WMS: Math/Science Update

Dear Families,

Math

• We have been working on multiplying fractions using area models (sometimes called arrays) to help us discover an efficient number relationship to use when multiplying fractions. The learning target is "I can multiply fractions and mixed numbers and can use this to solve problems." But there is a lot inside of that which we've been unpacking.
  

1. Using simple area models, we discovered that you can multiply fractions by multiplying the numerators together for the new numerator and by multiplying denominators together to get the new denominator.
2. We examined the usefulness of simplifying fractions before you multiply them to make the numbers easier to work with.
3. We have looked at multiplying fractions by whole numbers using area models and by seeing that we can treat a whole number like an improper fraction (6 wholes is the same as 6/1) and multiply using our fraction strategy.
4. We looked at multiplying whole numbers by mixed numbers (how many brownies are there in 5 pans that are each 1 3/4 full?). We found that the area models get more difficult to use because you have to draw so many of them, and we found that changing the mixed number into an improper fraction lets us calculate the same thing using our fraction multiplication strategy.
5. Today we looked at mixed numbers of mixed numbers. For example, if you had 2 1/2 boxes of brownies and each box held 1 1/2 pans of brownies, how many pans of brownies would you have? This was a bear. The diagrams quickly became unhelpful because there are several ways to potentially draw them and the answers may appear different depending on how students decided to draw the first part of it. So isntead, we looked at the problem using improper fractions, students told me they could just use their fraction multiplication strategy to solve it without a drawing. The key is, they had to turn the mixed numbers into improper fractions before multiplying. 

• That means we have now unpacked the types of multiplication problems and we have a working strategy that seems to work in all we've seen so far.
• Tomorrow we will have a leveled practice day, next Monday we will have a practice quiz, and next week on Tuesday we will have a quiz for multiplying fractions. 
  

Science

• The Wednesday Early release and holiday on Monday didn't leave me with a chance to do a practice quiz with my students yet on food webs and energy. 
• Tomorrow (Friday) we will have a practice quiz in class so that students can get some feedback on things they need to study or improve on. I usually dislike having quizzes on Mondays, so we will have the official quiz for food webs on Tuesday of next week. 

Archives

These emails are automatically saved on a blog in case you'd like to go back and find resources I've mentioned in them. You can find that blog as well as links to lots of student support materials at http://www.mrmacnevin.com. 

Thank you for all the help and support you provide your children daily!

Sincerely,

Brian MacNevin