Math Reflection 9-1

Place Value with Decimals
In the game/activity "High Roller Revisited", think about the strategies that you used for placing your numbers on the chart/gameboard to try and make the greatest number possible.

Did you have a strategy/plan for where you were going to place each number or only some of the numbers? What was your strategy?

Did you encounter any problems while playing?

If you got to play a second round, do you think your strategy changed? Were you able to make better/larger numbers than before?

Did you make the greatest number in your group?

How does the location of the digit in the number affect the size of the number?

Why does placement or position of a number matter? Did you enjoy the activity?

Summertime!

It is June 3rd I think. I am already in summertime mode which means I don't keep up with the dates very well. It will soon get so bad that I don't really keep up with the days of the week. I do, however, know what month is it. And most of the time I remember what year it is. Hey, when you get a little older, it's not as easy as it once was. I hope that everyone out there is having a wonderful summer break so far. It's exciting to think about how summer break has just started and that we have almost 2 months of it. I'm sure that whether you have big plans or little plans, you will enjoy some free time without any homework. That in itself is really nice. Although I have no homework, I was in a math class today and will also be in the same class tomorrow. It is part of the Best Practices Institute at Columbus State University. BPI is done through Muscogee School District and I must say that from what I experienced today, they have done a wonderful job. I am learning alot about something called Singapore Math. This is basically mathematical procedures that are taught to students in Singapore. Students there have very high math scores so we teachers here in the U.S. want to learn everything we can about this program. I think my students next year will enjoy the things that I have learned which I will in turn pass on to them. I look forward to tomorrow's lessons which I believe will focus on problem solving. Plus I had a really nice box lunch with a veggie wrap and other goodies as well as an ice tea with lemon today so I am also looking forward to seeing what's for lunch tomorrow...

5 More Days

Wow... there are only 5 more days of school left. I can hardly believe it. This year has gone by pretty fast for me. I will miss my wonderful students that will be leaving me and moving on - as they should - to sixth grade. I hope that they will continue to keep in touch with me so I will know how they're doing. One more reason to keep on blogging. Thanks to 'my' kids who have commented on my blogs. It's fun to get comments and see that someone is actually reading what you write. I hope to show anyone who is interested how to blog so that they can start a blog if it is okay with their parents. Technology is so great. It allows people to keep up with one another now in a fast, fun, easy way. There are so many diffferent ways such as blogs, wikispaces, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I am taking a wikispaces class now and it is also interesting and fun. I have linked my newly started wikispace with this blog and I will, in turn, also connect my blog to my wikispace once I have worked on it some more. So stay tuned...

Technology Fair

Here we are amidst all of the computers and projects and smart boards and more! Ms. Lessman(that's her in the pic) and I have been working the Mathews booth for about an hour. We have talked to many people and helped some play Mrs. Green's class media project on the American Revolution. It won First Place here tonight!!! It was all very exciting. Hope you were able to come see everything and possibly win a computer or flat screen tv. Mrs. Ramsey is hoping that her daughter will win that tv though. Happy computing!

Go check out the MCSD Website to read about the Techno Expo!

Belated Earth Day Greetings

I hope everyone had a green Earth Day yesterday. I actually received an Earth Day greeting from the daughter of a friend of mine who is a 5th grader in Beckley, West Virginia (which is where I used to teach before moving to Columbus 10 years ago this June). It said...
(For more information, visit...)
greenworkscleaners.com
this is a song that I learned at school when I went to the land fill

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Recycle, Recycle, Recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
It's easy to do!
Because your trash and
my trash make up way
too much trash.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
It's easy to do!
happy earth day
Presley
Just wanted to share this with you. It's very cool. REDUCE is also a word that we've been using in Math... I can tie math in to so many things. :-)

Just For the Fun of It - Math Puzzle 1

Can you solve the puzzle? I bet you can. Don't give up! You can do it.

In the local tennis tournament, the champion is to be determined from among 100 competitors by elimination. As soon as one of the competitors loses a match, he joins the ranks of the spectators. How many matches are needed in order to determine the winner?

Hello

Hello all you wonderful Mathews 5th graders! Good luck on the Science CRCT today. You know it's Early Release day so today shouldn't be to bad. When you get home, you can get on your computer and send me a comment. Have a great day!

Starting to Blog!

Here I go. I am finally blogging. It seems that blogging started about 11 years ago. I guess that I am a little behind the times. 11 is about how old most of my students are or will be. Better late than never? I think so. I am really looking forward to blogging and also to introducing my students to blogging although some of them may already be into it. I'm sure that they will let me know.