Thursday, December 15, 2011

12/14/11

Today in class the kids will be working on their BIG assignment that will help them review for their December Diagnostic.  The assignment is due on Friday and will be considered late if it is not turned in.  I am counting the assignment as 2 DAILY grades because there is so much work involved.  The children have had since Monday to be working on it and I also gave them time in class yesterday to get started if they had not already done so.

Tomorrow we will be beginning the December Diagnostic.  They will have time on Monday to finish it if they don't finish in class.

Don't forget about our heritage celebration on Tuesday!

Also, don't forget that there are short days on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday in which the kids get out at 2:30 instead of 3:30.

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

12/14/11

Yesterday we learned about solving multiplication algebraic equations.  We learned that in order to isolate the variable that you had to divide both sides of the equation.  We also learned how to solve equations like this:
35 t = 5  We found out that if you divide both sides by 35 you would get t = 5/35, in which case the numerator is bigger than the denominator.  We know that this answer must be less than one, so you can leave it in a fraction format and reduce it to 1/7.
Today we are going to be working with division equations and use multiplication to solve them.  This is our last topic before we begin reviewing for the December Diagnostic.  I hope all is going well with the BIG assignment so far.
In social studies we are going to take a pause until we get back from the Winter Break.  We have learned a lot about some of the Ancient Civilizations and will continue that journey in January.
We are still missing quite a few responses about the heritage celebration.  If you have not yet turned that in, please do so soon.

Thanks!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

12/13/11

Yesterday in math, we continued our journey through algebra.  We worked on subtraction equations.  For example...to solve the following equations, here are the steps you would take.
x - 6 = 10
Step 1: Isolate the variable.  You want to get the x by itself, so you have to get rid of the six.  In order to do that you would add 6, which would leave the x by itself.
Step 2:  You must do the same thing to both sides of the equation to keep them equal...so you would add 6 to 10 and get 16.
Therefore, x = 16. .

Today we are going to move on to multiplication problems.  We will spend a little more time with this than we did the last one because it gets a little confusing when dealing with fractions.  Here is an example:

(1/2)x = 1/3
Step 1: Isolate the variable.  In order to get x by itself, you need to get rid of the 1/2.  In the equation, you are multiplying by 1/2, so you would divide by 1/2 to get rid of it, which would leave you with just x on the left side of the equation.
Step 2:  You must do the same thing to the other side, so you have 1/3 divided by 1/2.  Remember:  Dividing by any number is the same as multiplying by its reciprocal, so it would be the same as 1/3 times 2/1 which gives you 2/3.
Therefore, x = 2/3.

In social studies we have one more lesson to do.  It is still going to be focusing on ancient civilizations.

In math, I have given the kids a huge math assignment that will be due on Friday.  They will have their entire class period to work on it on Thursday.  I have told them that they are allowed to complete 1/2 of it at home before Thursday, but not more than that so that they are not bored and giving my sub a hard time on Thursday.  The assignment is their review, or study guide, for the December Diagnostic.  That test will be given on Friday and finished on Monday if they still need extra time.

Do not forget that we have early dismissal on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday.

Have a great day!

Monday, December 12, 2011

12/12/11

Last full week before Winter Break!!!

This week we are going to be focusing on our last few topics in math.  We are going to be working with subtraction, multiplication, and division expressions with one variable and one=step solutions.   On Thursday we are going to be reviewing for our test.  I am going to be giving them a big assignment to help them review for their December Diagnostic which they are going to be taking on Friday and Monday.  I am going to post the assignment tomorrow or Wednesday so that they know and can get started this week.  Please do not have them complete the entire assignment.  They will have 90 minutes of class time to work on it with the sub on Thursday.  If they come in and it is complete, they will not have anything to do and will distract others that need to be concentrating.

The point of the assignment is to practice a couple of each type of problem that we have learned about so far this year.  If they are having trouble with some of them, those are the sections that they should study in order to do well on their big test.

They will have other assignments this week to practice the last few skills before the big assignment.

In social studies we will be concentrating on the last two lessons for the nine weeks.  We will be reading chapter 8 lesson 2 and chapter 12 lesson 2.  We will be answering the questions at the end of each section for the last two grades of the nine weeks.

If you did not already send them in...please send in the filled out form for our heritage celebration so that we can make sure the day goes well.

Have a great week!

Friday, December 9, 2011

12/9/11

Yesterday was a rough day in the math world.  We have begun to work with solving algebraic equations.  We are going to continue with this topic until we take our midyear district math assessment.  I think it can only get better from  here on out!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

12/8/11

Everyone did very well on yesterday's chapter 6 assessment.  Mostly A's and B's.  Way to go kids!

Today we are going to begin chapter 7.  It is going to take us a little further into algebra where we have to start solving for variables.  We are going to be learning one and two step equations.

In social studies we have now studied about the Mayans, Aztecs, Omec, and Incas.  Today we are going to be reading chapter 7 lesson 3.

Have a good day!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

12/7/11

Yesterday we had a good day on our field trip to KSC.  The kids got to see a couple of demonstrations, watch a 3-D movie in the Imax theater, and ride the Shuttle Simulator.  I think most of them had a good time.

Today, we are taking our topic 6 math test.  I hope everyone studied for this one.  When we are finished, we are going to continue working through other Ancient Civilizations in social studies.

The kids should start to study for their December Math Diagnostic Test.  It will be given on Friday the 16th and Monday the 18th.  They will need to know all of the information from chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and the beginning of 7.  A good way to study for this test is for them to go to the end of each chapter and do a couple of questions from each box.  They can check the odd answers in the back of the book.  If they get them correct, then they don't need to study that section, if they get them wrong, they should do a few more sample problems from the book.   Have fun studying and do well on the test!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

12/6/11

Sorry I haven't been updating since last week.  Tis' the season.

Yesterday we finished chapter 6 in class.  They learned about the distributive property.  It states:
a ( b + c) = ab + ac  They can use this when breaking up a number as well.  For example:  6 x 54 = 6(50 + 4) = 300 + 24 = 324.

In social studies we have begun our study of other ancient cultures such as the Mayans.  We read chapter 7 section 1.  There were some intriguing facts in our reading.

Today we will be on our space week field trip.  It should be a lot of fun!

When we return, the kids have a test on Chapter 6 on Wednesday.   I haven't given them any paper pencil homework.  Please make sure that they are studying for their test.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

12/1/11

Well, it is the first day of December.  The countdown until Christmas begins.

Yesterday in math we learned how to turn a phrase into an algebraic equation and define the variable.  For example:   Johnny is 2 times older than his little brother Mikey.
m = Mikey's age    j = Johnny's age
j = 2m
example:  Anne went on a trip across the country with her two friends.  If they were charged $40.00 for each of their bicycles that they brought.  How much was the trip?
c = cost of each bus ticket
T = total cost of trip
T = 3c + 3 x 40   or  T = 3c + 120

In social studies we reviewed a few key concepts.  We reviewed what a polis, acropolis, and the agora are.  We also talked about the Parthenon and that temples were built in honor of gods and goddesses.  Another thing we talked about was that Hippocrates was the father of medicine.  I told the students that they needed to know the vocabulary words on pages 291-306.  That covers almost everything on the test.  We also talked about how to measure distance accurately on a map.

Today we are taking the social studies midterm.  If everyone finishes early enough we will continue with chapter 6 in math.  If not, there won't be any homework tonight.