ALEKS MATH LV-3
Week of 10.20.14-10.25.14
Pumpkins
Pumpkins
Pumpkins
What's going on in the classroom?
We spent Friday getting some math artwork ready for Grandparent's Day tomorrow! We have some fun activities planned, and we are excited to share those with our grandparents.
We have continued our work with place value, rounding, subtracting with regrouping, 10 more 10 less, and 100 more 100 less.
For rounding, we spent some time exploring number lines and working with another strategy we call 'bunny ears'. I have included pictures below to illustrate this procedure so that you will be able to help your child with this at home. This strategy seemed to really 'click' with some of the students that were still struggling with rounding.
For 10 more 10 less and 100 more 100 less, we spent time exploring the patterns on the 100 chart and the patterns in addition.
And, because of the short week last week, we took some time to do some skills assessments on these skills. The kids did great! I was able to meet with each student individually to address any lingering problems. While we may still make mistakes, we certainly understand the concepts much, much better.
After the assessments, we also got in some extra practice during class which focused on rounding, 10 more 10 less, and 100 more 100 less. So glad to report that we have made tremendous improvements in these areas.
As we move forward, we will continue to practice these skills. We will also begin working with and developing a strong understanding of fractions. It is important for students to really understand fractions. My goal is to provide students with as many concrete experiences as possible involving fractions.
I am also slowly introducing multiplication. We are first working on the concept of multiplication, and will spend several group lessons on this. Before working on multiplication facts, students must have a solid understanding of what multiplication really is. Without this understanding, learning facts will be quite difficult.
Many of the students indicate that they already know how to multiply. While technically they are correct, they are merely using the strategy of skip counting. We want students to quickly and fluently recall facts. And, while skip counting is a strategy, we don't want students skip counting all the time, as it is not the most efficient strategy. We will be working with many multiplication strategies in an effort to build an even stronger number sense.
Bunny Ears Method
Bunny Ears Method
Bunny Ears Method
What will we be doing at home this week?
*Weekly Assessments will be taken on Tuesday this week due to Grandparent's Day.
- Working in ALEKS Learning Mode (from the pie) - 2.5 hours in ALEKS Learning Mode work.
*By Saturday at midnight, students should have 2.5 hours total (class time ALEKS Learning Mode AND at home ALEKS Learning Mode COMBINED). - 1 Session of QuickTables (approximately 15 minutes per session)
*choose to complete a QuickTables session on one of the following days: Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, or Sunday
*Does not count as ALEKS Learning Mode time. - Sunday Review: This day is reserved for Review in order to prepare for the weekly assessment. Students should NOT be learning new topics on Sundays.
*Simply click on 'Review' at the top of your ALEKS screen.
Multiplying
Multiplying
Multiplying
Games/Activities for HOME Use
10 More 10 Less, 100 More 100 Less (a quick and mobile game):
Needed: Deck of Cards (with face cards removed)
For 10 More 10 Less:
- Turn over two cards to create a two-digit number.
- Have your child tell you what number is 10 more and what number is 10 less
For 100 More 100 Less:
- Turn over three cards to create a three-digit number.
- Have your child tell you what number is 100 more and what number is 100 less