This week in math we are beginning to learn about Probability. This is usually a fairly fast unit to learn, since many of the concepts tie in with what we just studied about fractions, decimals and percent. I would expect we should be able to finish this unit within a week or two at most.
In language, we are learning about poetry and inferring. We are reading a number of poems, and learning about how to "read between the lines" when reading. I encourage students to make an inference by not simply answering a question, but also to explain what clues in text help them come to their conclusion, as well as what they know from their own experience. We will also continue to practice responding to text through EQAO reading, and writing an announcement.
In our afternoon science class, we are finishing up our unit on Space (grade 6) and Conservation of Energy (Grade 5). Students are finishing their reports/designs in class on Tuesday. Students can build their model at home and bring it in by Friday. We will be presenting our work over the next few weeks. We will be having a science test next Tuesday that will cover all of the material we have learned throughout this unit. I will send home their notes from their science folders that will help students study for their test.
Monday 30 April 2018
Monday 23 April 2018
Math Test Thursday!
We will be reviewing everything we have learned about Fractions, Decimals, Percent, Ratio and Rate this week and testing our understanding on Thursday. To assist students in reviewing for this test, I would recommend reviewing what we learned through our Hapara Workspace, and also use the following sites:
Monday 16 April 2018
Some Upcoming Dates
Here is a link to a letter outlining some upcoming dates over the next few months. The rest of the year is going to be quite busy in Grade 6!
Snow Day, Holy Trinity, JA Program & Math Night
Happy Snow Day! Hard to believe this is the middle of April. Hope everyone is safe today.
This is going to be a busy week in Grade 6! On Tuesday, we are going Holy Trinity for Transition Day, which students always enjoy. We will be doing a tour of the school in groups, and then watching a presentation by the students of Holy Trinity. We should be back at St. Anne between 1:30 - 2:00.
On Thursday from 6:30 - 8PM is our St. Anne Math Night. This was a very enjoyable evening last year, and I expect it will be just as much fun this year. During the Math Night, parents and children will have a chance to do some activities that students do in our classes. Mathnasium will be here this year as well with some games and door prizes. Looking forward to seeing you there!
On Thursday, the grade 6's will also be having volunteers come from the JA Program to teach us about Marketing and Business. Here is a description of the program from their website:
JA Be Entrepreneurial Junior (Grades 5 & 6) This is an interactive and engaging one-day program that introduces Grade 5 & 6 students to the fundamentals of starting a business and the opportunities and challenges of being an entrepreneur. Through key entrepreneurial concepts, including product, service, and competitive advantage and target market, students develop an understanding of how businesses thrive.
On Thursday, the grade 6's will also be having volunteers come from the JA Program to teach us about Marketing and Business. Here is a description of the program from their website:
JA Be Entrepreneurial Junior (Grades 5 & 6) This is an interactive and engaging one-day program that introduces Grade 5 & 6 students to the fundamentals of starting a business and the opportunities and challenges of being an entrepreneur. Through key entrepreneurial concepts, including product, service, and competitive advantage and target market, students develop an understanding of how businesses thrive.
Lately we have been practicing reading and writing for EQAO by completing an EQAO practice test each week. We have been writing the test one day, then taking up and self-assessing the next. After students have seen a good quality response, I ask them to try to improve it. After, we do the same process for writing samples. In the assessment folders, you will see the original answers on the practice tests, and the improved (hopefully!) answers on a lined piece of paper attached. For homework the next few weeks, we will be doing some reading assignments in a program called readworks.org. This website allows students to read an article, and then answer some multiple choice questions, followed by some short answer questions. This is excellent practice for EQAO.
In math, we have been continuing to learn about ratio and their relationships to fractions, decimals and percents. When working with more complicated problems involving fractions, I try to ask students to relate their responses to decimals because they can be easier to compare, and perform operations with. At this point, students usually begin to get a little confused by all the different ways we represent fractions (i.e. mixed numbers and improper fractions, decimals, percents, ratios). They need a good deal of practice to remember how to work with all of these. For homework, I will be assigning Mathletics for students to practice concepts we are going over in class. I highly recommend students complete any other assignments in addition to this.
In science, we are getting to the end of our units on Conservation of Energy (Grade 5) and Space (Grade 6). We have begun a final project for each grade. The Grade 5's are designing a house that is energy efficient, and the Grade 6's are writing a report about a feature of space, and then constructing a model of it in the classroom. I imagine this will take a few weeks, after which we will have a test. I will send home their worksheets beforehand so that students can study.
Have a great week everyone. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at school any time.
Sunday 8 April 2018
What's Coming this Week
We have been working hard in math learning about fractions and decimals. As part of this unit, we learn about calculating percent, as well as ratio and rates. We learn that a percent is simply another way to express a fraction, which is always out of 100. I show students how to change a fraction into a decimal by dividing the top number by the bottom, and then multiplying by 100 to make it a percent. Also, we learn that we can use equivalent fractions to turn a fraction into a percent. For example, 4/5 can be made into 80/100 by multiplying the numerator and denominator by 20, which makes 80%.
We will continue practicing percent this week by learning how to find the percent of a number, for example what is 80% of $20. Students need to simply multiply $20 by 0.8 in order to determine the amount. We will also be looking at how to find the original amount when given a percent - for example, $15 is 75% of what amount? In this case, students need to divide the two amounts (i.e. $15 / 0.75).
Later in the week we will be learning about what a ratio is and relating them to fractions and decimals as well. Finally, we will be learning about what a rate is and practicing many questions to explore this concept.
In language, we are getting ready for EQAO, which is occurring towards the the end of May. We will be reading some selections from old tests and practicing how to respond to reading questions in as much depth as possible. The two selections we will read this week are an info-fiction piece and a poetry piece. In the process of reading these, we will learn about some of the features and characteristics of each of these types of writing.
One way that can help students to respond to text in depth is to use a system called ROPES. This method is an anagram to help students remember the important elements to use in a response:
We will also be writing some persuasive paragraphs this week. We wrote one last week, and learned how to write with some greater detail when only writing a single paragraph. Most of the writing sample we have done this year have been longer, and the EQAO testing often asks students to write a single paragraph that has sufficient detail, so we will practice this a little longer before moving on to longer pieces for review.
In Science, we have been learning about Space for the grade 6's and Conservation of energy for the 5's. This week, I hope to finish covering the major concepts and have students begin a project to wrap up the unit and show their learning. We will have a unit test once the project is complete. These projects will be finished at school, and not assigned for homework.
In music, we have been learning about some famous composers, the instrument families, and have begun learning how to play the recorder. We will be continuing to learn the recorder until the end of the school year.
We will continue practicing percent this week by learning how to find the percent of a number, for example what is 80% of $20. Students need to simply multiply $20 by 0.8 in order to determine the amount. We will also be looking at how to find the original amount when given a percent - for example, $15 is 75% of what amount? In this case, students need to divide the two amounts (i.e. $15 / 0.75).
Later in the week we will be learning about what a ratio is and relating them to fractions and decimals as well. Finally, we will be learning about what a rate is and practicing many questions to explore this concept.
In language, we are getting ready for EQAO, which is occurring towards the the end of May. We will be reading some selections from old tests and practicing how to respond to reading questions in as much depth as possible. The two selections we will read this week are an info-fiction piece and a poetry piece. In the process of reading these, we will learn about some of the features and characteristics of each of these types of writing.
One way that can help students to respond to text in depth is to use a system called ROPES. This method is an anagram to help students remember the important elements to use in a response:
- R - restate the question
- O - opinion or answer
- P - proof from the text
- E - another example from the text
- S - Summarize, or explain how your examples relate to your answer (why are they good examples?)
We have been practicing this method all year, and while it doesn't guarantee an adequate response, it does help students to have a place to start when answering questions.
We will also be writing some persuasive paragraphs this week. We wrote one last week, and learned how to write with some greater detail when only writing a single paragraph. Most of the writing sample we have done this year have been longer, and the EQAO testing often asks students to write a single paragraph that has sufficient detail, so we will practice this a little longer before moving on to longer pieces for review.
In Science, we have been learning about Space for the grade 6's and Conservation of energy for the 5's. This week, I hope to finish covering the major concepts and have students begin a project to wrap up the unit and show their learning. We will have a unit test once the project is complete. These projects will be finished at school, and not assigned for homework.
In music, we have been learning about some famous composers, the instrument families, and have begun learning how to play the recorder. We will be continuing to learn the recorder until the end of the school year.
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