An Illuminating Experience for He Dog 4th Graders!

Students at He Dog see the light as they work with arrays, factors, and multiples.

Ms. Rozier has a fantastic - REALLY - blog set up for her 4th grade students at He Dog.

Skedaddle on over there and say hello!

So, What's a Nuclear Fuel Rod, Anyway?

This video should be required viewing for anyone interested in what Japan is currently dealing with (at least the nuclear aspect... Japan is dealing with a LOT right now)

"I think it is, frankly, less upsetting to actually understand what is going on than it is to not understand." Rachel Maddow.

By the numbers: A single fuel rod weighs over 700 pounds! A single uranium fuel pellet the size of a fingertip contains as much energy as 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas, 1,780 pounds of coal or 149 gallons of oil.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Overwhelming

How do humans cope with this level of catastrophe?


Text "RedCross" to 90999. Please. Japan has always been a good friend in our times of need (re: Katrina). It is time we return the favor.

Other ways to help.

How to Draw 3d Cube Designs

Isometric grid paper is AWESOME stuff!!! If you want your work to stand head-and-shoulders above the rest at the math competition, learn how to use this stuff!!!

Here is where you can download the paper. It is much easier (in my opinion) to use the paper if you lay it down landscape style. If you are interested in printing your own variety of grid paper, use this fabulous website: Incompetech.

Watch this yourself and teach your kids, or give them some paper, and let them have at it as they watch the video themselves. Have fun!

How to Use Isometric Grid Paper from (Chris) on Vimeo.

March 15 DtM Participant Link

Here is the LINK!

4th - 5th Grade Challenge Example

Hope this helps, kids! Go math!


4-5th Grade Notebook Entry from (Chris) on Vimeo.

Related Literacy skills:

4.W.2 - Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.  
a.  Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections, including formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.  
b.  Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.  
c.  Link ideas within categories of information using words and phrases (e.g., another, for example, also, because).  
d.  Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.  
e.  Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or explanation presented.

6-7-8th Grade Challenge Example

Have at it, teams! We're expecting accuracy, creativity, thoroughness, and FUN!!!

8th Grade Notebook Entry from (Chris) on Vimeo.

Related Literacy Objectives:

6.W.L.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization and analysis of relevant content.

7.W.L.1: Write arguments to suppose claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence

8.W L.1: Write arguments to suppose claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence

Lakeview Students CRUSH Dividing with Fractions!

So there we were in Ms. Roshone's class - working with Trystan (who sends a shout-out to his former teacher Ms. Reevas!) and Travis (24! winner from the inaugural Pi Day Competition!) on some way-complicated problems involving division by fractions. I mean, this stuff is so complicated that only a rocket scientist can figure it out. Amirite????

Well.... a rocket scientist or a SIXTH GRADER!!!

These guys - along with Devan, Jessie, Kyle, Marky and Donetta absolutely crushed division with fractions.

Here was the situation - Ananda was working on an order for bows, and was like TOTALLY freaking out... She knew she'd need 2/3 yard of ribbon to make a bow. But she had NO CLUE how many bows she could make with 4/5 of a yard of ribbon!!! I mean, this situation was CRITICAL, yo!

Anyway, Trystan and Travis got down to it. They knew they were taking 4/5 of a yard of ribbon and dividing it into groups of 2/3.  They made diagrams to clear everything up. They knew Ananda had 4/5 of a yard of ribbon, so they divided their diagram into 5 equal parts. Because the last fifth wasn't really available, Travis X'd it out.

Trystan knew she needed 2/3 of a yard to make a bow, so they also divided this whole into thirds!

This suddenly made total sense! "15 is a common denominator of 1/5s and 1/3s," said Trystan.

"Yeah, and 2/3 of 15 is 10," said Travis as he colored in 10 parts. "So she can make ONE whole bow. And she'll have these 2 parts left." Oh noes!!! What do we do with those two parts?!?!?! Are they 2 parts out of 15??? 2 parts out of 10??? Snap out of it, pal.

"Those are two parts for her next bow." Who said that??? It was Devan, throwing down some input. Travis had it now - "So she'll be able to make 1 and 2/10 bows, right?"

CRUSHED!!!

But the best part was yet to come...

"Ya know if you multiply that 4 by the 3 you get those 12 pieces. And if you multiply that 5 by the 2 you get the 10 he colored in... That's 12/10." Devan - you rock!!!

At that point.... there was nothing left but the high-fiving. Gratz, Ms. Roshone! Who says kids can't figure things out on their own??? 

3rd Grade Challenge Example

Many students are wondering what will be expected of their competition entries on March 25. We will be expecting quality work! Also, the students will be working independently - a coach may be on hand, but can only offer advice in the form of a question. A question like, "Where have you seen a problem like this before? What helped you then?"

I put together an example of a possible solution to one of the challenge problems. Of course, we will expect the writing to be on par with 3rd grade expectations. Nevertheless, all 4 parts of the solution are required.


3rd Grade Notebook Entry from (Chris) on Vimeo.

Finally, I have attached a sentence frame you may want to encourage students to use in math class.

Sentence Frame Excel format  (you can edit this one)
Sentence Frame PDF format  (you just have to print this one)

3rd grade writing standard:

"3.W.2 - Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

a.  Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension

b. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.

c.   Use linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and, more, but) to connect ideas within categories of information.

d.  Provide a concluding statement or section.

3.W.4 - With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose.  (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1-2 above.)"

Creating Polygons with Logopaths Can Be Tricky

When creating polygons with specific angle measures in Logopaths, students often become confused. Confusion isn't a bad thing - of course - but when using software, there is a tendency to think, "Oh, this program doesn't work correctly" rather than realize that you have a deeper issue on your hands.

So when a student wants to create an equilateral triangle, for example, they may know they need a 60 degree angle, so they program, "rt 60" and are very surprised when they don't end up with what they thought they were going to end up with!

In this video, I try to clear up some of the confusion


Timmy Turns Polygons from (Chris) on Vimeo.

Pi Day: Circle Hunt!

Just in time for your Pi Day celebration! I put the beginning of this activity together with a younger audience in mind (Grades 1-3) but also included some spreadsheet love for 4th and 5th graders.

When I last did this activity (in a joint operation with Lacosta way back when) it was Anthony Bizardie who made "the discovery" about the magical 3.14.

Who will your Master Conjecturer be???


Pi Day: Circle Hunt! from (Chris) on Vimeo.

Logopaths: Feed the Turtle

Years ago, my students absolutely LOVED Geo-Logo. I'll never forget the amazing and complex creations of a kid named Derek Red Feather. (Derek - where are you???)

Unfortunately, Geo-Logo was gimped in the Investigations 2nd Edition. Doug Clements (the creator of Geo-Logo AND Building Blocks) and myself had quite a session lamenting this fact at the last NCTM Conference.

Nevertheless, the Logopaths software will still provide plenty of learning opportunities for your students. Hopefully, they've already experienced this in Unit 3. If not... there's no time like the present to add this to your workshop! You can find the software on your Investigations disk, assumed to still be in your binder.


Logopaths: Feeding the Turtle from (Chris) on Vimeo.

Why Pi?

I recently attended an excellent Webinar, Slices of Pi, with Key Curriculum Press. In one of the activities, we investigated Pi in a rather unusual way: by looking at the ratio 22/7.

In honor of the upcoming Pi Day celebrations, I thought I'd share this with you and your students. Very interesting!

Pi Flower from (Chris) on Vimeo.

Walking With Henri and Emile!

Walking With Henri and Emile Sketchpad tutorial.

One of the learning goals for Unit 5 (Moving Straight Ahead) is "I can construct tables, graphs, and symbolic equations that express linear relationships."

I've put together a Sketchpad tutorial to show you (or your students) how the investigation with Henri and Emile can be represented using dynamic software. You may want to use this tutorial to teach yourself how to construct the representation and then lead your students through it, or set it up as an independent activity.

Have fun!