NWEA Today

NWEA Testing for Math.  Remember to complete the "Money Trick Paragraph" for tomorrow.

Notes on Exponents/Powers

Today was a busy day in math class. We had two 90-minute blocks in order to accommodate the necessary time for the NWEA Reading Test. Tomorrow students will again have two 90-minute blocks to accommodate the time for the NWEA Math Test; one 90-minute block will be for Writing Workshop.

First we finished the Money Trick activity and tonight's homework assignment is as follows:

      In your MTN, answer the following question: "How is this money trick activity similar to the process we call order of operation?"  Students MUST explain in a complete paragraph (5+) sentences.

Second, Ms. Doiron explained a new activity: "Problem of the Week" which students are not required, but it is suggested to tackle these challenging, but fun problems. Responses are due Friday, and "puzzle solvers" will have their name posted on the team white board on Monday. This is not a graded activity, but anything that one does in order to gain more skills with manipulating and making connections with number relationships only benefits his/her math sense.  Please encourage you child to try them out.

Third, notes were given for exponents/powers.  I've posted three sets of notes from notes taken in class. Credit has been given to the students in the captions beneath the photos. Thanks to Amber, Alexa, and Ariana to their contributions.

Amber's Notes

Ariana's Notes

Alexa's Notes

And a copy of my personal notes:

Mrs. Warren's Notes

Fourth, we watched a TED Talk video, "The Science Behind Body Language" and students took notes in their ISN's for testable questions, experiment summary, and conclusions. Please refer to Ms. Doiron's Blog for more detail.

Computing with Positive/Negative Integers

Here are the notes from page 24; Kim's problem:

 









Here is a sample of what your Table of Contents should look like. (The circles are for you to keep track and number your own MTN's page number since most people are on different pages.):

Here is a copy of the Money Trick example that Ms. Doiron and I conducted in class today:

Prime & What is an Integer?

Wednesday, 9/24/14

Today, we went over Mailbox number possibilities and the total number of possibilities (60). Ask (parents) or show (students) how this works out.  Also, we reviewed prime and relatively prime numbers. After struggling to make a series of numbers work, the students of the Betula group gave themselves a round of applause for finally solving the problem. It was a great example of perseverance. Tonight's homework is found in the MTN at the bottom of page 24. Answer the question and give at least one example for which Kim could see on the paper. 

Notes on integer:

 Tomorrow, after we review the homework assignment and have a "quick" review, we will take part in an interactive activity involving money serial numbers which will lead to making connections with order of operations. 

Test 1 Prep & Mailbox

Making connections with numbers is the foundation to math. Though I was anxious to having our first math assessment on 9/25, after some reflection I decided that to assure the students understand the concepts, Test 1 will take place on Thurs., 10/2. MTN's will also be collected on that date.

We spent most of class reviewing procedures for absences, checking the BLOG on a nightly basis to review the day's lesson, and what to do when homework is not complete. We also reviewed one homework assignment. 

Number Relationships #2

Students are really making connections with number relationships. We completed page 23 and and some on page 24 in our MTN. We also had a quick lesson with creating a 3-digit number and only two requirements. Tonight's homework deals with creating a 5-digit number and four requirements. (See the copy below. See me if you were absent for a cut-to-size copy for your MTN.) A photo of an updated TOC is also below. MANY students did not finish the homework assigned given on Wednesday, 9/17. Finish tonight or SEE ME BEFORE advisory on Tuesday, 9/23 for help!

We will be having our first assessment this coming Thursday, and MTN's will be collected after the test for a notebook check.

Click on the link to bring you to the Mailbox Homework Assignment.

 

 

  

 

Page 24 Sample

Page 23 Sample

Number Relationships #1

Today, we began our investigations into "Numbers and Operations." The first task was the following prompt:

                        Question: How is each number below different from each of the others?

                                81  √81  36  14

Check MTN for work, discussion and results. All were in agreement that the first three numbers have "9" as a factor. The number "14" is the "odd man/number" out in this series.

HOMEWORK: Due on Monday, 9/22:  Write two sets with 4 numbers in each set to compare as in the above problem. Use different numbers. Investigate with different symbols such as square root, powers of 2 or 3, fractions, percents, or decimals, etc. This will be a PRACTICE Grade.

The Betula Group was able to move on to the following prompt:

                 Question: The students in Mr. Mila’s class want to know how old he is. Mr. Mila told them, “My age can be written as the sum of consecutive odd numbers starting from one.” How old might Mr. Mila be?

We did not have time to complete, but will do so on Monday.

Our two day trip is tomorrow and Friday.  The next BLOG entry will be on Mon., 9/22. Have a great weekend.

PS - Experimentation & Logical Deduction

Here are the notes to copy on page 14 in your MTN:

 Title:           "Experimentation"
     Examples:
       1. How long does it take to walk to school?
       2. How many heads if you flip a coin 50 times?
       3. A penny will hold how many drops of water?
       4. What is the percentage of each color in a snack size bag of M & M’s?

We then completed the problem on page 15. If you were absent from today, please see me for a copy and discussion upon your return to school.

In addition we completed the plan "Logical Deduction."  Again, if you were absent from today, please see me for a copy and discussion upon your return to school.

Check to be sure that your TOC is up to date.

PS - Guess/Check & Organized List

Check to make sure that your TOC is up to date. (See photo and click onto the image to enlarge.)

Today, we reviewed the solutions to Guess & Check homework from Thursday.This was recorded as a "Practice" grade. (If you were absent, please see me.) As discussed in class, there were two possible solutions:
~ 6;6;6 represents 3 cards and = to $18.00
~ 5;6;7 represents 3 cards and = to $18.00


We took notes for "Organized List" on page 12 and taped a problem on page 13. If absent, please see me.

PS - Working Backward

Two additional Problem Solving Plan options were presented today. The first option is titled, "Working Backward." The two problems that were given reinforced the concept that to solve these types of problems, one must literally begin at the end, and perform the opposite operations to end at the beginning. Sounds strange, but it works. Then the students were challenged to write their own algebraic expression that could be used to solve the problem from the start.

The second option is titled, "Guess and Check." This is not just random guesses, but rather educated estimations with parameters and then checking against the desired outcome. There is a brief homework assignment due Monday, 9/15/14.
Parents: Ask your child to show you his/her MTN (Math Thinking Notebook).

Students: Show your MTN with Table of Contents and class notes.
Soon, we will move from problem solving options to work on some challenging problem situations and then delve into "Numbers and Operations" and "Functions and Algebra." 

Meet the Team Night

Today's blog is for our "Meet the Team Night;" a brief demonstration for one type of homework assignment later this fall.

In order to better prepare students for upcoming concepts or to review concepts, watching a video and taking notes will be a homework assignment on some nights during the year. The media sometimes refers to this as "flipped classroom," and naturally there are a variety of ways in which this can be utilized or delivered. Prior to assigning this as a homework assignment, I will be teaching students HOW to take notes from a video for math. Thus, I expect that sometime around the middle of October, this will be assigned.

This is a SAMPLE clip that could be used:

Watch this short clip on Order of Operations. Take notes, as we have discussed in class and be prepared to share your notes tomorrow. Watch the clip as many times necessary in order to understand the ideas. CLICK ON THIS SHADE TEXT TO CONNECT WITH THE LINK. 

PS - Patterns

Much discussion went into the "how" to figure out the patterns. The answers and patterns are as follows:

1. 9, 11,13.       (odd #'s in sequence)
2. 9, 3.           (divide by 3)
3. 8,192; 65,536.  (multiply 8)
4. 13, 11.         (+3; -2)
5. 21, 34, 55, 89  (Fibonacci Sequence; add the 2 previous        numbers to acquire the next number in the sequence)

At this point of the year, much class time is spent on the processes and referring to the "Problem Solving Strategies." I also shared some information about the mathematician Fibonacci. He was born around 1175 and died around 1250. He is also credited for bringing the Hindu-Arabic number system (using digits 0-9) and replacing the use of the Roman system during the 12th century. The Fibonacci Sequence creates a spiral design and influences or is visible in nature, art, architecture, poetry, music, science and technology.

On Thursday, the next problem solving plans will be Working Backwards, and Guess & Check.  We will also look for ways to solving the problem with easier steps (i.e. algebraic expressions). 

Problems Solving Strategies & Plans

Today we set up our MTN with the Table of Contents, reviewed the "Problem Solving Strategies" by George Polya, and began with our first Plan Option: Recognizing PATTERNS. 

Homework for tonight: Finish page 6, number series in MTN (see below):

Patterns:
1. 1, 3, 5, 7, ___, ___, ___.
2. 243, 81, 27, ___, ___.
3. 2, 16, 128, 1024, ___, ___.
4. 8, 11, 9, 12, 10, ___, ___.
5. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, ___, ___, ___, ___.