Tuesday November 18th

Happy Tuesday!

Today, we are beginning our journey into division.

In one part, we are multiplying by 10's, 100's, and 1000's which we have done earlier this year. Your student can plug the original number into the place value chart and shift it accordingly.

If you look at 1a. you can see that I wrote 3 divided by 1. This is something we easily know. the answer is 3. Then we take a look at the original numbers. We can see that we can cross out 1 zero on each side and we still have one left over, which leaves us with 30.

When you look at number 2, we can do something very similar, except we are using more than 10's, 100's and 1000's. For instance if you look at 2b, you can see that 18 divided by 2 is 9. Then you see that there are 2 zeros in both 200 and 18000. When you cross out 2 on each side, you still have one left. so 18,000 divided by 200 is 90.

There is a spelling test tomorrow!

Thanks,
Mrs. C

Wednesday November 5th

Hello families!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday!

Let's get to business : ]

We are learning to convert in math. The students were told to bring their conversion paper home with them. This will give them what they need to know in order to solve the problems.

If you take a look at 2a, we are trying to figure out how many feet are in 18 yards. If we know that there are 3 feet in 1 yard, we can multiply 18 by 3 to get our answer of 54 feet.

Now, take a look at 2e. This one we are converting 2 miles into yards and feet. Fortunately, our conversion chart tells us that 1 mile equals 1,750 yards and it also equals 5,280 feet. Now all we have  to do is multiply each of those numbers by 2, since we have 2 miles.

The story problems are similar to the others, except the students have to uncover what problem they are trying to solve. We are going to have to convert a component in each problem in order to solve it.

We are having our spelling test tomorrow!

Thanks,
Mrs. C

Monday October 27th

Happy Monday!

I haven't been posting on the blog much lately. I feel like the class has been super confident in their multiplication skills so it hasn't been necessary. I decided to post today just in case anyone needed some hints or anything.

Parent teacher conferences are tomorrow, Tuesday the 28th and Wednesday the 29th.

We are going to the pumpkin patch/corn maze on Thursday the 30th. We will also be having our Halloween party that day.

No school Friday October 30th and Monday November 3rd.

I can't wait to see all of you parents over the next couple days!

Thanks,
Mrs. C

Tuesday October 21st

Hello students & families!

I haven't posted for a few days because I feel like we have been doing really well with our multiplication problems we have been working on. 

Today, we are introducing multiplication with decimals. 

One number 1a. I first start by estimating the product. I round 53 to 50 and 1.2 to 1. I then multiply 50 x 1 which equals 50. This tells me that my answer is going to be around 50. 

Now, I draw my area model and decompose (break up) my numbers. I change 53 to 50 and 3 (if added together would equal 53). I change 1.2 to 10 tenths and 2 tenths (if the kids plugged these numbers into their place value chart, they could see that 1 is the same as 10 tenths). 

Now multiply 3 x 10, 3 x 2, 50 x 10 and 50 x 2. 

Now I add up each row. Then add the two rows together to get 636 tenths, which is the same as 63.6.

On the right hand side of the paper, we use the standard algorithm. As you can see by my arrows, I can easily match up the numbers as I am working the problem. This tells me that I am doing it correctly. 

*Spelling test Friday! 

*Half-day Friday!

Thanks,
Mrs. C

Wednesday October 15th

Today in math, we are just continuing with our multiplication. The only difference is we are moving forward with standard algorithm and we are also estimating our product.

For instance, if our problem is 234 x 769, we would first estimate.

We would round 234 to 200 and 769 to 800. So we are now multiplying 200 x 800. We know our product will be around 160,000.

Now, we will solve 234 x 769 with the standard algorithm. Could we still use the area model? YES! Can we check our answer with a calculator? YES!

However, I will tell you, if I get back a page of homework with just answers and no work... They will have to redo it. This tells me they used a calculator. If they do not do the work out on homework, they are likely not going to do well on the assessments.

Spelling test on Friday! The words are in spellingcity.com

Thanks!
Mrs. C

Tuesday October 14th

Hello math buddies!

Today, we are taking bigger steps with our multiplication. We are multiplying 3 and 4 digit numbers! It is very easy to overlook numbers when doing something as simple as addition. I would like the students to check their work by doing the standard algorithm AND the area model. They may also do the problem on a calculator to triple check :]. Sometimes it is exciting for them to be able to use the calculator and see that they got the same answer... very gratifying!

In problem b, we are multiplying 273 and 306. When we decompose (break up) 306, we have 300 and 6. If we were to write tens, we would put 0. This would be okay, but it is also extra work, so we may as well leave it out!

* When doing the standard algorithm, ensure your student is not forgetting the place value of each number which adds a zero on each line after the first. If this sentence is confusing, take a look at the picture where I wrote "Don't forget".

Thank you!

Mrs. C

Monday October 13th

Today in math, we are continuing to multiply two and three digit numbers. The goal is for students to be successful using the standard algorithm. However, it is useful for them to know, understand, and use the area model so they can check their work. Like I have mentioned before... It is okay for them to triple check their work with a calculator.

In the area model, we are decomposing (breaking up) the numbers so they are easier to work with.

Make sure that they are remembering the place value of each number (ones, tens, hundreds, etc).

On some of the numbers, I have just included the answer as they are following the same directions.

Thank you!
Mrs. C