Science Project - Famous Structures

On Tuesday, I sent home an outline for our science project, in which students are to research a famous structure from around the world and prepare an oral presentation. If you have not yet seen this project, it should be in your child's bag, and is also outlined here:

Science Project - Famous Structures

The majority of the mark for students will be based on the oral presentation, which should show how much they actually know about their structure. Please note that the due date on the form is Tuesday, February 25th. Since the school will be closed next Tuesday due to strike action, the project will be due Wednesday the 26th instead. We will be talking about how to do an oral presentation effectively on Monday to review the concepts. It is important that children practice their presentation at home so they are prepared when it is their turn. 

Please sign and return the oral presentation rubric after you have reviewed it. If you have any questions about the project, please feel free to contact me. Thank you!

Multiplying in Parts

This week we have been learning how to multiply unfamiliar facts or larger numbers by breaking down the factors into parts which we know how to multiply. Sounds confusing right? Not the way I learned how to multiply! Well, it turns out it is pretty easy.

When we break down factors (the numbers we are multiplying together) into smaller amounts, and then add the products, it can be easier to multiply. This is essentially the same as what we are doing when we use the traditional method of multiplication, which is why we teach this to students first. It helps students to understand there is more than one way to multiply.

Here is an example. I want to multiply 7 x 5. I haven't learned my 7 times tables yet, but I know a few "tricks" to help me multiply. I have learned the zero trick, the ones, trick, the tens and the elevens. I also know that counting by 5's and 2's is really easy. That takes care of a number of basic facts. So, I can think to myself, "What can I break 7 down into so that it is easy for me to multiply?".

The best, or easiest solution would be to break down the 7 into a 5 and a 2. So, I would multiply 5 x 5, and then 2 x 5, and add the answers together. 5 x 5 = 25 and 2 x 5 = 10, so my answer would be 25 + 10 = 35. Yes, a roundabout way to do it, and certainly not as efficient as memorizing your basic facts, but a helpful strategy when we are stuck.

This is especially helpful as we get into larger numbers. For example, if I want to find 23 x 4, then I can break these down into 10 x 4 and 10 x 4 and 3 x 4, which is 40 + 40 +12, or 92. We can break numbers into as many smaller amounts as we wish.

The problem many students face when doing this type of strategy is determining the easiest and most efficient way to break down the numbers. I try to remind them to break the numbers down in to the ones that they know multiplication facts for. So if they do not know 3 x 4, then finding another way may be better for them. For example, they may break it down into 3 x 2 and 3 x 2.

Here is a link from MathUp, that may help explain this better than I can!

Multiplying in Parts

Valentine's Day Celebration

On Thursday, February 13th, our class will have a small Valentine's celebration in our classroom. Students can bring a valentine for classmates if they wish, but of course this is completely optional. If you choose to bring a valentine, I would ask that you provide enough valentine's for each child in our class. We have 21 students. To make it easy, students can just write "From (name)" on their cards. Alternatively, try using our class photo to ensure you have all the students. There were 3 students away for our class photo.

I will provide treats for the class for the celebration, to ensure that all items are safe for students in our class. If you wish to send a small gift, please consider a pencil or sticker rather than a food item, as we have a few students in our class with severe food allergies.

I hope everyone has a Happy Valentine's Day and I thank you for your continued support. If you have any questions, please feel free to write a note in your child's agenda. Thank you!

Learning About Multiplication & Division

In math recently we have been studying multiplication and division. We have been trying to learn our basic facts all year, through listening to Mr. Demaio's songs on Youtube, or by learning the "tricks" to help us remember our basic facts.

Although learning the basic facts is very important, it is also extremely important for students to understand what multiplication and division actually mean - i.e. adding or subtracting equal groups/amounts repeatedly.

In our program, we begin learning about multiplication as adding equal groups. We practice drawing both equal groups of objects as well as arrays to represent multiplication equations. Our first lesson is summarized in this link:

Multiplication lesson 1

Our next lesson focused on using number lines to demonstrate repeated addition. Students were urged to recognize that the "hops" on the number line had to be equal in size, and we had to count the number of hops to find our solution. Here is a summary of the lesson:

Multiplication lesson 2

After these two lessons, we began learning about division. This was actually a little easier for students to understand because they had developed a good understanding of equal groups from the multiplication lessons. We try to emphasize that in division, we are beginning with a large group and then sharing those items among groups equally. We also introduced the idea of remainder as the amount "left over" if we can't make another equal group. Here is the summary for our first division lesson:

Division Lesson 1

Finally, we looked at division from the perspective of sharing out equal amounts, so we could determine how many groups we would end up with. This is the reciprocal property of multiplication and division - the order doesn't matter. For example, I can multiply 3 x 4 = 12 OR 4 x 3 = 12. Also, I can divide 12 / 3 = 4 OR 12 / 4 = 3. Here is the summary of the lesson:

Division Lesson 2