Hey, 4th grade! Welcome to the lab today. Take your choice of one or more of these sites this morning while in lab:

www.multiplication.com

www.abcya.com

www.coolmath4kids.com

www.primarygames.com

www.myschoolhero.com/mymathhero

http://www.funbrain.com/brain/MathBrain/MathBrain.html

So proud of all of our ENSA 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes! Your hard work on PASS last week will definitely pay off! Way to go, boys and girls!

This is an old song lyric, but today, it is very true for the math lab!

Mrs. del Forn let me borrow 5 of her 3rd graders so they could help me play some games with 1st graders. I’d like to say a special thank you to her, as well as Bryana, Jennifer, Jessica, Ridge, and Travis. These boys and girls did a great job playing addition and subtraction games with Ms. Drummond’s and Ms. Whalen’s first grade classes this morning. Below are a few pictures of the fun.

Travis leading Addition Toss

Jennifer was a pro at teaching Soccer Star.

Ridge teaching his 1st grade friends about comparing numbers

Bryana instructed the 1st graders on "How to Find a Duckling" using subtraction facts.

Henry and Marcie really enjoyed the help!

Kylie and Reggie enjoying Soccer Star with Travis

Maria and Amir counting away

Christal rolling dice and finding the sum

Warming up and getting used to "body bubbles."Our Bob Jones friends did great modeling for us!

What number do you think Rashad is???

B.E.S.T. - Body, Energy, Space, Time - all important in Dancing Math

What equation is being demonstrated in this dance? <<CLICK TO SEE!

Dr. Julie Hartman and some pre-service teachers from Bob Jones University have been visiting with Miss Whalen and Miss Brunner’s first grade classes all semester. Today, they culminated their time at ENSA with an invigorating lesson that integrated music and math. Here’s a sneak preview–I have many more pictures to post! Can you tell what math equation these students are illustrating?

Dancing Math 1

I was very excited to work with Mrs. Henderson’s 2nd graders this morning as they reviewed the steps for answering subtraction questions that require regrouping. We noticed a couple special things about the regrouping process:

1. You can always tell if you need to regroup by looking at the ones place: If the top number is bigger than the bottom, you will have to regroup.

2. If you regroup and add ten to the number, it had to come from somewhere. You always borrow from the number’s neighbor to the left.

Mrs. Henderson’s class was the model example for working in groups as well. I took a few pictures of her students dilligently solving subtraction problems. Way to go!

Jabari, Ethan, and Piper practicing regrouping.

Saniya, Patience, Essence, and Jaslynn busy at work!

Anyone notice what’s special about the subtrahend and minuend in Miss Daniel’s regrouping subtraction problem yesterday? I’ll post the answer as a comment!

Thanks to Mrs. Henderson for telling me exactly WHY Miss Daniel used those particular numbers!

At ENSA, one of the coolest things about our school is the way we do math. We have no need for textbooks–everything we do is through hands on manipulation, inquiry, and discussion. You won’t find our students hunched over a book for an entire class period, or even the majority of a class period. Our math lessons are rich with moving, writing, talking, and exploring. Below is a picture Ms. Daniel sent me after her class skillfully conquered a three-digit by 3-digit subtraction problem. By the way, SC state standards say that 2nd graders need only know how to “Generate addition and subtraction strategies to add and subtract pairs of two-digit numbers with regrouping” (2-2.7). They’re ahead of the game!

Impressive!

All week long, second graders have been showing off their regrouping skills in the math lab with me as well. We’ve been using Compass Learning to practice regrouping in subtraction, and it’s plain to see that learning is taking place. Mrs. Peace’s class just left the lab, and their hard work earned them the last class buck they needed for the end-of-the-year cookout. Congratulations! I’m proud to have given you your final buck!

I’m so proud of the innovative teaching going on here at this math magnet school–let’s not take advantage of the ability we have to learn math in a different, more engaging way!

Below is a link to 3rd grade SC state standards. These will be important for parents who wish to refer to them in their non-abbreviated form. At the 4/16 PTA meeting, 3rd grade parents will receive questions that assess these standards so that they can help their students prepare for PASS, beginning MONDAY, MAY 7.

3rd grade standards

Ever heard this phrase before? I’m sure you have somewhere.

While it is the title of a television program, it’s what actually comes to mind when I think about elapsed time. Elapsed time, which has shown itself to be one of the more challenging concepts for our students, is nothing more than moments of our lives passing by in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. “Like sands through the hour glass,” as the old simile states, “these are the days of our lives.”

This week’s Measurement Questions of the Week approach elapsed time not in terms of hours or minutes–not even in terms of days. We look at two scenarios where years are the focus. Years are 365 days, 52 weeks, 12 months, 4 seasons. We rarely acknowledge years unless we are celebrating events like holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, or the new year. However, it’s important to pay attention to years because they truly are a part of measurement, and in turn math. Take a look at the two M?sotW:

Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades: D’Asia is a year and 4 months older than her sister, Dara. If Dara’s birthday is April 12, in what month is D’Asia’s birthday?

3rd, 4th, and 5th grades: Kevin is 4 years old. His father is 28 years older than him. In how many years will Kevin be exactly half his father’s age?

Pay close attention to the wording and amounts of time in each of these problems. D’Asia and Dara are two sisters–which one is the oldest? Which is the youngest? What is the date exactly a year past the date given, April 12. What is exactly 4 months after this date?

Think about Kevin and his dad–dad’s are ALWAYS older than their kids (I’ve never met a child older than their parents… haha). Think about Kevin’s current age and exactly how much older his dad is than him. How old was Kevin’s father when Kevin was born? How old is he now? How can you determine when Kevin will be exactly half his father’s age?

Like I stated, it’s important to think very specifically about these questions. They are tricky, but using common sense, taking time to understand the question and what is being asked will help you figure out how many years of these lives are being discussed.