News from Room 208
Weekly Updates from Miss DeWitt's Class
May 13, 2016
PIctures
Math
This week we learned how to create equivalent fractions by using multiplication and division. We started with multiplying our numerator and denominator by the same number to create equivalent fractions that have smaller unit fractions and different numbers, but they take up the same part of a whole. We also worked on simplifying fractions, which is dividing our fractions into larger unit fractions. This is harder because in order to divide, the students needed to find factors that both the numerator and denominator had in common. Lastly, we worked on comparing fractions with unlike denominators by finding common multiples. We found multiples that both denominators had in common, and used those to create two new, equivalent fractions with common denominators to compare them more easily.
I have started to make short videos for the students to watch at home that have example problems from the lesson they had that day. I will be creating these videos throughout the unit. I will be putting a QR code on the assignments, so you can access them that way or through my School Fusion page. I hope this will help the students to refresh their memory of the lesson they had that day and make doing homework easier and more successful. It may also be nice for the parents too and students who were absent that day! I will be asking the students for their input at the end of the unit to see if they were helpful.
Science
This week we started by comparing motor circuits to light bulb circuits. We used our circuit boards, D-cells, copper wires and light bulbs to make circuits on Monday, and we used our schematic drawings from last Friday to compare the two types of circuits. We discussed similarities and differences and how there are many different ways to make a circuit. We also tested objects around the room to see if they are conductors or insulators. We learned that most conductors are made of metal, and they allow electricity to flow. Insulators stop the flow of electricity. We found that paper, fabric, wood, and plastic objects are insulators.
We created circuit booklets to complete responses about our labs each day. These booklets will be put in the binders at the end of the year to show you everything we learned about circuits!