Week of October 5-7

This week, 3b figured out the most efficient ways to find the area of an irregular shape (a fried egg). Instead of just counting each cm square inside the figure, the students figured out that drawing large rectangles inside the egg and finding their area by multiplying length times width saved us a lot of time. We still had to account for the whole and partial pieces that didn't fit inside one of our rectangles, so we also discussed how to put the partial pieces together to make wholes and add everything up.

4c and 4d learned how to use theoretical probability to make good predictions about what SHOULD happen in an experiment. Then they conducted experiments, compared their predictions to what ACTUALLY happened (experimental probability) and realized that even though our results won't come out exactly as we predicted, using theoretical probability is much more reliable than randomly guessing!

5c and 5d learned how to make and manipulate images using racket code. We learned new functions like rotate, flip-horizontal, flip-vertical, scale, overlay, and we used these functions to do lots of cool things to images.

A student uses the overlay function to combine images.

Week of September 26-30

In 3rd grade, we continued to explore the concept of perimeter, and we also learned that the area is the space inside a shape. We calculated the area of various pens that all had the same perimeter and realized that their area varied. We discovered that out of all the rectangular pens, the square had the largest area.

The 4th graders learned what unequally likely events are. We conducted an experiment to find out how often students would get homework, and we realized that the teacher who designed the experiment was very smart because getting homework as an outcome was more likely than no homework! We also learned that according to the Law of Large Numbers, you have to do MANY trials for your experimental probability to get close to your theoretical probability. Check out a video that explains this below:
https://learnzillion.com/assignments/3QU9PH2

In 5th grade, we realized that when we write code, we can produce images, not just numbers. We did a lot of experimenting and discovered how to write the code for many different shapes of varying sizes and colors. We used math skills (properties of shapes, angles, problem solving) to help us understand the meaning behind the code we were writing.

Week of September 19-23

This week, the 3rd graders learned about the importance of standardized units of measure after realizing that using our feet to measure out a pen for a dog would give us all different sized pens. We also learned that perimeter is the distance around the edge of a shape. We used an organized list to find all the possible pens with a perimeter of 56 feet. I was so impressed with the different strategies students used to find different pens with a perimeter of 56 feet!

Students use their feet to measure a 20 ft by 8 ft pen.

In 4th grade, we kicked off our probability unit by discussing what it means for events to be "equally likely" and that the probability of these events does not always equal one half. It depends on how many events there are. For example, when there were 8 colored cubes (one of each color) in a bag, the probability of picking any one color equals one eighth. We also learned that the experimental probability is found after conducting an experiment. It is the number of times an event occurs over the number of total trials conducted. For more info on experimental probability, or for an extra challenge, visit our 4th grade page!

Students record data while playing probability games with a deck of cards and a bag of colored cubes.

In 5th grade, we learned how to use circles of evaluation to write code, and we saw how order of operations is related to coding. We also discussed the importance of using error messages (or what we like to call "clues") to help us figure out our mistakes when writing code. Watch the video below for a review of how to turn circles of evaluation into code. For more practice, go to the 5th grade page.

Week of September 12-16

It was amazing to see all of my classes this week! We started off the year by talking about the meaning of the word grit: the combination of persistence (the ability to keep trying and trying to accomplish your goal) and resilience (the ability to bounce back after failure and try again). Success in life is not determined by how smart you are but by how you handle setbacks and obstacles.
To test out our grit, we tried to solve this brainteaser:
    S E N D
+ M O R E
__________
M O N E Y

We discussed the importance of using mathematical strategies instead of just guess and check to solve problems like this one. I was very impressed with the strategic thinking and grit my students demonstrated when tackling this problem!

Welcome Back!!!

I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing summer! My family and I spent lots of time at the beach and the pool. My five-year-old is finally brave enough to go to amusement parks and ride the rollercoasters with me, so I had a blast! Now that school is back in session and I've seen some of your smiling faces greeting me in the hallways, I'm super excited to start our G&T classes. With a little hard work and grit, we are destined to do great things this year!

Week of June 6-8

NOTE: Metuchen High School will be performing Romeo and Juliet in their new outdoor theater on Thursday, June 9th through Saturday, June 11th. For more info, click HERE.

This week, the 5th graders gave the TED Talks they've been working so hard on this cycle! You can view many of them by clicking on the TED Talk page at the top of the page!

Our 4th graders continued to act out scenes from Shakespeare's play, Macbeth. Stay tuned for videos of these performances!

The third graders impressed me with their blackout poems and their specific use of details in their "Where I'm From" poems!

Week of June 1-3

Metuchen High School will be performing Romeo and Juliet in their new outdoor theater on Thursday, June 9th through Saturday, June 11th. For more info, click HERE.

This week, the 4th graders took turns directing and acting in a scene from Macbeth.