Posted by kavery508 | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on February 10, 2020
The 100th day of school is Tuesday, Feb. 11! Students are encouraged to create a project that shows understanding of numbers, operations, algebra–you name it! Some good examples can be found here!
We will exchange valentines in class on Friday, 2/14. There are 19 students in our class. If you need another copy of our class roster, just let me know!
Our reading focus this week is on finding the Main Idea in nonfiction. To do this critical thinking, students are taught to read and think about the heading in a text. Then they look for a key sentence–one that contains the most important information in a paragraph. This is where the main idea lies, and it is the information they should remember. Try it with your child using this page (and any other) from the Time for Kids site: Famous Firsts
The focus of this week’s math is estimating by rounding up/down and using estimation as a way to check the reasonableness of sums/differences. These are VERY important skills that require students to develop and apply number sense as they think critically about math.
At first, students just need to learn and practice the basic skill of rounding to the nearest 10. Next, to check that a sum/difference is reasonable, they will learn to use estimates. Take this example: When solving 67 + 44, I can estimate the sum as 110 (67 rounds up to 70, plus 44 which rounds down to 40). My actual answer therefore needs to be close to 110 (no more than 10 away from the actual answer). If I get an answer of 111, my estimate shows that my answer is reasonable and I likely have it correct. However if my answer is, say, 121 then I better check my work because that answer is too large to be correct. The beauty of using estimates is that they push kids to think of the numbers involved by rounding them into 10s and 100s, which they can ‘hold in their heads’ much easier than numbers like 67 and 44.
Our study of properties of matter led us to an engineering and design challenge. Students tested a group of available materials (paper towel, plate, bag, etc.) for their absorbency, stiffness, and flexibility. Then they used their research to create hats to keep cool in the hot sun. They did a great job asking questions, making observation, and using models!
Thank you for your support of our school playground by sponsoring our class in the Floral Fitness Challenge! Both kids and adults have been moving, dancing, and celebrating every day!
