Monday, September 26, 2016

This is the week that culminates in Friday's Fun Run.  Therefore, Friday's schedule will be quite different to accommodate the Fun Run.  The 4th and 5th grades will do the Fun Run from 9:30 to 10:30.  My class will go to lunch from 11:10-11:35.  I'm not sure when (or if) we will do recess at this point but we will figure it out.  I do know that special classes will not be meeting so the special area schedule will be revised and posted in this week's parent email.

In literacy, we are still in the higher level thinking skills but are moving towards inferences.  An inference means to "read between the lines" and draw conclusions based on a limited amount of information.  

Here is an example:  Your friend walks past you without smiling. Her head is hanging down. She wipes a tear away from her eye, and looks at her report card. You can infer that your friend did not have good grades on her report card.

We also continued with Caesar's English lesson two and will introduce the next set of roots and words tomorrow.  

In math, we did two things:  factor pairs and two-digit by two-digit multiplication using the standard algorithm.  That is a fancy term for using the traditional way of multiplying vertically, the way countless millions were taught over many years.  I will be teaching them two other methods that are optional to use once this is mastered.

We did something a little difference in the presentation.  I gave each student a pair of the old-fashioned 3D (red and cyan) glasses and presented the math with a virtual reality background.  It is a special background that causes any text or image to have the illusion of floating when wearing the 3D glasses.  Here is a sample of it:

I also distributed to each student a copy of the traditional algorithm template.  This is inserted into a sheet protector or cover of a binder and a dry-erase marker is used.  I have a downloadable copy here.

One thing of importance:  it is crucial that all of my students know their multiplication facts up to the 9's.  Traditionally students memorized them up to the 12's and while that is helpful, all one really needs are the 2's - 9's.  

In science we did a review reading activity.  Tomorrow will be the start of three consecutive days of experiments involving electricity and magnetism.