For homeroom 152

Hi Room 152!  For homework this week, I want you to practice multiplying multi-digit numbers.  Here are the directions from the homework board:

Lattice is optional, but please practice the other two methods.  If you forgot to bring your notebook home and don't remember how to do the area model, watch the video in the previous blog.  I'll check in with you in class on Wednesday to see if we can schedule a quiz for Thursday or Friday.  Let me know before then if you need my help.  Remember - On a quiz, you may use whichever method of multiplication you like best.  :)

Multi-digit Multiplication Methods

Last week, students practiced multi-digit multiplication using the traditional method.  Today, Mrs. Banspach brought us her middle school perspective on this topic.  The traditional method is the one most commonly used here at school and at home when students ask their parents for help.  It's great when taking a timed quiz (which our district requires,) and it's efficient when students are working on multi-step word problems.

The second method we looked at today is sometimes referred to as partial products and sometimes it's called the area model.  It's easier to show you this method than to explain it in words, so take a look at the following short video.

We'll continue to practice this next week.  Mrs. Banspach showed us how middle school math teachers use this method when teaching algebra.  They report that students who learned this in elementary school have an easier time understanding the structure of algebraic equations.

Production note:  Thanks to Jake, my cameraman today.  He got it in one take.  :)

More Pi

If the diameter of your bicycle tire is 23 inches, and you move your bike so that the tire makes 3 complete revolutions, about how far have you moved your bike?

definition:  Revolution means one complete turn.

Hint:  d * pi  = c  (d = diameter and c = circumference)

And for fun, try this:

Write 3.14 on a piece of paper and hold it up to a mirror.  (Go light on the decimal point.)  Thanks Daelynn  :)

Fifth Grade Celebrates Pi Day!

Ordinarily, I don't encourage children to play with their food, but working with their food...now that's something else.  Yesterday was Pi Day and 5th graders in the red pod celebrated by measuring the diameter and circumference of their round snacks.  They learned that circumference divided by diameter equals 3.14159... and of course the inverse is also true.  (We learned those fact families in the second grade for a reason.)  Although this was a break from our unit in fractions, Pi Day offered us an opportunity to review decimals and variables within an algebraic equation. 

During the activity, students traced their round snack, then placed a piece of string around that circle and cut it to size.  They measured their string in centimeters in order to do their calculations.  Then, they placed their string across the diameter of their circe and cut it to size.  This yielded 3 pieces of string, and a small piece left over which gave them a visual represenation of 3.14.

Mrs. Banspach, our district math coach, joined us during this celebration and she reminded students that Pi isn't the decimal 3.14159...  Rather, Pi refers to the relationship of a circle's diameter to its circumference. 

I'd like to thank Mrs. Banspach and Mr. Main for all their help and mathematical insights, not just yesterday but always.