Summer Math Camp!

  This week we had summer Math Camp here at the Cottage.  We were so excited to incorporate math into our everyday by designing lessons that created opportunities for real-life problem solving and skill practice.

We began each day with a problem to solve....we learned about different strategies to solve the problem, including acting it out!  We worked with money, time, quick combinations of 10 and 20, probability, fractions, and operations.  Technology was a big part of our learning this week as well.  So many math apps, so little time!

We also explored numbers using the game "Shut the Box".   We loved this game and discovering all the number combinations we could use to beat it!   : o )

The week finished up with a trip to the splash pad to test our knowledge of predictions and probability, along with some Hopscotch math to test our knowledge of operations with numbers.

We had a blast, and I can't wait for our next Cottage Learning Camp! : o )

Technology & Math

A HUGE thank you to Mr.Kerr and his brother for coming in on Friday and letting us play with the interactive Kinect technology they have developed for kids! Our day of technology math stations was a blast!

Mia's Math Voki

Can you solve the problem?

Lillie's Math Voki

Can you solve the problem?

Alina's Math Voki in German

Monika's Math Voki in Hungarian

Math Voki

Here is a math Voki by Drew, Hunter & Grant!

Math Glog

Go HERE to look at a math glog by Jasmine and Katherine!

Math Voki by Monika, Laasya and Alessia

Getting Mathy with Technology!

Tomorrow we will have a special guest parent visiting our room with some very special technology!  I told our class that if they have an iphone, ipad, or itouch with a math app already installed on it that they may bring it tomorrow to use during our math and technology stations.  I will be sure to photograph and flip video the event to post on our blog  : o )

Can Your Child Do This?

As the kids get ready to take the reading and math benchmark tests, it is important to think about the concepts that are covered on those tests as well as the STAAR.  Here are the skills that your child should know and be able to do in order to be successful on the tests. 

As a reader..

• Confidently read both fiction and nonfiction texts independently with accuracy and in a reasonable amount of time
• Understand what they read and use various strategies to help make sense of what they are reading if they get confused
• Be able to summarize what they have read by naming the character, problem and resolution of a fiction selection and naming the concepts in the beginning, middle and end of a nonfiction selection
• Identify the main idea of what they are reading as well as point out supporting details
• Discuss the problem in the story and how it was solved by using examples from the text
• Discuss the main character in a story by using words to describe external and internal characteristics as well as what motivates the character using text examples for support
• Identify the author’s purpose in writing, whether it is to persuade, to inform or to entertain
• Compare the characters or text as a whole to other resources and explain thinking
• Discuss and critique some of the author’s choices in writing and use text examples to support thinking
• Use higher level thinking skills, such as making connections, making comparisons, questioning and inferring to understand and respond to a text

As a mathematician..

• Show their thinking on paper and be able to explain their thinking orally
• Successfully use and apply various strategies in a problem solving situation, including drawing a picture, making a chart or table, looking for a pattern, working backwards, or writing a number sentence
• Recognize and apply specific math vocabulary, such as vertex, factors, product, sum, and difference
• Be able to use place value to describe and discuss a number by identifying the place of a digit, the value of a digit, or naming the number in expanded form
• Be able to round numbers that are six digits or less to the tens or hundreds place
• Confidently add and subtract up to three digit numbers using a strategy of their choice, including using a numberline, place value, or the cross number puzzle
• Create a concrete model such as an array or intersections for multiplication situations and a number sentence to
• Recognize division situations such as sharing a small group of items equally and generate a number sentence with an answer
• Recognize addition and subtraction situations and use an effective strategy to generate a number sentence and an answer
• Compare numbers and identify which number is greater or less using place value to assist
• Identify the area and perimeter of a given shape
• Name a fraction to describe parts of a group (ex: 1 out of 4 crayons are red), name fractions that describe equal parts, and identify equivalent fractions
• Create and interpret (answer questions and generate conclusions and observations) data presented in bar graphs, pictographs, and charts or tables
• Recognize patterns in numbers and be able to name and extend the pattern
• Identify an event as certain, impossible, or likely
• Use a ruler to measure the length and height of an item in inches or centimeters
• Identify polygons and various shapes as well as name their characteristics (faces, vertices, etc)
• Determine whether shapes are congruent
• Identify whether a given set of lines are parallel and tell what makes lines parallel

To reinforce learning at home, your child should…

• Read at least 20 minutes or more each night in a book that is at their independent reading level and log time at www.readingrewards.com.
• Complete and turn in all homework assignments weekly including reading passage practice and math problem solving.
• Spend time on Study Island (www.studyisland.com) to practice math problems in a multiple choice format.

*Created by Mrs.Hamilton

Working with Bayside Student Math Tutors!

What we did out in the hallway this morning with the middle school kids is we played Yahtzee.  It is a very fun math game that we would give 5 stars .What we would do is would roll dice and try to get as many of a number as you can .Then we would record what we got on a sheet of paper it looked confusing to us but when we kept on recording it got easier and easier !

Henry's Freedom Box

  This week we read the story of Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine.  The students were fascinated by this true story so we went further with our curiousity and looked up the dimensions of the box and then "built" it.  (What a great way to introduce our math unit on area and perimeter : o )  Be sure to ask your child what they know about the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman aka "Minty" and Henry "Box" Brown!

Math Problem Writing/Problem Solving

Today we looked at an open ended problem, then we designed our own math problems. Once we were sure we had what someone needed to solve the problem, we went to Mrs.Barnes' room in 2nd grade to let them try and solve the problems. The 2nd graders were so smart in their problem solving abilities! So mathy!

Human Bar Graph

Today we learned about bar graphs by collecting data on our favorite web 2.0 apps.  Then we took our data and made a bar graph using...ourselves!  Thanks to our quadblogging friends in the UK for this great idea!

Equivalent Fractions

On Friday we went into the science lab to do a little cooking and a "whole" lot of learning about equivalent fractions!  Take a look!

The results were yummy!

Study Island

As we begin the spring semester I want to bring a great resource to your attention. Study Island (http://www.studyisland.com/) is a terrific tool to help practice math skills in a multiple choice format that will come up on tests and other assessments.

Students log in and answer questions and choose an online game to play as a reward when questions are answered correctly. The website has the capability to determine when students are guessing and will prompt them to try other strategies. It also can assign additional problems in areas that students might need practice in.

Each student has their own login to the Study Island website as well as Think Math and Fast Math. I am stapling their information into their Longhorn folder.  Be sure to visit the websites for practice, practice, practice!

5th grade student teachers

This week we had so much fun when Mrs.Rodriguez's fifth graders came down to give lessons on division.  They were so creative in their instruction with lots of hands on activities and even one lesson put to music with movement!

We can't wait to have them back : o )