Math

Happy Monday! 9/19/2016
We have started the year on a roll in math! The first couple of weeks we discussed the importance of many math mindset concepts. Here are a few!

-Fast math isn't the best math. What is important is to think about math deeply.
-Mistakes make our brains grow!
-It's important to believe in yourself!
-No one is born a "math person" or not born a "math person"... Anyone can be a math person!

In 5th grade: 

We have started to dig deep into the concept of Volume! Students have explored measuring different volumes and making predictions about which shapes have larger volumes and why. Here are a few pictures of your students measuring volume with centimeter cubes. 


















In 6th grade:
We have started the year analyzing data! This is one of my favorite units! Students have learned to create dot plots, find data landmarks such as mean, median, mode, and range. There are so many jobs in the world that require people to read graphs, charts, and data. Students have also read persuasive graphs and identified why they are persuasive. 

Here are a few pictures of students creating dot plots and analyzing the mystery dot plots that they created. 






















Hi Everyone! Welcome to the 5th and 6th Grade Math Blog Page!
Thank you for subscribing to our blog! Here you will find information about the 5th and 6th grade math classes.

Students will receive homework most nights. Their homework assignments will be written down in their assignment journals daily. If you have any questions about that please feel free to contact me!

I am available for tutoring and homework help Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays from 7:30am-8:00am. I am also available during recess. Mrs. McGowan is available Wednesday morning for tutoring as well. 

6th graders will be receiving letter grades this year! Their tests scores will be averaged along with their homeworks which will make up the bulk on their overall letter grade for each trimester. ***Important*** If a 6th grader does not pass their math test (they must receive a 70% or higher to pass) they have to schedule two tutoring sessions to then retake their test. They may retake a test as many times as they want. 



























May 16th, 2016
6th grade had a great time at Hulbert last week!! 
5th grade started an immigration unit in Social Studies. Mrs. McGowan was able to lead a lesson on reading and graphing data for this immigration unit. 
Students will learn a new way to divide fractions this week!

May 9th, 2016
My apologies for not updating my blog every week. It's such a busy time of year! Please always feel free to reach out and contact me to discuss what your student has been doing in math class! I know when I was in 5th and 6th grade my Mom would pick me up from the bus and say "What did you learn today hunny" as if she thought my answer would change. I would always say "nothing Mom." As a teacher, I try hard to make sure your wonderful children have something to share when they see you after school.. they may just need a little prodding!!

It's going to be a busy busy week! So here is what has been happening in our math classes.... In 5th grade we have started unit 7 which begins with learning ways to multiply mixed numbers. So far students have learned to area model and the improper fraction method. We will soon move on to using common denominators to divide fractions. Then we will transition from fractions to a little geometry by focusing on classifying shapes in a hierarchy. On Wednesday the 5th graders will start an Immigration unit with Mrs. McGowan while I am at Hulbert with the 6th graders. Make sure to ask your student about this unit, it's a fun one!

6th grade has learned a lot about excel and spreadsheets. They have explored formulas for solving trial and error problems and started to become experts at creating their own spreadsheets. We reviewed unit rates using real-life scenarios. When we return from Hulbert we will dive into equations, tables, and graphs. (Can't wait for Hulbert!!!!)


March 29th, 2016

5th grade students took their unit 5 assessment and many did very well. Our new unit has started off with multiplying and dividing decimals by powers of 10. Students learned a fun new game called Exponent Ball. I am always happy to send students home with copies of games to play at home! In unit 6 we will investigate measurements with decimals using multiplication and division!

6th grade has started a new unit on algebra! They have learned several ways to solve for variables in a given equation. They have learned the Trial and Error method, the Bar Model and the my favorite the Pan-Balance model. 


















March 20th, 2016

We celebrated Pi day and it was a blast!! 5th and 6th graders learned what Pi is and how to calculate it! Make sure to ask you students how they can find Pi!! We also ate a lot of delicious PIE!

6th graders have just finished a unit on geometry. In that unit we covered how to find the area of parallelograms, triangles, as well as complex polygons. We also reviewed how to find volume using two formulas. Students built different types of pyramids and prisms and then discussed the different characteristics that they observed. Ask your 6th grader what the difference is between a pyramid and a prism! Friday students took their unit 5 tests. As a reminder they must get their tests signed by an adult at home and they must make corrections to their test. Students always have the opportunity to retake a test no matter what their grade is!

5th grade has continued learning more about fractions! In this unit they have learned how to add and subtract fractions as well as mixed numbers. We continued to practice fraction-of problems and learned that "of" in math means to multiply. Students learned that when they were doing fraction-of problems they were really multiplying fractions! 
We have finished our 5th unit so we will be taking a unit test this week and starting unit 6 soon!

Math pictures to come (when I find my camera cord.. oops!)

January 20th, 2016

5th grade students have just reviewed the place value system with decimals. They have learned place value to the thousandths place. Students have compared and rounded decimals. We have now moved onto working with coordinate grids. Students have shown a lot of excitement about plotting and located points on a coordinate grid! We will continue to work with coordinate grids!

6th grade students have recently learned how to convert decimals and fractions to percents! They took their unit 3 assessment and though many did very well, some students decided that their scores just weren't good enough and wanted to retake for a better grade! Students can ALWAYS retake their tests to get a better grade. They can retake as many times as they would like!
We have begun unit 4 which is all about algebraic expressions. Ask your student what an expression  in math is! 

6th Grade students struggling to solve a Tangram!




                   5th grade students playing a rounding decimal game!















December 14th, 2015

It's been busy, busy, busy in all math classes!!!
5th grade is more than half way through unit 3. This unit has been all about fractions. Students have used fraction circle drawings to model fair-share number stories. They have learned how to divide whole numbers to find a fraction as their answer. For example, 3 divided by 5 is 3 fifths. Students have learned how to use benchmarks to estimate answers to fraction addition and subtraction problems with both common and uncommon denominators. Tuesday we will be learning a new method for finding equivalent fractions. Ask your students about this new method!!
We will be preparing for the Unit 3 assessment soon.
             As a reminder, we spend a whole class the day before a test to study what we have learned so far in the unit. However, students are assigned homework the night before the test to "study." We review ways students can study at home. Please support your student during this time!! Study with someone else is usually more helpful than alone!

6th grade has started unit 3 which is all about decimals and percent’s. Students have spent a few days reviewing how to add, subtract, and multiply decimals. Students were also taught how to divide using the traditional method most parents know how to use! Ask you student to show you how to divide using long division. We will continue to build upon this new method by learning how to divide decimals as well!

As a friendly reminder, all students have the opportunity to retake any test or get a higher grade on any homework. Every student has the opportunity to get 100%!!

October 19th, 2015

Unit 2 is well underway in both classes!
5th grade has been learning a great deal about how to multiply using the U.S. Traditional method. This is most likely the method that many parents know as well! Please ask your student to show you how to multiply using the new method they have learned. I have discussed the importance of learning this method with the students. The Partial-Products method many of them have been taught before is great because it teaches them more about the place value system. However, now that they know more about the place value system, they should be able to use the U.S. Traditional method which allows them to multiply large numbers faster. We will soon dive into division as well! 

6th grade students received their tests back with a grade on them last week. I reminded students that they can always retake their test even if they passed but want a higher grade. Students have to let me know they want to retake their test and must come in during recess for one tutoring session (two if they didn't pass). 
We have moved on quickly to new material in unit 2! Students have learned a couple different ways to find the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) and the Least Common Multiple (LCM). We have also returned to our work with fractions! We have begun reviewing how to multiply fractions. If it seems like your student is struggling with their homework, I have lots of fun games to play for extra practice at home!

Here are a few pictures of students in their math classes!

6W Playing Treasure Hunt. Practicing their coordinate grid skills!


5th Grade students playing Fraction Top-It!





6th graders got together with their buddy classroom before our all school hike. Their Kindergarten buddies enjoyed showing them their favorite activities in their classroom. Check out the great photos!








As always, please feel free to contact me for any reason!


October 4th, 2015

It's been another busy week in all math classes! 
This week in 5th grade we finished our first unit of the year! On Thursday we spent class studying for their test on Friday. At the end of each unit students will be assessed on what they learned throughout the whole unit. Students won't have homework on test days and the day before a test we discuss ways they can study. As a class we brainstormed the following ways to study for a test:
-Use your Student Reference Book to read more about concepts you want to focus on. 
-Do the "Check your Understanding" problems on the bottom of the Student Reference Book pages (on the pages that pertain to the material covered in the unit).
-Ask your parents to go online and help find practice problems
-Make up your own problems
-Ask a family member to quiz you
-Ask Ms. Weber to give you extra practice problems (ask her outside of class time). 

Students will receive their tests back on Wednesday. Part of their homework Wednesday night will be to have a parent/guardian sign their test and then bring it back to school. This way students can get in the habit of bringing home their tests and sharing their result with someone at home! They will then be able to bring their tests back home to keep!

Students may ALWAYS retake a test for a higher grade!

This week in 6th grade we have moved on from understanding and creating graphs to learning more about coordinate grids, integers, rational numbers, finding fractions between fractions, and how to plot numbers on a number line. Monday's class we will be reviewing for their test on Tuesday! Monday's homework will be to study for their test (if you need study ideas please see the 5th grade brainstorming list above). As 6th graders their tests are now averaged into their overall grade. Test are 85% of their grade and homework is 15% of their grade. If a student receives lower than a 70% they have to have two mandatory study sessions and then retake the parts of the test they didn't get correct. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this!!

Students may ALWAYS retake a test for a higher grade!

Thursday Morning Math Games!

Every Thursday morning the 6th graders play math games from 8:00-8:30! Here are some pictures of your students enjoying the game Factor Captor!






September 18th

This week in 5th grade students have started to learn about volume! They have done many different experiments with how to find the volume of rectangular prisms using a variety of different units. Many students learned quickly that some units are better to measure volume with than others. We will continue to work on volume concepts for the next couple of weeks. This is a very important unit that we will continue to build upon throughout the year!

During the Tunbridge Fair students were asked to find interesting 3-Dimensional shapes that  they could measure the volume of. They have to report how they would measure the volume of the shape and how they knew it was a 3-Dimensional shape. Ask you student what interesting artifacts they found!

This week in 6th grade we have explored histograms and how to read and make our own histograms. We have also discussed what the shape of a histogram can tell you without knowing the exact data. Students have created their own sets of data through paper throwing experiments (they got to make paper airplanes and throw them in school!) and then created a histogram to show the data they collected! We also talked about the importance and significance of a histogram. Ask your students why histograms are useful!

During the Tunbridge Fair students were asked to find a set of data and created their own histogram with that data. Many students found the weight of the oxen,. Some students used the height of the sunflowers. Others used the weight of the giant pumpkins!

Below are some pictures taken in class!
 
















Homework Expectations: 

Just as a friendly reminder students get homework Monday through Thursday. They are asked to do their homework at home and return it the following day. If a student is really struggling to complete their homework, I ask that parents don't try to teach them the material. Instead, write a note indicating that the student tried their best but needs some extra in school help!
Students will not have homework during test days. The day before a test their homework will be to study the material that we reviewed during our "Test Review Day" which will be the day before the test.

If you have any questions regarding homework expectations feel free to contact me!


Welcome to your 5th and 6th grade math page!


So much has already happened in the first two weeks of math class. On this page you will find updates about what is happening in our math classes as well as picture of your wonderful students working hard and having fun!

As a reminder, feel free to contact me in regards to your student’s homework, struggles, and strengths throughout the year. If a student is struggling or needs a little extra help, I am available every morning at 7:30 am at SME, during recess, lunch, and after school by appointment. I am also doing homework help during our VISIONS program on Tuesdays!

The first week of math for both 5th and 6th graders was called "Week Of Inspirational Math." During this week students watched videos and participated in creative lessons that used many different visuals to inspire students to think deeply. My favorite part of these lessons were that they really focused on the idea that making mistakes in math grows your brain! Any student can be a "math student" it all depends on the experiences they have had in math. If students have had good experiences in math classes then they are more likely to enjoy math in general. My goal for this year is to have many wonderful experiences in our math classes in 5th and 6th grade so all students feel like they can be a "math person."

After the first week, we started our lessons from the Everyday Mathematics Program. At the beginning of each unit I will send home a "Family letter." This letter introduces what the new unit will be covering as well as some vocabulary terms, activities you can play at home, and other helpful resources to help students with their math practice outside of the classroom.

So far in 5th grade math we have begun to review the key concepts of area and how to find area using a variety of different strategies. Students have worked in partner pairs and large groups to discuss the many different ways they know how to find the area of more abstract rectangle lengths (using fractional parts!) We will continue to learn more about area which will lead us into learning about volume!



In 6th grade we began by exploring statistical questions. This led us into creating dot plots with data from statistical questions. We are now learning how to read data on a dot plot using mean, median, mode, and range! We will continue to analyze data on graphs over the next couple of weeks.

Here are some pictures of your students working hard and having fun so far this year!


 

 Students who participated in the high honors reading challenge!
 

 

 


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