Math 4 ASPIRE
Unit 3: Problem Solving with Multiplication and Division
Welcome to Unit 3!
This unit contains some pretty critical skills, including multiplying 2 digits by 2 digits and long division with a one digit divisor and up to 4 digit dividend. Division skills also cover interpreting remainders several ways and expressing remainders as a fraction.
One way to help students remember the division algorithm is to use the mnemonic: Does McDonald's Serve Cheese Burgers?
D- Divide
McDonald's- Multiply
Serve- Subtract
Cheese- Check- is remainder less than divisor
Burgers- Bring down next digit in dividend
Repeat until all the numbers in the dividend have been brought down.
The place where most students are going to experience problems is beginning the process again. They struggle to understand that the new number in the bring-down step is the new dividend and when dividing this, to place the quotient in the correct position atop the division bracket. So, if you are working at home or supervising at home math work, be alert to this pitfall when learning this skill.
Changes in Daily Routines
The changes will allow a warm-up lesson or activity for the whole class, usually related to the current unit of study, followed by a teacher-led mini-lesson for students having difficulty managing time and responsibilities of the format as well as those who want more teacher based instruction. These lessons will follow the current unit of study progressing through the TEKS Goal Sheet. Afterward, students meet with me for general questions and assistance. Oral tests are scheduled to occur at 8:35, and choice menu work does not begin before 8:40.
In addition, students asked if quick questions and requests could be made prior to the mini-lesson and oral testing. So students needing post-tests, pre-test scores printed, or quick clarification don't have to wait.
I hope these changes will help everyone in the class stay on track and learn the way they prefer.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Our class schedule appears below:
7:50-8:00 Warm-Up Lesson or Activity
8:00-8:15 Mini-Lesson for Small group or Individual
8:15-8:35 Questions and Assistance
8:35-8:50 Oral Testing or Questions/Assistance
8:40- Choice Menu
8:55 Dismissal
Math Olympiad
This contest will be taken during math class time, one per month through March.
Each contest has 5 problems, ranging in rigor as they progress. Students will have 30 minutes in which to complete the contest.
These can be quite rigorous, so we want to focus on grit, growth mindset, and process rather than score. We celebrate effort!
If you want to learn more, and see some practice problems, go to www.moems.org
How to Talk about Math
The power of math conversations help to reinforce skills and understanding of concepts beyond mere practice.
So how do you talk to your child about math?
Here are some question stems/prompts I have the student coaches use to assist them to help a peer pose their question in a way that helps them make sense of the problem and might help them see the resolution. I use them to model how to talk about math and how to pose good questions about math problems. I hope you find them useful.
* Explain what the problem is about.
* How do you plan to solve the problem?
* Will you draw a picture or use manipulatives? Why?
* Does one plan make sense than the others?
* How would you describe the problem in your own words?
* Describe the relationship between the quantities/numbers.
* What information is given in the problem.
* Describe what you have tried already.
* What steps in the process are you most confident about?
* What are some other strategies you might try?
* What is another problem that is similar to this one? Why is it similar?
* How else might you organize )represent, show) _________?
* How do you show that your solution answers the problem?
* What would be a more efficient strategy?
* How did you know your solution was reasonable?
Need to Knows and How Tos
Choice Menus
Students are required to complete an activity from the Choice Menu accompanying the current unit. Students may ask why they need to do this. The reasoning is this:The videos and practice work students do is pretty basic concept and skill work. This does not meet ASPIRE standards. So, students will work to acquire the skills needed to answer questions, then show that they can apply their knowledge in real world activities or projects. This will add the Depth we need in ASPIRE, and helps to send the message that surface skills and answering questions are not enough to succeed in the world they will enter in the next decade.
Math is an everyday life skill, and multiple choice computation problems just don't exist in most occupations. Math must be applied, manipulated, and understood from multiple perspectives in order to successfully navigate our world.
Choice menus are online in Google Classroom for every unit, as are Unit Checklists, and Unit TEKS Goal Sheets. Working at home on choice menu items is completely acceptable, as it gives your family a chance to work with real life math projects.
Please come visit!
We have math daily from 7:45-8:55!!