Sorry for the delay. What a weird week it was with Wednesday off in the middle there. We stayed as busy as always despite the interruption.


Math:
Hello long division! We practiced and practiced until we got it right. It's safe to say, they know the procedure. Now they just need lots of exposure so they can deal with hiccups along the way without freaking out. 
We also reviewed the differences between multiplication and division with a problem sorting activity that focused on multiplication as combining and division as separating groups.
Week 13 is the beginning of our fractions unit. I will however continue with division practice in preparation for a unit test Friday, 11/20. I just figured more practice won't hurt. 


Science:
This week we learned about light energy, sound energy, and heat energy. Now, we will prepare for a unit test (postponed from last Friday) throughout the week by creating an "Energy Cube". Much like the matter brochures, it encourages kids to review the properties of each energy so that they can better differentiate them.
Week 13 we will begin our Water Cycle / Weather unit. It's going to be so much fun! There are several really cool hands on investigations we will get to do! We will take our Energy test on Friday 11/20 after the division test.


November 11 was Verteran's Day so in preparation, Mr. Dorsey, a Vietnam Verteran, came on Tuesday and spoke to the kids about his service. 


SEL: Lesson 7 is all about compliments and conversations. The kids are taking time in class to write each other compliments to help build community and confidence. We will do something special with those before Thanksgiving. The homework sheet is due today. 


Here's to another great week! 

Hi all,


What a busy week!!!


Math: 
This week we explored 2 methods to solve division problems using partial products. The first is using the distributive property, the second (very closely related) is the "Big 7". I hope you had a chance to view the instructional video on the method yourself that I sent out for the flipped classroom homework. It can be a lot less tedious than the standard algorithm of long division that many of us suffered through in grade school.


Next week: Bring on the tedious standard algorithm! I  actually really like this method, but I am an organized, procedure loving mathematician. For many of my math students, this will be one of the most challenging tasks they attack all year. Once they have attempted the method, children get to choose which method works best for them and can switch back and forth between them as needed. I hope to wrap up division this week in preparation for a test Week 13.


Science:
This week was all about electrical energy. Kids built simple circuits with switches, complex series circuits and parallel circuits,as well as electromagnets. Everything was hands on and I can tell it was a favorite of the kids. 
Next week: We are going to wrap up our energy unit. I will do some investigations on light, sound and thermal energy and then review mechanical and electrical energy for a test I plan to give Friday.


Other news:
Veteran's Day is Wednesday, and while I will be here at professional development, your child has the day off. I hope you can entice them to get on to TTM and earn some points towards our class pizza party by completing math lessons!




Hope you all are enjoying this beautiful Sunday! I gotta get out of this classroom and enjoy it myself.