Multiplication notes

Multi digit multiplication....help for parents :)

I have taken several pictures of my notes to share and explain with you.  Your child should have the same notes in their notebooks in the min lesson section.  I know this is a very different way of multiplying.  The basic premise is just that you break down all the numbers into ones, tens, and hundreds.  They are learning the process behind what you really do when you multiply (using the "shortcut" method.

Here are the different methods that get progressively more difficult as the numbers get larger:

Behavior management system

Here is a visual of what we mean when clips are moved up or down.  Each chld begins the day ready to learn and has the opportunity to stay there, move up, or move down based on their behavior.

These are the slips that go home when clips are moved up (neon) or down(white)

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When a student moves their clip down, they will have to bring home a slip and get it signed that night. If it doesn't get brought back signed, they will move their clip down for the day.

If a child moves their clip down 3 times in one week, they will be sent to the office to do their work during part of the day.

Conferences and report cards

    Thank you to those of you that have touched base to set up appointments for conferences.  I understand that many of you have plans during that first week of track out, I do have some slots open next week before and after school.  I would like to meet with as many of you as possible over the next few weeks so we can discuss your child before I go out on leave.  As that time gets closer I will have more information to share.

    Also, remember that report cards will not be going home until October 4th and there will no longer be 3*s used i report cards.

Week 7 August 19-23

Greetings family and friends! It is hard to believe we are nearing the close of the first quarter! We had a very busy week-especially in math as we learned different strategies to multiply larger numbers.

I have one big announcement, report cards will not be going home on our track out day, September 10.  They will be going home when we track back in, the week of September 30th.  Wake county has transitioned to a new computer based grading system....

In math this week we leaned various methods of multiplying one by two digits and one by three digits. I know that these methods are VERY different than how we were taught but it really does help the grasp the concept of what we are really doing when we get to "the shortcut method".  The various strategies are basically deconstructing the problem into smaller, easier place value problems.  Here are some examples:

All the problems shown have the initial problem written down.  The first step is breaking down the larger number into ones, tens, and then hundreds.  Each of those numbers then gets multiplied by the remaining number.  So rather than 324x6, you solve (300x6) + (20x6) +(4x6).  The methods all vary after this step, but this is the main step I want the class to understand.  Then when they look at the "normal way" we were taught, they will understand when they multiply the 4x6, it is the ones place, that 2x6 really is 20x6, and the 3x6 is 300x6.  Throughout most of the week, the class understood the various methods we were working on, but some had trouble on Friday when we got into the shortcut method.

We also take notes each day on the different methods and i have been encouraging students totals home their notebooks to help them out.  Pus we do go over homework each day and answer questions the class may have had.

In reading this week we focused on character traits and adjectives. We discussed ow the two are related, searched for them in our reading, and added them to our writing.  

We read the book No David!  And used it as a jumping off point for describing character traits.

The class came up with some great traits that described David.  We also noticed that all the traits we shared were not traits that you could look at someone and know.  You had to really listen and watch the character in order to learn their character traits.

In writing we wrapped up our first narrative.  We looked at how to revise and how to edit our own papers.  They were then turned in and we had one on one conferences to share ideas and suggestions.  Then students worked on their final copies.

This coming week we will have our writer in residence, Tony Peacock, spend the week with our class teaching more about details and descriptions.  He is an amazing writer and teacher, we are very lucky to have him and you will be pleasantly surprised how he inspires the class to write!

We just started in with Social Studies and are learning about the effects the Europeans had on the early American Indians.  We are learning about background and will be jumping into a project in the lost colony of Roanoke.

I will, be holding conferences on September 11-12, so please either send in a note on your child's planner, or email me the best times for you and we can get those set up.

Have a great weekend!

Week 6 August 12-16

*reminder that Friday is early release! Students will begin dismissing at 1:15*

In math this week we continued learning about factors, multiples, products, prime numbers, and composites.  Thursday we took a quiz. Friday we began exploring different models of multiplication.  We will be moving into multiplying with larger numbers, so our exploratory lesson allowed the class to manipulate base ten pieces and break down problems into tens and ones. (Why we have spent so much time working on place value-we will be using this method to help understand multiplying with larger numbers.)

Here we looked at 15x4 and modeled it as 4 groups of 15

Which can then be broken into 4 tens and 4 groups of 5 ones

Here is how we write the different problems using "shorthand"

Here is another form showing the transition from the algorithm to base ten shorthand, then broken down into tens and ones.  The box in the upper right is what we will be working towards which is similar to making arrays.

In reading we spent the week learning about theme. We looked at Aesop's fables, some short stories, and reviewed some books we read earlier in the quarter. Students worked on identifying the theme on their own as they read independently.

In writing we continued working on drafting our pieces and worked on word study.  Through the next few weeks we will be learning different activities within word study and continue working with homophones. We will wrap up the quarter with an imaginative prompt.

In science we wrapped up our unit on earth materials and spent a few days learning about the rock cycle. This week we will begin SS, which will also be integrated into reading and writing.

Conferences! I will be holding conferences during track out.  Available openings will be September 11-12 from 9:30-3:30. If you need earlier or later conferences, let me know.

Open house PowerPoint reformatted

I have been unsuccessful in my attempts of uploading the PowerPoint from open house.  Here are pictures of the slides we talked about and went over.  Sorry for the delay, I hope this information helps.

Week 5 August 5-9

This past week in reading we studied point of view. We read 2 versions of the three little pigs told from the wolf's point of view and the traditional version from the pigs' viewpoint.  The traditional version is third person omniscient and the "alternative" version is in first person.  We had some great conversations about the similarities and differences between the two books.  We also worked on using context clues to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words.

Next week we will be studying theme.

We wrapped up the mineral piece of our investigation and the students spent most of the week working on their birthstone projects. They identified their birthstones, found pictures, discovered where they are found, physical properties, and interesting facts. The projects will all be displayed in the halls when they are completed. ( and pictures taken of course...)

Next week we will begin learning about the rock cycle.

In math we continued working on word problems, regrouping, and place value.  After we took our assessment earlier in the week, we began some early studies of multiplication.  We did some more place value break downs to help us when we get into larger multiplication. We worked with factors and began investigating prime and composite numbers.  We will continue this investigation through next week and will move into multiplication.

Starting this week there will be a heavy emphasis on multiplication skills, so if your child has not mastered basic fats, please work with them. We will have another mighty multiplier quiz this week too.

In writing we wrapped up our graphic organizers and began using them to draft the first copy of our narratives.  We will g through the writing process this week and hopefully publish by the end of the week.  The next piece will be an unassisted prompt. 

Specials for the week are:

Media

Computer

Art

PE

Music

Daily schedule

8:45-9:25 morning work and announcements 

9:30-11:00 math

11:05-11:45 specials

11:50-12:30 science/social studies

12:35-1:05 lunch 

1:10-2:50 language arts (reading and writing)

2:50-3:20 recess

3:20-3:40 read aloud/ pack up/ catch up/ dismissal

Week 4 July 29-August 2

What a great week we had! The kids are getting into the swing of things and I can see the light bulbs going off in their heads. We had a great turn out at Open house, i am still working on figuring out how to upload it, if I can't get it today, i will just cut and paste the slides.

Interims will be going home to everyone this week along with some mclass data (reading information done the first few weeks of school, along with strategies to practice at home).

This past week in math we did some more practice with subtraction and regrouping larger numbers (and across zeroes).  We spent a lot of time breaking down word problems to figure out what the problem is asking for.  We made comparison bar drawings and break apart models. We also worked on situation equations (writing an equation just based on the question) and solution equations (writing an equation to actually solve the problem).

We also took a quick quiz on regrouping with addition and subtraction. This week we will be reviewing and having an assessment on Wednesday, then we will begin learning about prime and composite numbers along with factors.

In science we continue working on learning more about minerals. This week we will be doing a gemstone project in science and language arts.  Then we will move into the rock cycle.

In reading we started digging deeper into what characters say and do in order to make predictions about what may happen next.  We then compared and contrasted characters.  We also focused on making mental images and visualizing scenes in books.  We are digging deeper into different stories to learn more about our characters to help gain a deeper understanding of why they do what they do.

In writing we worked on planning out our first piece.  We talked about the "wow" moment of our story and discussed how to grab the reader's attention at the very beginning and hook them to keep them interested. This week we will work on conclusions and begin drafting.

Picture day is Thursday!

Specials for the week:

Monday-none

Tuesday-computer

Wednesday-art

Thursday-PE

Friday-music