More Division!

Congratulations to Anneliese who was awarded star student this week for being patient.

We are having some fun in writing this week. The kids are writing a letter from the perspective of a turkey. They are trying to persuade the public to eat something different for their Thanksgiving feast.

I was pleased to see that almost everyone in our class has passed the 100 multiplication fact benchmark test! That means that they correctly completed at least 95/100 basic multiplication facts in 5 minutes! Next, we need to work on passing that division test. Please make sure that your child is practicing his/her basic division facts at home.

We are continuing on with our division unit. The children should know all three methods at this time. Here is a reference sheet with a demonstration of each method.

From Math Expressions Common Core, Grade 4, Student Activity Book, Volume 1

Place Value Sections Method of Division

Here is a demonstration of the Place Value Sections Method of Division:

Division

Congratulations to Zion who won the star student award last week for being courteous.

We are done with our Rocks and Minerals unit in science. The rock projects were great! I think a lot of the students enjoyed putting time and effort into this creative project.

We are now studying the traditions of early people from Wisconsin in social studies.

The chapter 2 multiplication tests turned out very well! Remember that anytime a student scores below a 70% on a test, he or she can retake it.

We are now into our division unit. It is set up in a similar way to the multiplication unit. There are three different methods for division; place value sections, expanded notation, and digit by digit. As of today, the children should know only the place value sections method. There is no math homework tonight. I will post a video example of place value sections method of division tomorrow.

Multiplication Test Tomorrow

The kids will take the chapter 2 multiplication test tomorrow. They will have time to work on the review pages in their workbook during class today, while I pull groups for review sessions. They should bring home their review pages tonight, even if they finish. This will give you an idea of what will be on the test, and what they should practice for tomorrow's test.

The following games on thinkcentral.com will be helpful in preparing for the test. I sent home a yellow sheet of paper with these games on it, as well as the student log ins and passwords.

Follow this link: 

https://www-k6.thinkcentral.com/ePC/start.do

Log in to Wisconsin, Glendale-River Hills School District, and Glen Hills, type in the username and password from your assignment notebook. Click on My Library and go to MegaMath.

These games all relate to multiplication and chapter 2:

Country Countdown

         Counting Critters

                  Level W

The Number Games

         Up, Up, and Array

                  Levels C, J, K

The Number Games

         Tiny’s Think Tank

                  Levels K, F, G

Numberopolis

         Carnival Stories

                  Level S

Congratulations to Lauren for earning the star student award this week for being sincere.

I hope that the kids have been working hard on their science projects over this long weekend! Please remember that they are due on Tuesday of this week (the 11th). The children will present their projects to the class. There is no final test for the rocks and minerals unit, this project with be their culminating assignment. We will be switching back to social studies near the end of the week.

We are also wrapping up chapter 2 in math. The final multiplication test will be on Thursday.

There is a parent math night on Wednesday. An invitation went home in the Thursday folder last week. We will be covering different methods of division.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

2 Digit x 2 Digit Multiplication

Some students are struggling with 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication. There are so many different ways to do this, I think sometimes the children combine methods and get confused. They may choose to use the place value sections method, expanded notation method, algebraic notation method, shortened expanded notation method, or shortcut method to solve. I urge them to choose whichever method they are most comfortable using. They do not need to do all methods.

Here is an example of the shortcut method:

Rocks, Rock!

I forgot to mention that Aidan won our star student last week for setting a good example, and Jack won star student the week before for being trustworthy. Congratulations boys!

We are finishing up chapter 2 in math. The final test will be sometime in the middle of next week. The next chapter will be on division. It is so important that students know their basic facts in order to be successful in these more difficult math units.

This is the last week of our Rocks and Minerals unit. The students will be assigned a rock project tomorrow, and it will be due on Tuesday, November 11th.

The children are currently in the process of typing their final personal narrative essays.

Please remember there is no school for students on Friday!

The students made their own "rocks", by using heat and pressure to combine minerals.