We come to the end of another week and with the math common assessment completely behind us, we returned to a normal schedule. In math we are still in the fractions unit and today we learned about multiplying a fraction by a whole number. For example: 1/2 x 5. What is really means is, "What is one half of five?" To do this, you first make the five into a fraction by putting a one under it like this: 5/1. Because, the fraction bar really means divide so 5 divided by one is five. Once that is in place, you multiply the numerators and the denominators. 1 x 5 = 5; 2 x 1 = 2 to get the improper fraction of 5/2. Convert it to a mixed number to get 1 1/2 and since it cannot be reduced, that is the product. ![]()
In science, we did a fun activity similar to Wednesday's demonstration. This time, instead of pressing a sea shell into Play-Doh to make a "fossil" imprint into "rock" and then pouring melted scented wax, we used edibles - my favorite! Students were each given a piece of biscuit dough, one Swedish Fish or gummy worm, a plate, and a toothpick. Long before that, I had over a pound of candy melt disks all melted to a gooey consistency. The task: place the dough onto the plate and press the candy into the dough deep enough to make an impression and hold it down for a minute or so to let it set. After that, they used their toothpicks to carefully pry out the candy and eventually eat them. After all, a fossil is just an imprint of an organism that is long gone. Then, I called students up one row at a time to carefully pour the melted chocolate into their imprints. The next step is to set it aside for about 10 minutes to let it cool and harden. Once that has happened, pick up the dough and gently pop out the cast. Place it next to the candy to compare and then the best part: eat them! One student inadvertently gave me a great idea for next year: cookie dough instead of biscuit dough! I am definitely going to try it this weekend! Lastly, the weekly parent email has been sent out as well as the homework.
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August 2017
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