WMS: Thursday's Math Play-by-Play

Dear Families,

 

Thursday's installment of our math play-by-play, so that you know how our math class is running here in Semester 2! These emails get archived at my blog (http://www.mrmacnevin.com) and more information is available there as well about how I am also using Zangle (parent connect) differently to provide timelier information for you.

Just have to share this because it's cool: today in class students saw that they now had the ability to calculate the perimeter of something made of all circular edges... kind of like the Bat Symbol for Batman or a Sine Wave (see their practice packet for today on Circumference).

 

Is your child completing his/her homework?

Wondering about whether or not your child is completing and turning in her/her math homework? You can look right inside their daily planner. At the beginning of class I am stamping the homework assignment that they have written down if it is complete. If any part of that homework is missing, I don't stamp the planner.

 

I hope you are having a good week! These 4-day weeks fly by so quickly!

Cheers,

Brian MacNevin

 

Today's Play-by-Play

• Math Review Feedback: Students corrected their math reviews from last night. They marked correct answers with a star and incorrect answers with an H. Incorrect answers should also have the correct answer and a working strategy copied from the answer pages.
• Homework Check-in: If students had their homework complete, I stamped their planner recording of the assignment.
• Practice: Today in class we practiced calculating the circumference of a circle from its diameter or its radius. Students were introduced to two approximations of pi: 3.14 and 22/7. They each have their advantages, but on the state test in the spring, students are not allowed to use a calculator, so they should be comfortable calculating circumference by hand. The approximation of 22/7 is really handy to use if the diameter of the circle is a multiple of seven because it will simplify to a whole number answer. Students were a little perplexed today because the two approximations of pi sometimes give answers that differ by a few hundredths. That's okay, because they are all approximations of pi (as long as their answer is calculated correctly based on the version of pi they chose). Students shouldn't use their calculator's pi button at this time. One think I noticed students forgetting was to write the formula C= pi x d down before solving a problem. I will work with kids more on that because it's a really good strategy to help you remember all the terms you need for a calculation.
• Homework Assignment: Today students wrote down these three things:
• MR Quiz (math review quiz tomorrow: 4 questions that look strangely similar to the problems they've seen all week).
• Did You Hear About... (a self-correcting pizzazz math worksheet practicing calculating circumference)
• Circumference Packet (today the students practiced calculating circumference and finding the circumference of some odd shapes with the skills they now have. If they had any to finish, this should be completed as part of homework)