BEDMAS and Report Writing

Today in Math we learned about the order of operations, which we can use to come to a consensus about a "correct" answer when doing multiple operations. Perhaps you remember BEDMAS from school? This is what we learned this week! 

First, we looked at a number sentence (eg. 9 + 3 x 6 - 4) and tried to come up with as many different answers as possible. We saw that there are lots of different answers we could potentially come up with using this number sentence. I explained that we need to have a way to solve number sentences with multiple operations so that everyone could get to the same answer. Hence - BEDMAS!

Brackets

Exponents (which we do not study in grade 6)

Division

Multiplication   ---> division and multiplication are done in the order they appear in the problem

Addition

Subtraction    ---> addition and subtraction are done in the order they appear in the problem.

Here are some videos that may help to explain this concept in more detail. 

TVO Kids Order of Operations

In Language, we are wrapping up our Analyzing Unit by doing some research about an animal we are interested in and writing a report. We are going to try to stick to the following schedule so that it is finished by Friday:

Monday - research & note-taking

Tuesday - Outlining

Wednesday - Rough Draft

Thursday - Editing

Friday - Final Drafts and submit. 

Here is the success criteria that we will be using for our own self-assessment, peer-editing and my own final marking. 

Report Writing Success Criteria

Long Division

Over the next few days we will be learning how to divide large numbers. Specifically, we will be learning how to perform long division, which is often very challenging for students because of the many steps involved in the process.

There are two things that affect a students ability to do long division:

1. Knowledge of basic multiplication facts - I cannot emphasize enough how important basic facts are for children to understand a variety of math concepts, and this is another one. In order to perform long division, students need to be able to use multiplication facts to figure out at least two of the four steps. I highly encourage students to work on Xtramath as much as possible!
2. Having a systematic process - having a checklist-type system to follow helps students see and perform each step. 

Here is the system that I use to teach students how to do long division. This example is what would be expected at a grade 5 level. 

In this system, we use the acronym "Da Monkey Sells Bananas" to remember the steps of Divide, Multiply, Subtract and Bring down.

For grade 6, students are expected to be able to divide a 4-digit number by a 2-digit number. To help students understand how to do this, we watched a video from Khan Academy. I highly recommend this website for review of concepts and extra practice. Here is the video we watched in class:

Here is another video from Khan Academy that might also be helpful:

To practice we used the practice problem in Khan Academy, and we did some problems step by step together on the smartboard. This continues to be a challenging concept for many students, so we will be doing questions over the next few weeks to review.

Of course, there are other methods, such as the "flexible" method of long division, which I will also teach in class. Here is an example of the flexible method (Taken from Effective Guide to Instruction- Ontario Ministry of Education Document for Division):

Report Writing

We are winding up our unit on Analyzing in language, and will be writing a few reports to finish and show that we understand how to write longer, multiple paragraph pieces that have clear main ideas and details.

In class, we have been reading a book about Cheetahs together, and reading an article about Canada's Air Pollution in pairs. Students have been identifying main ideas and supporting facts, and putting them into a Google Slidedeck or a RAN chart to show their understanding.

We will be using the facts we have learned about Cheetahs to build an outline together, and then write a report about cheetahs based on what we have learned. I will demonstrate to students how to make an outline, and then how to use the outline to write the first few paragraphs, Students will then be asked to complete the final few paragraphs independently. They may use technology for this if they wish.

Once that is complete, then I will be providing a complete outline for a short report and asking students to write an entire report independently from the outline provided. Again, technology may be used and is encouraged.

Finally, students will be conducting some research, organizing facts into an outline and writing a short report (Introduction, 3 paragraphs, Conclusion) about an animal of their own choosing.

This is a lot of work! We will be working on this for the next few weeks for sure. Additionally, we will be doing a few more Reading EQAO practice tests to get used to the format and build our ability to answer these types of questions.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time. Thank you!

Rounding, Estimating & Addition/Subtraction

This week we have been learning about how to round numbers, use this understanding to estimate sums and differences, and we have been practicing addition & subtraction of larger numbers. Here is the lesson we learned about rounding, which students seemed to have a good grasp of.

Rounding - Strong Arms and Weaklings

We also learned to use this information to estimate when performing operations. I tell students to estimate to the largest place value in a number to tell if their answer is reasonable or note. For example:

23,456--->20,000

+ 12,398--->10,000   

                 30,000

So, I would expect my answer to be around 30,000 in this example. If I got an answer of 300, I would know that I have done something wrong somewhere and need to go back and check. 

Finally, we have been practicing adding and subtracting larger numbers. This is something that students should be familiar with from previous grades, but serves as a good reminder. We are practicing adding numbers up to the millions, and then checking our work both by using estimation, and by using subtraction. Students generally are good at addition and subtraction, but often forget to borrow (or regroup) when subtracting. We will be continuing to practice this tomorrow as well. 

Picture Day is Thursday

On Thursday, October 19, the Grade 6's will have picture day. This is just a regular picture day, and not the "Grad" pictures. The photo day for "Grad" pictures usually happens around March or April. I will let you know well in advance! Parents have the opportunity to purchase pictures from either picture day - or both!

As always, if you have any questions, please let me know by writing a note in the agenda and I will be sure to contact you. Thank you!

Prime & Composite Numbers

On Friday we learned about prime and composite numbers. Before learning about this concept, we needed to review what factors and products are. Here is a link to a presentation that can help students to better understand these concepts. This may be helpful to review later for a quiz. Please feel free to download, save, copy and distribute these presentations any time. They are being made to be used. The more people they can help, the better!

Prime and Composite Numbers

One area that students have difficulty with in this lesson is identifying the prime numbers that can be multiplied to create a composite number. The example in the presentation is helpful. I teach students to use a "factor tree" to identify the prime numbers. Here is a video to better explain:

Comparing and Ordering Whole Numbers

Yesterday we learned about how to compare and order larger numbers. Before students can really be successful at this skill, they need to have a fairly solid understanding of place value. That is why we teach place value first, before this concept.

The biggest idea that students have to remember about comparing and ordering numbers, and about place value in general, is that as we go further left in a number, the value becomes larger. For example, I would rather have 1 thousand dollars than 9 tens (or 90) dollars. Even though the digit is larger, the value of the 1 is more because it is in the thousands column (it is worth one thousand).

When comparing and ordering numbers, I encourage students to "stack" the numbers on top of each other, paying close attention to keeping the columns lined up. This helps them to clearly see which digit in each column is larger. See the attached presentation for an example. In class, we did an activity in which students worked in pairs to order the areas of a number of countries from greatest to least. We used place value charts to assist us with the activity. If your child needs to use a place value chart (or the "houses" idea like we did in this post) then that is fine. Students are encouraged to use whatever tools they can to help them understand concepts.

Comparing and Ordering Numbers Grade 6

Raz-Kids for Homework this week

This is the first week we are going to try to use some online tools to assist us with completing homework. On the right hand side of the page you can see the homework. This week we are beginning to use Raz-Kids to help students practice their reading.

When using Raz-Kids, it is important that students put in their best effort the first time. It can be very easy for a child to simply click through the pages. I have already spoken to the class about having to complete all the parts thoroughly.

The first thing students will do is go into the "Level-Up" section in Raz-Kids. Then they can select whichever book they prefer. They do three things for each book:

1. Listen to the text
2. Read the text
3. Complete a quiz

As I said above, it can be easy for students to simply click through the pages and then take the quiz. Of course, when they do this they generally fail the quiz. The program will ask them to do it again until they get a passing mark. 

When I see students have taken a quiz 8 times in order to score 9 out of 10, I can tell they haven't really read the story at all. Usually, it will take them 1 or 2 tries to successfully pass the quiz if they have truly read the material. If this isn't happening consistently, then please let me know and I will adjust the student's reading level to something more appropriate. 

As parents, you can help your child by encouraging them to read the text out loud as you are doing something else so that you know they have read. If they need assistance reading or understanding the questions, please feel free to assist them, but please try not to give them the correct answers. Let them learn from their mistake! They can do the quiz again if they do not get enough questions correct. 

To access Raz-Kids, students can use the Student Portal and then click the icon for Raz-Kids. Most do not have passwords, but I will assign some in the next few days. 

If you have any difficulty using the program or have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to assist. Thank you!

Place Value & the "House" System

Yesterday we began learning about place value in math. We watched the above video that explains how our place value system works up to the hundred millions. In grade 6, although not part of the formal curriculum, I tend to teach students up to the billions. We learn about each section being called a "house" or a "period", and with each period is a ones, tens and hundreds column. This helps us when we are trying to say larger numbers.



We also learn how to express numbers in 3 ways: standard form, expanded form and word form. Here is an example of each, for the number 234,675,873



Standard form: 234,675,873



Expanded Form:  200,000,000 + 30,000,000+4,000,000+600,000+70,000+5,000+800+70+3



Word form: 234 million, 675 thousand, 873


Finally, we learn to replace values with each column to come up with new numbers, For example, in the above number, what new number might I get if I added 3 more in the hundred thousands column?


First, look at the hundred thousands column, there is a 6, so it is worth 600,000.

Next, add 3 to the 6 = 9 --> but this is in the hundred thousands column, so it is worth 900,000!

Finally, change the number to reflect the new amount: 234,975,873.

We will be continuing to practice this throughout the unit.  Please let me know if your child is having difficulty with this, as it forms a foundation for other concepts.

Later in this unit we will be learning about multiplying and dividing larger numbers, identifying prime and composite numbers, comparing and ordering whole numbers, using the order of operations (BEDMAS), and adding and subtracting larger numbers.