Math Empowers 5
Middletown Township Public Schools
Fifth Grade • 2nd Trimester • 2018-2019
Trimester 2 takes 5th graders into the world of dividing decimals before the focus shifts to adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions. Read on for some ideas for these areas of focus.
Fractions with Graham Fletcher
DreamBox New Year's Challenge - Resolution Time!
- Let's make a New Years resolution to love math! 2019 will kick off a Dreambox Challenge - the school that demonstrates the most growth will win the district challenge banner. The contest will start January 14th and end February 14th, Valentine's Day! Check with your building Math Specialist for any building based details and incentives.
- Please click here to learn more about DreamBox's approach to student's learning and "How a Little Help Can Go a Wrong Way."
- Students having trouble logging on to DreamBox from home? Make sure the correct URL is being used. Type play.dreambox.com/login/kc58 into the address bar and it will link to the Middletown homepage for DreamBox. From there, students can choose their home school.
Why C-R-A?
C-R-A stands for Concrete (using manipulatives), Representational (drawing pictures), Abstract (mathematics rules) and has been a widely proven successful strategy for teaching mathematics. Although we typically think students in the younger grades would benefit more from this technique than the older guys, it has been proven that this works for secondary students just as well. This approach, when taught by bridging and connecting the concrete to the abstract math concept, will help students retain their facts longer and truly understand the concept from a deeper level. This strategy is of utmost importance for fractions and decimals, a somewhat foreign concept to 5th graders, who have worked with whole numbers for most of their lives. Experience with seeing the sizes of the pieces compared to one another is a must! For more on this approach, please see the following:
mathcoachscorner.com/2015/05/why-cra/
notafraidtolearn.wordpress.com/mathematics-the-cra-approach/
Dividing Decimals
NJSLS 5.NBT.7 reads "Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method and explain the reasoning used." Students should begin with estimating to place the decimal in the quotient. During these lessons, try this activity with students.
I Love Math Day!
Follow Steve Wyborney on Twitter!
Steve Wyborney is a K-12 District Math Coach. He has authored 14 books, including The Writing on the Classroom Wall. Steve frequently presents at conferences, connects with fellow educators through Twitter, and shares math instructional strategies and resources through his blog. Throughout his 23 years in education, Steve has earned numerous teaching awards. In 2005, he was named the Oregon Teacher of the Year. Among some of the rich, engaging math tasks that Steve creates are Esti-Mysteries, Splat!, The Estimation Clipboard, and Cube Conversations. Explore his website for more great activities by clicking here. All of his creations are super motivating for students...see your building math specialist for help implementing any of these great activities!
Thank you for reading! :)
Have any questions, comments, or great ideas to share with your fellow 5th-grade teachers – please email me, or your building Math Specialist. “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."
Ashley Connors
Elementary Mathematics Specialist
Navesink Elementary School
Math Empowers - Fifth Grade Representative