5th and 6th grade Math

  It has been a pleasure getting to be part of a new Team and four classes of new mathematicians!  We spent the first three days of school focusing on classroom culture and habits of math interaction.  I used the work of Jo Boaler from Stanford University to refresh the students on Growth Mindset and her "low floor, high ceiling" tasks to get students thinking and talking about math again.  Here's a link to her site with more information than you can use:

YouCubed

5th Grade

   The 5th graders will be using a combination of Bridges In Mathematics and Connected Math 3 as tools to get at the Common Core Standards and our Learning Targets.  The first unit we are working on deals with Multiplication Expressions, Equations and Volume, with an brief trip into division.  Students had a great deal of work with multiplication facts and using area models last year in 4th grade, and we are hitting the ground running.  A great deal of focus is being put on manipulating equations and efficiently representing multiplication different ways.  It's great number sense work!  

Here students are manipulating numbers in an equation that will allow them to later on deal with larger, more complex equations. 

   Students have started to approach volume through multiplication and the use of their favorite manipulative so far!  They explored the different ways to make 24, building upon area concepts and going 3D!

  Your child can expect explorations in class that will foster whole group conversations about concepts.  They will also be completing class work that will be turned in and tracked using JumpRope.  Exit tasks will be used as Formative Assessments so I can adjust my teaching as needed, and a Summative Assessment (Unit Test) will be used to wrap up the unit.  These scores will be tracked in JumpRope as well.  Here is the Unit overview from the Bridges Site:

Unit One Letter

6th Grade

   The 6th graders are starting off the year with the Decimal Ops unit in Connected Math.  Early work has been on making sense of decimal place values, estimating, and using ratio tables with decimals.  Current work includes adding and subtracting with decimals, and then we will move into multiplication and division with decimals.  Finally the unit wraps up with percents.  

Here is student work on finding the unit rate, or one, with decimals "disguised" as money!

Here is more student work around ratio tables with a more complex decimal relationship.

   Your child can expect explorations in class that will foster whole group conversations about concepts.  They will also be completing class work that will be turned in and tracked using JumpRope.  Exit tasks will be used as Formative Assessments so I can adjust my teaching as needed, and a Summative Assessment (Unit Test) will be used to wrap up the unit.  These scores will be tracked in JumpRope as well.

   Let me know what questions you have and I look forward to the challenge and inspiration of working with new levels of math with new math thinkers.

Michael