosting to cover each individual piece's 5 sides.  After all, when the pieces are part of the whole cake, the pieces have only one, two, or three sides frosted.  The video below give an explanation of how to find surface area if anyone needs clarification:
https://learnzillion.com/student/lessons/1222-find-surface-area-of-rectangular-prisms
Use the picture below to help you with this week's homework.  You need to explain how to calculate the surface area of each individual piece of cake.




HW: p. 71

Week of November 10-14

This week, the 5th graders were introduced to our final project: designing carnival games that are slightly unfair.  After all, we carnival owners have to make a profit!  Students must be able to calculate the theoretical and experimental probabilities of winning their games.  Once the games are designed, we will invite our classmates in to play the games.  Hopefully, they won't notice that the odds are stacked against them!  Check out the site below to play some carnival games that involve probability.
http://mrnussbaum.com/probfair/

HW: research probability games from around the world (directions are on a separate piece of paper, not in books)


In fourth grade, we continued to work on creating advertisements for our stores in the class mall.  Instead of listing the prices of the items we are selling, we turned the items into variables that our shoppers must solve for.  We tried to create equations and systems of equations that will be appropriately challenging for our shoppers (other 4th grade G&T students across the district).

HW: p. 59


Classes 3a and 3b learned about surface area today.  We figured out that you must find the area of each surface of a rectangular solid and then add those areas together to find the total surface area of the figure in square units.  We talked about how much frosting it would take to cover the 4 sides and the top of a whole cake compared to individual pieces of the cake once it is cut up.  We realized that it would take a lot more frosting to cover each individual piece's 5 sides.  After all, when the pieces are part of the whole cake, the pieces have only one, two, or three sides frosted.  The video below give an explanation of how to find surface area if anyone needs clarification:
https://learnzillion.com/student/lessons/1222-find-surface-area-of-rectangular-prisms

HW: p. 71

Class 3c learned about the volume of rectangular solids this week.  The volume is the amount of space occupied by a three-dimensional object often measured in cubic units.  We learned that, in addition to the dimensions of length and width, we also need to consider a 3rd dimension of height when figuring out volume.  We used connecting cubes to make pieces of cake and figured out how many pieces would fit into cake pans of varying sizes.  The video below gives a clear explanation of what we learned:

HW: p. 67

Week of November 3-5

This week, the 5th graders played a game called "Spin for a Shape" and used experimental and theoretical probability to determine whether or not it was a fair game. We found that making a table was a good strategy to find all possible outcomes of the game.  We also learned that in order for a game to be fair, the theoretical probability of each player winning must be equal.

HW: Finish p. 51 and complete p. 53.

In fourth grade, we began discussing our final project.  We will turn our classroom into a mall!  Students will create advertisements showcasing 3-4 products, but instead of listing the prices, the store owners will create equations where the variables are the products.  Customers must solve equations and systems of equations in order to determine the prices of the products.

HW: p. 57 and find or draw pictures of your items

Week of October 27-31

Since some of our 5th graders were at Camp Bernie this week, we took at break from our "What Are Your Chances" book and did a Cheerios Investigation related to probability.  You can click on the link below to get more information about the activity.

http://mathwire.com/data/cheerios.pdf

HW: For those of you who were in class, finish the letter and share it.  For those of you who were at Camp Bernie, just make sure you have p. 43 completed by Monday.

In 4th grade, we learned how to use the substitution method to solve equations that go together.  Although we were tempted to use guess and check for some of the more difficult problems, by the end of class, we realized that we never had to guess when using the substitution method.  Here is a link to some practice problems using substitution:

http://flexmath.ck12.org/lesson/algebra/substitute-to-solve-a-system-of-equations/presentation

HW: p. 49 and 51

Classes 3a and 3b learned about the volume of rectangular solids this week.  The volume is the amount of space occupied by a three-dimensional object often measured in cubic units.  We learned that, in addition to the dimensions of length and width, we also need to consider a 3rd dimension of height when figuring out volume.  We used connecting cubes to make pieces of cake and figured out how many pieces would fit into cake pans of varying sizes.  The video below gives a clear explanation of what we learned:

HW: p. 67

Class 3c learned about liquid measurement and volume today.  We figured out how much lemonade we would need for a class party by converting from one unit to another.  The following picture helped us with our conversions: 

HW: p. 59 and 61

Week of October 20-23

This week, the 5th graders learned about what it means for a game to be fair vs unfair.  We played a spinner game where you had to add the numbers on each spinner.  Player O got a point if the sum was odd, and player E got a point if the sum was even.  At first, many of us thought that the game was unfair, but after calculating the theoretical probability of each player winning by creating a table or diagram, we realized it actually was a fair game.

HW: Complete Think Deeply #2 for "Odd or Even"

In 4th grade, we learned about how to use guess and test with an organized list to solve two equations that go together.  We discussed ways we can eliminate items from the list (when an item costs nothing, when the difference would give us a negative number, number pairs that are far apart when you have a small difference, etc.).  We did some more practice at the following site:
http://flexmath.ck12.org/lesson/algebra/guess-and-check-to-solve-a-system-of-equations/presentation

HW: Think Deeply #1 and #2 for "A Penny for Your Thoughts"

Groups 3a and 3b learned about liquid measurement today.  We used tubs of water and containers of varying sizes to explore English units of capacity (cups, pints, quarts, half gallons or pottles, and gallons). We then figured out how much lemonade we would need for a class party by converting from one unit to another.  The following picture helped us with our conversions:

HW: p. 59 and 61

Week of October 13-17

This week, the 5th graders learned about the probability of compound events by answering this question: When you roll two dice and find the sum of the two numbers, are any sums more likely than others.  We learned how to make a table to help us find the probability of compound events.  This video explains it in more detail:

HW: p. 35 and 37


The fourth graders learned how to solve problems with two unknowns by using guess and test with an organized list and by drawing a diagram or picture.  Check out these sites for some other strategies and some extra practice.

http://mathcountsnotes.blogspot.com/2012/05/algebra-questions-without-using.html
http://www.algebra.com/algebra/homework/word/Linear_Equations_And_Systems_Word_Problems.faq.question.3172.html

HW: p. 33 and 35


In third grade, we talked about how to find the area of irregular shapes by breaking them apart into rectangles.  See this video for an example:
Click here to view video.

HW: p. 45 and 47

Week of October 6-10

This week, the 5th graders learned three strategies to finding all possible outcomes of a given situation: creating an organized/systematic list, making a tree diagram, or using multiplication.  What seemed like a simple lesson became difficult when this question was posed:
What is the probability that if you guess on three true/false questions, you will get them all right?
Students were encouraged to use a tree diagram to solve this problem.  Next week, we will discuss our solutions.

HW: p. 27 and 29


In 4th grade, we learned how us use the cover-up method to solve equations.

Step 1: Cover up the variable expression (2N) and replace it with the word "what."  Ask, "What plus 7 equals 15?"  The answer is 8, so draw an arrow and write 8 underneath the variable expression.

Step 2: Write a new equation to show the value of the variable expression: 2N = 8

Step 3: Cover up the N and ask, "Two times what equals 8?"  The answer is 4, so draw an arrow and write 4 under the variable.

Step 4: Write a new equation to show that N = 4.

Step 5: Check your answer by plugging it back into the original equation.

HW: p. 23 and 25


Our 3rd graders learned the importance of standardizing units of measure this week.  Julia's uncle bought her a dog and asked her to make a pen that was 20 of his footsteps by 8 footsteps.  She did what he asked using her footsteps, and when the dog arrived, she found that the pen was too small.  We realized that her feet were much smaller than her uncle's feet, so her pen was too small.  The students had some wonderful ideas about how to solve the problem: have her uncle come over and use his feet, have another adult male use his footsteps, or use a ruler to measure the uncle's foot and use those measurements to create the pen.  This led us to the realization that in order to be accurate, we need standard units of measure.  We also learned what perimeter is and how to calculate it.


HW: p. 25 and 29 (and p. 27 if you didn't complete it in class)

Week of September 29th - October 3rd

This week, the 5th graders learned some differences between experimental and theoretical probabilities.  Check out this video for a recap.

HW: p. 21 and 23


In 4th grade, we learned how to solve for variables when they have a specific value by completing addition and multiplication variable puzzles.  Then, we tried to create some of our own puzzles, which proved to be pretty challenging.  Next week, we can share some of these puzzles and see if we can solve them!
HW: p. 17 and 19


In third grade, we used a variety of tools to measure various body parts, like our height, reach, distance around neck, and our radius and tibia.  We discussed how using measuring benchmarks can make estimating measurements a lot easier.  Check out some of our measuring experts in action!
HW: p. 9 and 11

Week of September 22-24

This week, the 5th graders played some probability games where the possible outcomes were unequally likely.  One of them involved an interesting way of assigning homework.  A teacher had a bag labeled "Heads" with one red cube in it and a bag labeled "Tails" with 3 red and 4 blue cubes in it.  He flipped a coin, picked out of the appropriate bag, and if he picked a red, there would be homework.  Blue meant no homework.  Can you figure out the probability of getting homework vs. not getting homework?  At home, students will redesign the rules so that the probability of not getting homework is greater than that of having homework.
HW: p. 13 and 15

In 4th grade, I did a magic number trick for the kids, and by the end of the class session, everyone was able to use algebra to figure out how the trick works.  I told them to try it out on family and friends at home.  It's sure to amaze them!
HW: Finish p. 8 and complete p. 9 using your new number trick cards that you made up.

Week of September 15-19

In 5th grade, we began our unit on probability.  We did some experiments involving coin tosses and picking colored cubes out of a bag, and we discussed what it means for outcomes to be equally likely.  We realized that equally likely does not always mean that the probability equals one half.  If there are 8 different colored cubes in a bag, the likelihood of picking each one is 1/8.
HW: p. 7 and 9 in the mathematician's journal (Remember to use the rubric to make sure your writing is the best it can be!)

In 4th grade, we started our Algebra unit by playing some guessing games involving mystery numbers.  Through these games, we learned the meaning of the term variable. We also learned the difference between expressions and equations and how these differences affect the definition of a variable.
HW: p. 3 and 5 in the mathematician's journal (Remember to use the rubric to make sure your writing is the best it can be!)

In 3rd grade, we talked about the importance of accuracy when taking measurements.  We learned how to convert millimeters to centimeters and measured various items around the classroom.  We discussed how different tools are appropriate for different types of measurement.
HW: complete p. 5 in the mathematician's journal.  List 8 more body parts to measure, decide what tool would work best, and explain the steps you would take to measure that body part.

measuring the height of the table

working together to get accurate measurements

Week of September 8-12

This week was awesome because I was finally able to meet with my students and get down to business. It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces this week and to meet some students new to the program as well! Our motto this year is, "If you've never failed, you've never tried anything new!" We watched a video about some famous people who were once considered "failures" but did not give up on their dreams, and the students came up with some terrific messages like:

• If you don't make mistakes, you won't learn from them.
• No one is perfect.
• It's okay to get mad, but it's not okay to give up.
• If you fail 1,000 times, try 1,001.

Thomas Edison

Albert Einstein

 Michael Jordan

The homework for this week is to research an invention that happened by accident or after many failures.  Choose one invention to write about and explain in your own words in your notebook.

Welcome Back!

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer!  I've been busy learning all about my new chrome book, and I can't wait to start using these wonderful new devices in the classroom.  We have a busy year ahead of us, a year filled with challenging and exciting new learning.  So get ready for a fun ride!