We started this week with posing story problems to the Temescalians that required either multiplication or division to solve. While the idea of multiplication and division may seem like a daunting concept, it becomes more manageable when you talk about it in more familiar terms. We have all played card games or split a certain amount of items into equal parts. If you were to say that you had 28 jelly beans and 4 people wanted them, you would know to keep on passing your store of 28 out until you had none and everyone had equal shares of what you started with. When solving division problems, you can think about in terms of # of groups or # of things in a group. We have been trying to help Temescalians see the connection between multiplication and division in that once you know one part of the problem, you can figure out the missing piece, IF you know your multiplication facts. We practiced solving multiplication and division story problems with different situations at “Bob’s Toy Store”. For example, in the case of the marbles mentioned, you could write the equation/number sentence as 28 marbles ➗ 4 bags = ________ marbles in each bag. In this case, you are trying to solve and see how many things come in a group. However, if you were to write this same problem out as a multiplication problem, you could think about it in terms of # of things that come in a group x number of groups = things total. Going back to our example, we can think of the division problem like this: ________ marbles in each bag x 4 bags = 28 marbles. Thinking about this problem in terms of multiplication can help those who are struggling with this new idea of division and put the concept in terms of a more familiar operation and break it down into a more formulaic way. We’ll be embarking on writing our own multiplication and division story problems. Try practicing coming up with story problems of your own with your Temescalian!
We are ramping up our poetry unit and we narrowed down a published poem that we will try to memorize and share during the Readathon week. We also went back and talked about how to fold in the different types of figurative language into our poems, as well as going back and tweaking existing poems to make them more visually stimulating. We also introduced the formulas for writing a haiku, diamonte, and cinquain. For one of our “snack questions”, we challenged Temescalians to write haikus about an edible snack item. Some Temescalians seemed to really enjoy this play with words and continued to write into pockets of free time.
We explored properties of magnets. Given different tasks, Temescalians were asked to record observations as well as explanations. In the midst of the play with magnets, this key practice of experimentation was forgotten, and we revisited this skill with Julianne who also gave tips of how to draw more realistic images of what we saw.
We also looked at single axle and wheels. We created our own ramps out of clothes pins and a thin hardback book. (Ask your Temescalian how to make this set up!) Then we put a towel on the ramp. When we rolled an axle with two wheels of the same size on both surfaces, we talked about the difference and introduced the vocabulary word of “friction”. We asked the Temescalians what forces were working on the axle and wheels: gravity and friction. We gave each pair of Temescalians the same materials: 1 axle, 2 big wheels with different holes, 2 small wheels. Then we tasked the Temescalians to note what would happen if they used the same size wheel, different sized wheels, placed the axle in different holes. Temescalians noted that when they used different sized wheels, the wheel and axle would turn towards the smaller wheel. Temescalians worked to record the different combinations they tried out and their findings so that we could have productive conversations about what they observed.
With our buddies on Friday, we worked to create cards for a member of our community who is undergoing cancer treatment. We talked about meaningful ways to connect with someone even if you don’t know them. You could write, “Get better soon!” “Feel better!” You could also include different things that the individual likes. Our buddies created many well wishes for the community member, and some even included a few jokes to brighten up his day.
We celebrated a birthday celebration on Friday! We enjoyed seeing the pictures of him throughout the years and found out more about him when we asked questions about his firsts and favorites.
A few other glimpses from the week:
Upcoming Events:
April
1 to 5 Readathon Week!
2 – Last day to drop off books for the Book Swap
3 – Book Swap during school
5 – Readathon! Family Reading from 8:30 – 9:00am. Grownups are welcome to come back throughout the day to share a favorite picture book, chapter from a book, or poem with the class!
8 to 12 – Spring Break (No school, sign up for camp)
