Math Fact Apps

As discussed at conferences, math facts are extremely important, and are some of the important targets for this year.  There are lots of ways to work on memorizing math facts, such as flashcards, worksheets, games, and online sites like xtramath.  I will try to set up the class soon on xtramath so that you have that as one option.
I have found 2 apps that I like - Math Fact Master and Rocket Math.  I'm always on the hunt for good apps, so if you know of others or come across another one that works well for your child, let me know!

Happy Math Facting!

Who's That Superhero Baby?

I just love the students' baby pictures!  We had fun this week looking at them and guessing who they were!  Very cute!  Even Mrs. Salbeda's picture is up!  (the "old-fashioned" picture as the kids called it)

Close Reading and Native American Regions

What is Close Reading?

A close reading is a careful and purposeful reading. Well actually, it's rereading. It's a careful and purposeful rereading of a text. It's an encounter with the text where students really focus on what the author had to say, what the author's purpose was, what the words mean, and what the structure of the text tells us. Close reading requires that students actually think and understand what they are reading. - Dr. Douglas Fisher

We are well into our study of Native American Regions, and we have been using the strategy of Close Reading to help us gather and understand the information.  I am so impressed with how well the students have been using this strategy!  The Close Reading strategy can have variations depending on the purpose, the level of students, and the text.  

This is the chart with the steps that we are using right now with the strategy:

     So, we read one paragraph or section at a time.  They think about what it is mostly about, and then talk with a partner.  We use this to create a heading for the section.  Then they read it a second time and underline key words, which should relate back to the heading.  The students check with their partner to see if they agree on the key words.  During the third reading, students highlight "tricky" words, and we discuss the meaning of the words based on the context.  We finish the process by answering the questions, using the text to support our answers.

      The first time we did this, it was slightly painful, but they have made great progress!  :) This will help them when they take the state test in the spring.  We won't use Close Reading with everything we read, but it's a very good strategy when examining smaller texts and learning how to read deeply.

Counting Up Algorithm for Subtraction

Today we learned the Counting Up Algorithm for solving subtraction problems.  People use this method in regular life, such as counting back change to another person.  Will the kids learn the traditional algorithm that uses "borrowing"?  Most definitely!  The method they learned today uses a few different math skills such as using "friends of 10", and using knowledge of landmark numbers such as 10s and 100s.  This is a picture of what we added into their Math Notebooks:

When we learn a new method it can take a few days for it to sink in, so we will continue to work on it.  The math homework has  an example to help remind them of the steps.  It was fun to see it starting to click for them!  

Partial Sums Algorithm

Today in math we worked on Ballpark Estimates (rounding) and Partial Sums Algorithm.  The Partial Sums Algorithm is used for adding multi-digit numbers, and helps cement the concept of place value.  This helps kids understand why we "carry over" when using the standard addition algorithm.  I have included a link to a video for Partial Sums so that you can see how they kids have learned the process.

Partial Sums Algorithm