Working on Mastering Their Math Goals
4th graders have set work for themselves to meet their Quest math goal before the end of the year, and the SOL math test. You'll find they have written some assignments for themselves in their agenda book. I'll post some work on Google Classroom to help with measurement as well as rounding. Most kiddos are also planning to go to Khan Academy to work on specific, or general, math skills.
If your kiddo has trouble logging into their Khan Academy account, they should first look for the log-in and password on the inside front cover of their agenda book. If that's a no-go, they can try joining the 4th Grade Math Quest Khan Academy class by:
Even two minutes a day can make a big difference in mastering facts! Spend some time with your kiddos helping them reach their goal, so they feel confident going in to these assessments.
If your kiddo has trouble logging into their Khan Academy account, they should first look for the log-in and password on the inside front cover of their agenda book. If that's a no-go, they can try joining the 4th Grade Math Quest Khan Academy class by:
- Going to Khan Academy.
- Clicking on the username at the top right, choose "Profile," and go to their profile's "Coaches" tab. There, they should enter your class code KHX8RW under "Add a coach."
Even two minutes a day can make a big difference in mastering facts! Spend some time with your kiddos helping them reach their goal, so they feel confident going in to these assessments.
4.7 The student will a) estimate and measure length, and describe the result in both metric and U.S. Customary units
Is your child a square? Using their height and arm span, 4th grade kiddos are working to determine if they are squares or rectangles. Soon, we'll compare the average 4th grader with last year's average 4th grader as well as this year's average 3rd grader!
4th graders have also completed their customary weight benchmarks! As everyone will recall, a goal for all 4th grade mathematicians is to work on measurement. Thank you for the measuring experiences you are providing outside of school!
4th graders have also completed their customary weight benchmarks! As everyone will recall, a goal for all 4th grade mathematicians is to work on measurement. Thank you for the measuring experiences you are providing outside of school!
We've returned to algebraic thinking! Discussion of variables through the use of Hands-on Equations has begun! Our first problem: Rachel is three years older than Dan. Luke is six years older than Dan. If you add up their ages, you will get 57. How old is Dan? Kids had to develop, show, and solve an equation using a variable for this problem.
Solve Like a Girl!
On March 12th, five Venable Girls focused on math for five hours! All of the problems were challenging, but every girl worked hard to grapple with them.
The lower division, composed of teams with 4th, 5th and 6th graders, was our placement. In the first round of competition, groups were formed with member from all the different teams. All of the adults were amazed at how well all of the girls, some who had never even met the others before, worked together to solve mind-bending problems.
Our team constructed a catapult for the second round with opportunities to test, and retest, launching a marshmallow onto the center of a large X. The girls were so focused, no one even ate a marshmallow (I think......)!
The third round was an individual competition. Each girl solved problems for thirty minutes. Silence reined as pencils worked out through their thinking.
Throughout all of these competitions, our teams solved problems that would make them eligible for raffle prizes and discussed the problems they solved in teams.
We had a very exciting day. I am very proud of our Venable All-Stars!
The lower division, composed of teams with 4th, 5th and 6th graders, was our placement. In the first round of competition, groups were formed with member from all the different teams. All of the adults were amazed at how well all of the girls, some who had never even met the others before, worked together to solve mind-bending problems.
Our team constructed a catapult for the second round with opportunities to test, and retest, launching a marshmallow onto the center of a large X. The girls were so focused, no one even ate a marshmallow (I think......)!
The third round was an individual competition. Each girl solved problems for thirty minutes. Silence reined as pencils worked out through their thinking.
Throughout all of these competitions, our teams solved problems that would make them eligible for raffle prizes and discussed the problems they solved in teams.
We had a very exciting day. I am very proud of our Venable All-Stars!
Thank you to the families that have come in for student-led conferences as well as those coming soon! The kids have worked really hard understanding, and interpreting, all the data in their world to formulate individual goals. By leading their own conference, students are gaining experience with organizing materials and thoughts in order to clearly present their thinking. They are quite an impressive group of 4th graders!
To assist these kiddos in achieving their goals, they have continual access to their Khan Academy accounts as well as a variety of material on their 4th Grade Math Quest Kiddos - Measurement Google Classroom. These tools, as well as the ones you discussed during your child's conference, will help them grow as a math learner!
Each 4th grader has measurement as part of their math goals. During our Quest math time, we have explored weight a lot! One group just finished establishing a set of benchmarks for metric weights! On Friday, we should be ready to post a set of benchmarks for standard weights.
To assist these kiddos in achieving their goals, they have continual access to their Khan Academy accounts as well as a variety of material on their 4th Grade Math Quest Kiddos - Measurement Google Classroom. These tools, as well as the ones you discussed during your child's conference, will help them grow as a math learner!
Each 4th grader has measurement as part of their math goals. During our Quest math time, we have explored weight a lot! One group just finished establishing a set of benchmarks for metric weights! On Friday, we should be ready to post a set of benchmarks for standard weights.
Flashcards - Isn't That Old-Fashioned?
You might be a bit surprised to read this, but I am suggesting using an old fashioned method for fact mastery. Huh! Why? Do kids really need to have their facts memorized anymore? Well, yes, they do!
If your kiddo is visiting me during their WIN time, they are playing a game called Name That Number! In the game, a team tries to figure out a number by asking questions such as:
"Automaticity /ˌɔːtəməˈtɪsɨti/ is the ability to do things without occupying the mind with the low-level details required, allowing it to become an automatic response pattern or habit. It is usually the result of learning, repetition, and practice." (In this case, I think Wikipedia posted a concise definition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automaticity).
Reflex has been a tool most of your kids have used to learn their facts. Last year, I found that even though my son had been "green lighting" in Reflex for a couple of years, he still had some gaps. Encouraged by his 4th grade Venable teacher, we sat down with a paper set of flashcards. Almost every card he tried ended up in the "Automatic Facts" pile. A few cards did end up in another pile. Though this pile was small, it contained facts he hesitated on or didn't know automatically. After only a few days of working on these facts, we added them to the mastery pile.
The kids have developed a 'Divisibility Rules' chart to help them not only divide, but find all of the factors for a product. Still..... the rules are only efficient when the kid knows their facts.
"Information processing theory supports the view that automaticity in math facts is fundamental to success in many areas of higher mathematics. Without the ability to retrieve facts directly or automatically, students are likely to experience a high cognitive load as they perform a range of complex tasks. The added processing demands resulting from inefficient methods such as counting (vs. direct retrieval) often lead to declarative and procedural errors. Accurate and efficient retrieval of basic math facts is critical to a student’s success in mathematics. Research published by The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) states that students who cannot retrieve basic facts easily get lost and often cannot follow the logic of an explanation given by the teacher or a peer when the problems are embedded within more complex mathematic operations, such as simple algebra or long division." (http://www.csdnc.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_3653291/File/Snyder/math%20fact%20fluency.pdf)
So, let's take time to master these facts now before your child encounters more challenging math. Practice pays off!!!!!!
If your kiddo is visiting me during their WIN time, they are playing a game called Name That Number! In the game, a team tries to figure out a number by asking questions such as:
- Is the number prime?
- Is it composite?
- Is it a square number?
- Does it have a factor of ________?
"Automaticity /ˌɔːtəməˈtɪsɨti/ is the ability to do things without occupying the mind with the low-level details required, allowing it to become an automatic response pattern or habit. It is usually the result of learning, repetition, and practice." (In this case, I think Wikipedia posted a concise definition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automaticity).
Reflex has been a tool most of your kids have used to learn their facts. Last year, I found that even though my son had been "green lighting" in Reflex for a couple of years, he still had some gaps. Encouraged by his 4th grade Venable teacher, we sat down with a paper set of flashcards. Almost every card he tried ended up in the "Automatic Facts" pile. A few cards did end up in another pile. Though this pile was small, it contained facts he hesitated on or didn't know automatically. After only a few days of working on these facts, we added them to the mastery pile.
The kids have developed a 'Divisibility Rules' chart to help them not only divide, but find all of the factors for a product. Still..... the rules are only efficient when the kid knows their facts.
"Information processing theory supports the view that automaticity in math facts is fundamental to success in many areas of higher mathematics. Without the ability to retrieve facts directly or automatically, students are likely to experience a high cognitive load as they perform a range of complex tasks. The added processing demands resulting from inefficient methods such as counting (vs. direct retrieval) often lead to declarative and procedural errors. Accurate and efficient retrieval of basic math facts is critical to a student’s success in mathematics. Research published by The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) states that students who cannot retrieve basic facts easily get lost and often cannot follow the logic of an explanation given by the teacher or a peer when the problems are embedded within more complex mathematic operations, such as simple algebra or long division." (http://www.csdnc.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_3653291/File/Snyder/math%20fact%20fluency.pdf)
So, let's take time to master these facts now before your child encounters more challenging math. Practice pays off!!!!!!
Your kiddo has a Quest Google Classroom! Students will use their classroom site to find information, complete assignments and develop ideas with their fourth grade community. These classrooms are available for kids to access anywhere they can get onto the internet! How do they get there?
- The easiest place to start is the Venable home page (http://charlottesvilleschools.org/venable/). You'll see a list of 'Quicklinks' on the left-hand side of the page.
- Your 4th grader will want to click on Google Student Login.
- Next, they should use their CCS Google login and password (the same ones they use on Venable Chromebooks at school this year). This will take them to their Google Drive page.
- The top right hand corner displays a 3 x 3 array next to their name. By clicking on that array, you'll see a variety of Google apps.
- They may have to click on the word More in order to see the Classroom icon.
- Once they click on Google Classroom, they'll be taken to their Classroom homepage with the different classes they are "enrolled" in.
- Once they've joined the class, your student will see a list of assignments on the Stream. The assignment will tell the student if they need to post a comment, create a Google doc or do another activity to complete the assignment. Pretty groovy, huh?!
Who Is AL-KHWARIZMI ?
As 4th grade Quest mathematicians began our study of base systems, we explored our own base ten system and it's origins. You can enjoy the fun, and very quick, journey we watched through the 'Weird History of Arabic Numerals' at http://viewpure.com/Ar7CNsJUm58.