Today was some more discussion involving the base 10 system, and other base systems.  This entire discussion is meant to encourage a deeper understanding of our own system, and how this system is used in mathematics.  If you understand better how numbers are grouped and constructed, you are better equipped to manipulate them.

First we wrote down an example in our math examples notebook just like yesterday:

expandednotationexample2

Next we played around with creating numbers in base ten, focusing on how they are made up of ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.

Students made number on the Smart Board using ones, tens, and hundreds.

Then we talked about what the place values would be in a base 2 system.

Instead of ones, tens, and hundreds we would have ones, twos, fours, eights, etc

Students made some more numbers on the Smart Board using these place values.

We also took down a few more examples:

base10and2example

We finally ended the day by watching a short video about black holes.  I do this because I would like students to have a bit of a better sense of scale as we begin talking about bigger and bigger numbers.

Black holes

Please remember – quiz on Friday on base 10, and number systems.

You should know how to break a number down into it’s individual place value parts (in base 10 and in any other base).

You should be able to count a number of objects in base 10, as well as in a base given to you.

Have a good one,

-Mr. Potter

Today we continued our talk of Base 10.  We took some notes in our notebooks:

base10notes

Next we talked about how base 10 numbers are made up of different parts, and talked about how we can write things in expanded form.

For example we might have something like 654.

This number is made up of:

6 hundreds = 6 x 100 = 6 x 10^2

5 tens = 5 x 10 = 5 x 10^1

4 ones = 4 x 1 = 4 x 10^0

Which led us into the discussion and explanation of how anything raised to the 0th power is 1.

We did an example of this expanded notation in our example notebooks:

expandednotationexample

We then talked about counting in base two. Base two only has 2 numerals: 0 and 1.  This means we can only count up to 1 of anything, and have to group in twos.

We did some counting in base 2 together:

base2exercise

And then before you knew it, it was time for us to go.

Have a good one,

-Mr. Potter

In class today we talked about expectations, and what we envision to be the ‘perfect class’.  The students were mostly on the same page with this.  They came up with lists of what the perfect classroom looked like independently, but many of the lists were quite similar. We then shared our ideas of what students in the perfect class would look like. They included things such as:

Students are working diligently

Students are being productive

Students are talking quietly when appropriate

Students are listening and being engaged

Students are respectful

Students are kind to each other

I was quite impressed with the students’ responses.  Both for their obvious understanding of what good classroom behavior looks like, and for their use of fantastic vocabulary as they described these things to me.  I am confident that both the students and I are  on the same page when it comes to what our classroom should look like.

Next we discussed the base 10 system.  We talked about how it is called the base 10 system because we have 10 different numerals (digits):

0  1   2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9

These are the only numerals we have.  Thousands of years ago some very intelligent individuals in what is now the Middle East devised this system of counting and grouping things in tens.  It is ingenious how we can use these simple 10 digits in order to represent literally any number we can think of.

We also discussed very quickly what a base 2 (binary) system would look like.  In a base 2 system, the only numerals would be 0 and 1.  We talked very briefly about how we could count in such a system.

Tomorrow we will continue our discussion of base 10 and counting systems.  We will also do some exploring of other base systems.  One of the questions on the quiz Friday may or may not ask students to count up to 10 in a system other than base 10….

Have a good one,

-Mr. Potter

This week is project week!

This week we will have essentially the same homework each night.  Students *should* have enough time in class to finish these.  However if they would like to do some work at home, they are more than welcome to do so.

Three final projects:

Math project – Students will create a video showcasing a division word problem that they created themselves.  They will solve the problem using math manipulatives AND the standard algorithm for long division.  At each step they will explain the process and show how using the manipulatives and the standard algorithm line up.

All video recording will happen at school.  If students wish to work on their script and practice at home they may.

Math video example: Sorry for vertical filming!

Language Arts Project – Students will type out their Bad Road for Cats version 2.

If students have not yet finished their draft of their story, this should definitely be completed at home.

Science Project – Biome Brochure.  Students will have time in the computer lab to put together the brochure.  However if there is still research that needs to be done, at this point they should try to get some done at home.

so, tl;dr

Work on projects

Read!

Have a good one,

-Mr. Potter

PS: Dr. Elrod dropped by today and paid us a visit.  He also brought us cookies.  mmmmmmmm    cookies.

Thanks Dr. E!

Ah yes, Thursday, the day when everything seems to come crashing down, and the children and I suddenly realize we only have 1 more day left this week to get things done.

We spent a great deal of time today working on math.  Together we looked at the way we have been performing division using manipulatives, and the standard algorithm for long division.  We looked at each step and talked about what is happening and how it equates to what we have been doing with our play money.  We took copious amounts of notes on this, that will hopefully help us when it comes time for us to explain it in our math videos.

longdivisionnotes

Tonight students have one division problem to work out.  They should do this using the standard algorithm (but are more than welcome to work with their manipulatives as they do it), and they should explain at each step what is going on by labeling each number, and what they are doing.  As always, there is an example:

mathhomeworksep21

In between bouts of math, we also read a ton of The Mysterious Benedict Society today.  Things are getting super interesting.  The kids are spying, cheating, lying, and all sorts of secret-agent type stuff.  Trenton Lee Stewart (the author) does a great job of leaving each chapter on a cliff hanger, and I make sure that I always stop reading at the end of a chapter!

Tonight students should continue writing their stories.  Tomorrow I would expect the stories to be near completion as far as a rough draft goes.  Tomorrow we will be doing some peer editing, and revision.

Please also remember that tomorrow is quiz day, and we’ll have some final review quizzes on everything we’ve done so far this quarter.  Some students are still having some issues with food webs and transfer of energy, so I would recommend reviewing notes on those as well as the chapter in our science book.

so, tl;dr

Do this one problem using the standard algorithm, labeling each step with what each number represents, and what you’re doing.

longdivisionnotes

longdivisionhomeworksep22

Keep working on your rough draft of A Bad Road for Cats version 2. This should be close to done.

Review your food webs/ecosystem notes

And read!

Have a good one,

-Mr. Potter

I have a fairly important announcement to make.  Please see the bottom of the post for more information.

Today we were focused on our projects.  For the rest of this week and the beginning of next this will be the majority of our days.

In science we are continuing to research biomes.  I am constantly reminding students to use this time wisely to get as much information as possible read and written down in their own words.  The better their research is done, the easier the rest of the project will be.  We talked especially about how they will need to research specific animals to figure out who eats whom in their biome.  This will make it possible to create a food web.

We also finally got a chance to measure our plants today during a lull in the rain.  We had quite a bit of new growth and seeds that have sprouted.  Rain isn’t all bad!

In Writing we continued to work on our Bad Road for Cats version 2.  Today we shared our ideas with the class.  Many students have some REALLY neat ideas, and I’m looking forward to reading their stories.  Some students created characters that were non-human, and I like how they are adjusting their story to deal with that.

Tonight students should continue to do at least *some* writing.  I expect the rough draft to be multiple pages written.  Students should also write double spaced.  This is so we have space for a  good deal of revising.

Students should also finish their last two words of the vocab list tonight.

wordlistject

In math we continued to play the banker and boss game and talk about a standard way to divide something.  Tomorrow we will work together to come up with a standard algorithm for division.

Thank you so much to all of the parents that were able to do the math homework with the students last night.  Many students today were very happy to talk about doing their work with their parents.  I know it’s extra work to ask of you, but the kids really like sharing with you what they are learning in class.  Tonight I would like you to please attempt two more problems with your student.  I would also like for students to attempt to do the problem using long division, and think of parallels between the two.

mathhomeworksep21

so, tl;dr

Biome research at home if you would like.  You should have plenty of time to get this done at school, however

Get some writing started of your A Bad Road For Cats Version 2

Finish the vocab squares for this week’s list

wordlistject

Do some more banker boss and attempt the standard algorithm for long division.  Do you see what’s going on?

mathhomeworksep21

and read!

Have a good one,

-Mr. Potter

Announcement:  Unfortunately I will be transferring schools at the beginning of the second quarter.  I sent home a letter today addressing this.  Please read this letter, and if you have any questions or anything you would like to discuss, contact me.  I am attaching the letter here as well:

letterhome

Monday! I love Mondays!

Unfortunately, this Monday I have a meeting I have to go to, so this will be very quick.  My apologies!

In math we are working on the idea that when we are multiplying by fractions, we are actually doing quite a bit of dividing.  This is because fractions themselves are all about dividing.  Something like 1/3 x 9 asks us to take 1/3 of 9.  This means we have to DIVIDE 9 into 3 equal parts, and take one of them.

We are using this understanding to help us realize that multiplication and division are the inverse of each other, and we can really change any division problem into a multiplication problem, and any multiplication problem into a division problem.

Tonight students have 3 division….or was it multiplication? problems to do.  They should write out how each of these problems could be a division problem OR it could be a multiplication problem, and solve.  As always we have some examples!

divisionormultsep19

We also got a new vocabulary list with -ject words.

Tonight students should do vocab squares for the first 4 words:

wordlistject

This week we’ll take a really close look at A Bad Road for Cats.  We will start by addressing this prompt in our reader’s response journals:

The main character Magda in “A Bad Road for Cats” seems to change from the beginning of the story to the end.  Explain how she seems to have changed.  Use evidence from the text to support your explanation.

bad_road_for_cats_take_a_stand_14-15

So some division/multiplication problems, 4 vocab squares, a reader’s response, and a reading log.

That’s not too much I don’t think.

Sorry for the quick post today,

Have a good one,

-Mr. Potter

Jeez how is it already Thursday?

We had an extremely involved conversation this morning about how to prove that 6/8 is equal to .75

One of our problems this morning gave us two answers depending upon how we did it.  One came up 6/8 and the other came up .75

So we took our our play money and found 6/8 of 1.  We already know that .75 of 1 would be .75 of course, so if 6/8 of 1 was equal to .75, it would indeed be equivalent.

6/8 of 1 means we take our one and break it into 8 equal groups, and then we take 6 of those.  When we broke our one down into 8 equal groups, we found each group to be equal to .125

We then added that up 6 times, and we figured out that 6/8 is indeed equal to .75

Tonight students have a few more multiplication with fractions problems to do.  They should have many pages of examples at this point in their journals.

multfracsep15

In Language Arts we read a really neat story called A Bad Road for Cats.  This story is a good example of how a character can change throughout a story.  We had some great conversations about character traits and how we can use evidence from the text to help explain our thinking.  We managed to make a good chart using evidence from the text to describe Magda, the main character.

charactermagda

Tonight students should re-read this story, and fill in a story map detailing the story elements:

bad_road_for_cats_take_a_stand_14-15

StoryElements

In science we talked briefly about biomes and an upcoming project we have where we will build a travel brochure inviting people to visit a specific biome.  Tonight students have some reading in their science textbook to do, and some questions to answer.  They should read pages B60 – B84 in their science textbook.  Then on a separate piece of paper, they should answer questions 1-6 on page B86, and questions 16-21 on page B87.

so, tl;dr

Use your math manipulatives to do some fraction multiplication problems:

multfracsep15

Read story and fill out story map

bad_road_for_cats_take_a_stand_14-15

StoryElements

Read B60-B84 in science textbook.  Answer questions 1-6 on page B86 and questions 16-21 on page B87.

And read! I told students the science reading can count as part of their reading log tonight.

Have a good one,

-Mr. Potter