Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Here is an email I sent today!

Sorry about the confusion this week on the homework.  I guess when I changed it to go back to decimals, I forgot about a note I put about splitting last night's assignment.  It was not supposed to  be split, but for those of you that only did 1/2 that is okay, just turn the whole thing in on Friday.

That being said, you do not have to do page 15-16 on Thursday night.  I still don't think we are ready to move in to dividing decimals anyways.  Hang on to those workbook pages though, because they will be assigned next week when we move into dividing decimals.

Tonight, you should be doing workbook page 12.  It is due tomorrow.  You can do wb p.11 for extra practice if you still are having a hard time with multiplying decimals.  We are going to continue with this topic for the rest of the week and will be taking a test on Monday on multiplying decimals, and rounding decimals.

I hope this makes things more clarified.

By the way, I have posted a link to the online math textbook as well.  The log in information is on Edline and the blog, but I will put it here as well.

username: WMS followed by their student number
password: p followed by their student number

Thank you for all of your time and effort with your children so far this year.  You have all been a great help!

Ms. D

Online Math Book

I have put a link on Edline for the math book.  If you click on the link, the username is : WMS followed by their student number.  The password is: p followed by their student number.  I hope this helps all of you!  I will add a link on here as well.

8/30/11 - 8/31/11

Yesterday we began to review multiplying decimals.  I believe that the students have a better understanding of this concept this time around. We are going to go over how to use multiplying decimals in word problem format today.    I think this is where we are having the most trouble.  I hope this helps the students become more confident in their abilities.

A note about homework:   Please have your children bring you their math homework when they are finished so that you can check it.  I give homework for the children to practice the skills that we have learned that day in class.  If they are not understanding it, maybe hearing it in a different way will help them get a better understanding of it.  If they struggled, just write a note on it after you have corrected it together, and I will meet with them and go over it again in class.  I am hoping that by doing this, we can squash any of their misconceptions before testing on a concept.

In first period yesterday, we began chapter 3 in the social studies book.  It is talking about different cultures and their economic systems, cultural differences, etc.  At the end of this chapter, we are going to be doing a fun group project in which the kids will  be grouping themselves and choosing a country.  They will be creating a rubric for this project and grading each other as well.  They are going to present to their homerooms all about the country's history, economy, religion, and culture to the class.  There are many creative ways that they can do this, and I am sure that they are going to come up with some great ones.  This project will be taking us a while to do, but will hit on many of our social studies benchmarks for 6th grade.  I will be giving deadlines for each part of it so that they can be receiving grades each week.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

8/30/11

Today we are going to be working on multiplying decimals again.  Now that we all have a firm grasp on multiplying greater numbers.  I hope this works out better.  We also are going to be working on some problem solving skills so that we don't get so intimidated when we see word problems.

Hopefully today, we are going to be able to get back into doing some social studies as well.

8/29/11

Today in math class, we went back to the basics.  We worked on simple multiplication facts through a minute math drill.  My goal for all of them is that they can complete 70 questions correctly in 2 minutes.  About 1/2 of them have already done it, and most of them are in the 60s. I had one person in each class that was able to get done with all 100 and have them all correct!   Way to go!!!

We also went back to multiplying greater numbers without a decimal.  The kids really enjoyed this refresher and were able to alleviate some pressure and some stress.  I was glad to see all of their smiles again.


Friday, August 26, 2011

Math Test 8/26/11

After grading the majority of the math tests today...I have come to the realization that although most of you can compute using decimals, you are not fluent at using them when solving word problems.  That being said, I am not going to count the decimal test that we took today.

Next week, we are going to keep working with decimals and see if we can get a firmer grasp on these concepts.  We will be working through many word problems and showing how we can implement what we have learned into real life situations.

Please do not do the  homework for next week. I will be postponing the work on fractions until we are clear on decimals.  I will be giving some assignments next week, but they will not be ready until Monday since I am leaving town for the weekend in about an hour.  Sorry about any inconvenience that has caused any of you.

Next week, there will be a new test on decimals that will be in a word problem format. I encourage you all to be practicing solving decimal word problems at home, and maybe work through some of the decimal problems on pages 77-79.  On Monday, we will be going over the test that we took so that we can all understand where we went wrong.

I hope this helps ease the minds of those children that were stressed out after taking the test today! Relax and have a great weekend and be ready to understand decimals on Monday!


8/24/11

The social studies test went well for most students.  I have quite a few that forgot to bring in their social studies flash cards.  I hope they have them today.  So far, I have been pretty good about giving them extra time to turn in homework late without a penalty, but will not be doing that any more starting next week.  All students need to be responsible and have all of their assignments in to me on time.

We reviewed for the math test and had some extra time to work on our homework in class.  I hope that this is helpful.

I want to make sure that everyone knows that they should not be spending more than 45 minutes on their math homework.  If the assignment is too much, please have your child do a few of each type of question and sign that  they have worked for 45 minutes on there.  The point of the homework is for them to get practice on the skills that are being taught, not for them to sit for 2 to 3 hours and do math.  Sorry for any inconvenience thus far.

I hope you are all ready for the math test!!!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

8/25/11

Today we are taking our social studies vocabulary test.

When we are finished with that, I am going to give them the rest of the period to work on their math homework again.  While they are all working individually today, I am going to be calling groups or individuals to work with me on problems that they are having a hard time on so we can iron out any misconceptions.  I hope this is helpful for the students!

There will not be any other homework over the weekend!

I am looking forward to beginning fractions next week!

8/24/11

We finally finished all of our social studies presentations!  YEAH!  The kids really seem to understand the vocabulary words.  We are going to take our vocabulary test on Thursday.  I posted the words and definitions on the blog and Edline in case anyone missed any of them.

We also began reviewing for the math test today.  Everyone's group that I called over really seemed to understand all of the decimal concepts that we have gone over.  I gave the kids about an hour in class to work with a partner on the math homework.  I am hoping that this lightened their load for the evening in case they need time to study for the ss test.


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Social Studies Vocabulary Review

1. Movement - moving from one place to another
2. Diffusion - The movement of ideas or behaviors from one culture to another.
3. Human geography - the study of people past and present
4. Physical geography - the study of landscapes and how they develop and change.
5. Decade - 10 years
6. Century - 100 years
7. Millennium - 1000 years
8. Epoch - period of time marked by distinct events.
9. Era - period of time that is a lifetime or less.
10. AD - anno domini - year 1 and above
11. BC - Before common era - Before year 0
12. absolute location - exact spot on Earth
13. relative location - description of a place in relation to another place.
14. places -  physical locations like cities, town, and homes
15. region - places on Earth that share characteristics
16. cartography - study of maps and map making
17. meteorology - study of weather
18. climatology - study of how atmospheric conditions change over time and their affect on land and people.
19. human-environment interaction - when people use their natural environment to survive and how they impact the environment.

8/23/11

Today we learned about dividing decimals by decimals.  We also reviewed how to divide a decimal by a whole number.  When dividing a decimal by a decimal we want to make the outside number a whole number by moving the decimal.  How ever many places we move the decimal on the outside, we must do the same to the number on the inside.  Then we bring the decimal straight up and divide like normal.

We also got through some more social studies presentations.  The vocabulary quiz will be on Thursday.  We should be finished with all presentations by the end of the day on Wednesday.

Open house was awesome!  Thank you to all of you that were able to attend!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Social Studies Flash Cards

Yesterday we began presentations on social studies vocabulary.  It is not looking like we are going to finish them today because we have a lot of math to go over as well.  I am postponing the vocabulary test until all presentations are done so that we all have a deeper understanding of what the words mean.  Those of you that have studied hard for the test are probably already ready to take it.

That being said, if you have not done your vocabulary cards, don't worry too much.  Make sure you have blank cards with you so that you can do them in class as the words are presented.  Again, I will let everyone know when we will be taking the quiz.

Math yesterday went well.  We learned that multiplying a number by a power of 10 just moves the decimal.  For example, 0.987 x 10^3 = 987.  We also learned how to divide a decimal by a whole number.  We learned that when doing this, you just bring the decimal straight up and divide as if it is not there.

Homework last night was out of the math book.  I am aware that some of you did not bring home your math book.  I will give you until Wednesday to turn it in if you forgot your math book, but will be awarding points to tables today that have it with them.  As soon as I get the information about the online text book, I will get that info out to all of you.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Homework the week of 8/29

I have posted the assignments for the week of 8/29 and still have not figured out how to post them without all of the extra blank pages.  Sorry.  Still working on this.
8/29 - Math Games p.56 - You can play this with  your child or they can answer all of the questions on their own.
8/30 - Math Review p.30 1-18
8/31 - Math Review p.27 all
9/1 - Math Review p.30   19-30

We are going to be finishing our work with decimals this week, and will be moving on to fractions next week.  For those of you that like to work ahead, I hope this helps you out!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Social Studies Projects

On Monday some of the groups are going to be presenting their social studies projects to the class.  I gave them quite a bit of time to work on them in class, but some groups could not get even close to finishing.  Those groups will not be presenting until Tuesday and will have about 10 minutes in class on Monday to continue working on them.  If they brought some home to do this weekend, that is fine, but if not, they need to be complete by Tuesday.

The social studies vocabulary quiz has been moved to Wednesday.  The flash cards also will not be due until Wednesday and they will have an opportunity to do them in class.  If your child has not already done them, then please have them wait until they come to class and just have them bring in their index cards.  I will explain to them exactly what I want on each one to help them study for the test.

I am going to try to video some of the presentations or take pictures of them.  If there is anyone that cannot have their photo taken, please let me know.  I want to put some of them on the blog and will be finding out if I can send home a permission slip for that so they can feel "famous."  LOL.

I hope you all have a great weekend!!!

Math Test

I have sent home the math test to be corrected this weekend.  If there was a problem that was incorrect, please have  your child fix both the regular multiplication problem as well as the estimate next to it.  I have sent home an example of how I want it done with your children.  These corrections are due on Monday in order to receive 1/2 of their credit back.  Make sure when rounding for the estimation that you are rounding to the ones place.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Yesterday's Math Test

Yesterday's math test took a lot longer than expected.  We did not get a chance to work on the social studies vocabulary in class, but will be working with those words today.

I will  be sending the math test home today with all of the kids.  They are to correct their test this weekend to receive a second score that will be averaged with the first score they received. This opportunity does not arise often in my class.  If they do not turn it in on Monday, then they forfeit their chance to change their score.  If they got a 100% I will add 5% to their grade so that it is fair. Many children made a lot of silly mistakes on their multiplication of greater numbers.  They need to be working on being more accurate in this area.  For the most part, everyone understood the concept of mutiplying the decimals and how to move the decimal in their answers.  Some of them are still having a hard time understanding what estimating is and why we do it. We will continue working with that throughout the school year as we venture through different areas of math.  It is important that children have a way to look at a problem and their answer and determine if it is reasonable.  When you receive their tests back, you will notice that there are 2 problems in the second box that do not actually follow the decimal rule due to the way that the problems and answers were written.  I gave the students credit if they followed the rule to move the decimal, but if they were able to check for reasonableness, they would have noticed that the answer did not make sense.  I know that they will do better on the next test.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Next Week's HW

I have updated Edline and posted next week's homework for those of you that would like to get a head start.  Yesterday, I handed out math and social studies books for Ms. Fielder's and Mr. Cohen's homeroom to keep at home.  My class needs to bring them back and forth so that we have a class set to use in school.  I will hopefully be finding out how to access the books online soon so that my class does not have to carry them back and forth.  As soon as I know the information, I will share it with you.

Next week's homework is as follows:
8/22 - Math book p.78  41-48, p.79  59-62
Study for social studies vocab quiz tomorrow. (These are the words you made flash cards for.)
Social Studies flash cards due tomorrow.
8/23 - Advantage p.24 (link on Edline or in the links section on the blog.)
8/24 - Math book p.63 all
8/25 - Math book p.80 (Study for math test on all decimal concepts)

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

8/16/11

Today we worked on comparing decimals and ordering them on a number line.  We learned that if the whole numbers are the same and you have the same number of digits after the decimal, you can compare them as if they are whole numbers.  For example:  0.32, 0.236, 0.987, 0.152  Since the whole number is 0 on all of them, we are going to make sure they have them same number of digits after the decimal.  As you can see, the first one does not, so we are going to add a zero to the end so that they all have 3 digits. (0.320)  Now we can compare them as if they are all whole numbers, 320, 236, 987, 152.  Of course we know which of these is smaller.


Tomorrow, 8/17/11 we are going to be reviewing for our test on multiplying decimals.  I want the students to be able to estimate to check if their answers are reasonable.  For example, if they are being asked to multiply       1.9 x 2.6, they can round each factor and multiply to check their answer.  Let's say they got 49.4 and had put their decimal in the wrong place, if they estimate to check, they would multiply 2 x 3 and realize that their answer should be close to 6.  This would help them to realize that they either multiplied incorrectly, or they put their decimal in the wrong spot, so they could go back and check their answer.


I will be checking out math books to each of the students today so that they have a reference at home and a way to study for tests!  I hope we have a great day!!!

Monday, August 15, 2011

8/15/11

Today we began multiplying decimals.  We also worked on finding where a decimal would be located on a number line.  When multiplying decimals, we should multiply as if the decimals are not there and then count how many numbers there are after the decimal in the problem.  That is how many places after the decimal there should be in your answer.  Example:   2.02 * 1.36 = ___________  There are 2 places after the decimal in the first factor and 2 places after the decimal in the second factor, so there should be a total of 4 places after the decimal in your answer.  You should multiply 202 times 136 and get 27472, then you would move the decimal 4 places so your answer would be 2.7472.  I hope this helps with the homework.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

math homework link

The link for the workbook page has some blank pages in between pages for the assignment.  I will be working on this in the future so that there are not page breaks.  Sorry :(

This week's homework assignments

Each week I will be posting the assignments for the entire week.
Monday - 8/15/11 - workbook pages 15-16 on decimals (if you click on the assignment, it is attached.)
Tuesday - 8/16/11 - Create 5 word problems involving decimals on 3x5 index cards.  Please do not put the answers on the cards.  These word problems can involve anything we have learned with decimals such as: adding decimals, subtracting decimals, multiplying decimals, ordering decimals, estimating with decimals, rounding decimals, etc.  Please do not include anything dealing with dividing decimals since we have not worked on that yet.
Wednesday - 8/17/11- Study for test on decimals tomorrow.  Begin working on social studies vocabulary flash cards.  Social studies vocabulary words for this week are:
decade
century
epoch
era
millennium
bc/bce
ad/ce
absolute location
relative location
place
region
movement
diffusion
human geography
physical geography
cartography
meteorology
climatology

If you are not sure what some of these are in reference to social studies, you will by the end of the week.  The flashcards will be due on Tuesday 8/23.  We will be going over these words on Thursday and Friday of this week.
Thursday 8/18/11 - Continue working on flash cards.  Also, finish whatever you did not finish for social studies presentations on Monday and Tuesday.

I hope this helps everyone in planning for their week.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Some Things We Did On The First Week Of School

We began creating our teams for our class competition.  The kids created their own logos and team names to use for the next 6 weeks.  They did a fantastic job!

We also took our math inventory test so that I get to know a little about what areas in math the kids need to work on the most.

I got to know a lot about them through a 4 square activity in which they created 3 truths and 1 lie about themselves to share with each other.  The people in their group had to detect which one was not true.  You sure have some interesting kids!!!  LOL

I am looking forward to moving into doing some math and learning social studies along with them!

Overall...we had a great week!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Thursday (8/11/11) - Homework that is due on Monday

I want to know a little bit about how you learn best.  Please click on the link "learning style quiz" and take the Quiz.  This should only take a few minutes, but make sure you answer the questions on all 5 pages.  When you are finished, please print your response page and put your name on it.  Bring it in by Monday.


First Day Back

I had a great first day back.  It was so nice to see all of the smiling faces and excited 6th graders back at WMSS.  I sent home some information cards for the grade level tonight for the parents to fill out or look over and send back in.  These cards are for emergency contact in case I can't get on Edline.  Usually, all emails will be sent through Edline.  Also, I have requested that your children bring in a wallet sized photo of themselves for a project that we are doing for Open House.  Please have them send this in soon.  I look forward to a great year.  What an awesome first day back!!!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Welcome to Ms. DeLuca's Math Class

First, I would like to introduce myself.   As most of you know, I have been teaching at WMSS for 4 years.  This will be my 5th year.  In my previous years, I was better known as Mrs. Hernandez.  I have a son entering the 5th grade here at WMSS.
Some things that make me happy are:
* Anything to do with the Florida Gators
*Students that are enthusiastic about learning
* Chocolate of any kind
* Students that ask for help when they don't understand something
* When people take responsibility for their actions
*Playing softball
* Teaching math and having fun with it!
Some things that make me unhappy are:
* Negativity
* Disrupting and interrupting
* Insensitivity to others
I am looking forward to having a great year with all of you and can't wait for the year to begin!