Multiples, Sadako & Report Writing

Today in our morning class we learned about common multiples. First we practiced identifying multiples and played a game called Buzz, and then we attempted to solve our challenge problem:

A radio show is having a phone in contest. Every 3rd caller gets a t-shirt. Every 7th caller gets a baseball cap. In 50 callers, how many people would get both a t-shirt and a baseball cap?

We solved this problem in partners and wrote our results on chart paper. Many students were able to find solutions to the problem by using a variety of strategies: number lines, use of multiples, listing numbers and circling multiples, and using division. We saw that while all the strategies worked, some were more accurate or more efficient than others.

We then discussed the concept of common multiples, and looked at a way to find common multiples easily. We will practice this a little more tomorrow for Bell Work.

Here is a link to our Blendspace unit that we will be using regularly to help reinforce concepts around whole numbers and place value. Boxes 10, 11 & 12 are all related to common multiples.

Multiples Blendspace

In language, we have begun reading a short novel called Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. It is a story about a Japanese girl in Hiroshima about ten years after WWII, who contracts leukemia as a result of the atomic bomb. She believes that if she can make one thousand paper cranes, she will get well. I have been fortunate enough to visit Hiroshima and have been able to tell the students a little bit about what I saw when I was there, and some background information about Japanese culture. The students all seem to be really enjoying this story so far.

We are also writing reports as part of finishing up our unit on Analyzing. We will be learning about writing information reports that use an introduction paragraph, three main ideas and a conclusion paragraph. Today we read and looked at the structure of a report about Space telescopes. We will be writing a report together as a class, building a Bump it Up wall and then writing reports of our own.