Thursday, January 26, 2012

A very busy day today!

Today we focused almost entirely on poetry, writing and math. Day 1 is a fairly uninterrupted day, which gives us a chance to get much deeper into a topic. The students wrapped up their unit on mathematics (geometry) with a project this afternoon, and most were able to finish the 1st draft of their persuasive essay. Those who were unable to finish have been asked to do so for homework.

We read a great book as part of our unit about poetry. It is called "Love That Dog", by Sharon Creech. It is entirely written in free verse, and tells the story of a boy in grade five who learns to love poetry and comes to grips with the loss of his pet many years before. It also references several famous poems, which I have placed on KidBlog for students who want to share them or re-read them. Nothing makes me happier than a student who wants to take something home to share!

We also launched into multiplication today. We looked at the theory behind multiplication, as well as the patterns that start to emerge when we look at a detailed multiplication table. The students were amazed to see some of the shortcuts coming out of the woodwork, and seemed fairly energized about a normally dry topic. I have informed the class that reviewing their "times tables" will be done at home over the next few weeks, so we can focus on strategies and problem-solving in class. I am normally against rote learning, but the benefits of having the basic multiplication facts at your fingertips are undeniable.

I will be providing resources for studying and practicing multiplication (games, tutorials, manipulatives) on KidBlog on a daily basis, so please encourage your child to check them out.

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