We started the week with a review of multiplication. Temescalians colored in hundred tables, printed out on transparency sheets, with the multiples of 2s-12s. (We had to explain the use of transparencies and what projectors were…) Then, we went through and noticed any number or visual patterns there were for each sheet. Things got more interesting when we overlaid the 2s, 4s, 8s facts. “They are all even.” “Multiples of 4s are multiples of 2s, but not every multiple of 2s is a multiple of 4s.” “4s are every other 2s.” “8s are every other 4s.” When we overlaid this set with 6s, we talked about how any number, multiplied by an even number, will always result in an even number! We overlaid the 3s and 6s and noticed, “There is a diagonal pattern.” “Every other diagonal 3s is a 6s.” Overlaying the 9s on top of the 3s and 6s continued the noticing of the diagonal pattern on the hundred table, as well as noticing that the odd numbers had odd and even multiples. When we overlaid all of the hundred tables over each other, we started noticing that there were a few that had no coloring in, and those are prime numbers! Come in and look for these transparency sheets and more observations the Temescalians had about them! Having the transparencies was especially helpful when we played “Buzz! Fizz!”
The aim of the game is to count to 100, except all multiples of the chosen number must be replaced by the word ‘Buzz.’ For example, if the buzz number was multiples of 5, play would go – 1, 2, 3, 4, buzz, 6, 7, 8, 9, buzz, 11, 12…etc. If a child makes a mistake play begins (for the whole group) again at 1.
For a harder variation, choose two sets of multiples to exclude – say multiples of 3 and of 5 – multiples of 3 are replaced with the word ‘fizz’ and multiples of 5 with the word ‘buzz.’ For numbers that are multiples of both 3 and 5, the respondent says ‘fizz-buzz.’ For this example, play would proceed as follows – 1, 2, fizz, 4, buzz, fizz, 7, 8, fizz, buzz, 11, fizz, 13, 14, buzz-fizz, etc.
Starting multi-digit addition and subtraction, we first reviewed the idea of rounding. First to the tens, then to the hundreds. The rule for rounding is that you look at the number in the next place value and if it’s 5 or above, you round up. If it’s 4 or below, you round down. We used the example of a measuring tape, a ruler, and a number line to show that if you had a number that was 14, it would be closer to the 10 than the 20, so that was one visual way to make sense of the rounding rule, as well as double check your work. We also used base ten blocks to illustrate the same idea. When given 24, the 4 in the ones place is less than half, so it rounds down to 20. We played some games to brush up on our rounding skills called Round Ball Tens and Round Ball Hundreds.
For cultural studies, we took a look at origin/creation stories for the Ohlone people (“When the World Ended”) and the Yosemite Miwok people (“How Ah-hā’-le Created People”). While both indigenous people groups lived relatively close to one another, there were differences between the two stories, but similarities were there too. After reading the two stories, we asked the Temescalians to note similarities and differences between the stories. They noted that both had only animals as main characters, water covered the earth, animal people were sent underwater to look for soil/dirt, the water was really deep. They noticed that in the Ohlone culture, Eagle, Hummingbird, and Hawk were main characters, whereas the Yosemite Miwok had Coyote and Frog as main characters.
In writing, we are trying to help the Temescalians first learn how to share their work in partners, and then think about a compliment and question for their partner. This habit is helpful for when they are peer editing. (One of the prompts this week was inspired by the Ohlone and Yosemite Miwok creation stories.)
Spelling practice involves both structured instruction and play to apply their knowledge of the spelling pattern. We also learned the letters “j” and “p” in cursive.
Starting our study of water and climate, we talked about surface tension. We watched a video about water striders and talked about how they were able to “walk” on water. Then we read some information about surface tension from the textbook.
Then we set out to do an experiment to see if a penny can hold more drops of water or soapy water. We introduced them to the scientific method format to record their thoughts, materials, and steps, and then we started dropping water on penny tops! An added feature was guessing exactly how many drops of water and drops of soapy water could fit on top of a penny. Everyone was very surprised with the results (ask your Temescalian how many drops of water fit on top of a penny!) but we emphasized that not having a correct guess is actually a good thing! You learn whenever you make mistakes or things don’t turn out the way that you thought!
We learned that trying to drop water on a penny on a table that others were also using sometimes affected the experiment so for the soapy water portion, we set out to drop water on the floor!
We were able to explore surface tension by other means and did a few of the experiments from this video:
We tried the upside down jar with a screen over the mouth and talked about how the surface tension of each part of the screen kept most of the water from the jar from falling out. (To view the video, enter the password: TemescalCreek! )
After watching Physics Girl do “fireworks” with milk, soap, and food coloring, we tried it too! However, we noticed that our results were not as dynamic. It might be because the dairy that we used was half and half and the food coloring that we have is a gel food coloring. Both of these liquids are more viscous than regular milk and food coloring. We did, however, notice how soap breaks the surface tension of the milk. Soap breaks down the fats in milk, so as the soap moves across the surface of the milk, the food coloring is also being pushed/carried along by the soap. Try it at home and let us know how your experiment turned out!
To view a snippet of the experiment, use the password: TemescalCreek!
Snapshots of our week, including Family Reading and Spanish:
Upcoming events and announcements:
We are going to try to make borax crystals on Thursday. Please send your child in with a 32 oz. heat safe plastic liquid container with its lid by Wednesday, 12/19! (It looks like this: 32 oz. plastic liquid container).
The Winter Assembly is on Friday, 12/21 from 9:15 – 10:15am. Please RSVP so that we can know to expect you and your family! RSVP through this link!
Our Thankfulness Expository Writing Celebration of Learning and holiday celebration is on Friday, 12/21 from 10:30 – 11:30am! The link/button to the potluck sign up is working and on the top of this page. Please remember to label the food items that you bring in, and that no nuts are allowed in any food item!
Finally, class will resume on Tuesday, January 8, as school will be closed on Monday for Professional Development.
