Using Devices

We have been practicing math facts using our netbooks and iPads!

Learning Multiplication

Multiplication is a major topic in fourth grade mathematics and we have been working hard to learn it.  Many parents wonder why we approach multiplication so differently now than when they were learning it.  Multiplicative reasoning is more than being able to multiply and divide.  It is learning to think in groups.  Multiplication and division strategies can be considered as falling within three levels.

Level 1 is making a picture and counting all of the quantities.  If we need to find the total number of wheels on 5 tricycles, we would draw the five tricycles, each having three wheels and count the wheels.  This level is generally used in second grade.  Level 2 is skip counting by a number such as for 3: 3; 6; 9; 12; 15; 18; 21; 24; 27; 30. The count-bys give the running total.  It can be hard to skip count by numbers that are high.  I know I can't count by 8's without already knowing multiplication facts.  At some point I would revert to counting by ones which is a level 1 strategy.  This level is generally used in the beginning of third grade. Between levels 1 and 3 you will find students repeatedly adding quantities to find an answer to a multiplication situation. These two levels have been left behind at this point in fourth grade.  By the end of third grade students are moving from skip counting to thinking of multiplication problems in an array.

Level 3 methods use the associative property or the distributive property to take numbers apart, multiply the parts and put them back together.  This strategy is what we work to solidify in fourth grade.  We do this by relating multiplication to finding the area of a rectangle.  See example below.

We move from using the diagrams like the one above to using partial products.  Our goal is for every fourth grade student to use partial products to multiply multi-digit numbers by the end of the year.  We will introduce the traditional algorithm before the end of the year and they are taught the traditional multiplication algorithm in fifth grade.

It is important that students have a deep understanding multiplication before they learn the traditional algorithm or they won’t learn to think in groups.  If students don’t fully develop multiplicative reasoning abilities they will have trouble understanding fractions and proportional reasoning in middle school, which will then impact their ability to understand algebra.  

For information go to -- http://commoncoretools.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/ccss_progression_cc_oa_k5_2011_05_302.pdf

I really enjoyed meeting with parents at our conferences.  Students learn best when they have a strong team of parents and teachers working together for them.  Parents, please feel free to contact Heidi or me any time you have a question or a concern.

We are finishing up our Animal Adaptations unit.  The weeks before and after Thanksgiving will be devoted to our final projects and activities.  Students will be designing their own animal by focusing on adaptations for survival.  This should result in some interesting animals!  Students will work in partners to make a poster and write paragraphs to picture, name and describe their animal and its adaptations.

In math we continue to build understanding and skills for multiplication.  Students should be working on memorizing multiplication facts.  If they have their facts memorized they will have more mental energy for solving more complex problems. 

On a final note, the fourth grades will be performing a skit about a bullying machine at an assembly on November 30th.  They will need a gray hooded sweatshirt.  If your child doesn't have one please let us know and we will provide one for them.  If your child has and extra gray hooded sweatshirt and is willing to share it, please send it in.

Enjoy your holiday!

Linda

Blog Alert!

Welcome to my first blog!  I hope this will help me to keep you informed about our work in math and science in fourth grade this year.

Math and science are my favorite subjects to teach!  I am the math teacher leader for the Hartford School District at the elementary level so you know math is important to me.  We finished our first unit in math which was all about developing a visual model to help understand multiplication and division.  Did you know that the dimensions of a rectangle and the area of a rectangle are the same as the factors and product in a multiplication problem?  We have also begun learning our multiplication facts.  My goal is for everyone to memorize these facts by the December break.  Our next math unit is about place value and multiplication of larger numbers.  We just got started.  Pretty soon your child will be able to show you how we use the area model to help us understand multiplication.

I love math but science is my other favorite!  I especially love the unit we are currently working on.  We began learning the inquiry process through activities using real animals.  We asked the question, "Do crayfish prefer to be alone or together?", made predictions based on our observations of the crayfish, set up a "fair test", gathered evidence and wrote a conclusion.  What do you think the answer is?  You can ask your student what our evidence showed.  Next we worked in small groups to ask a question about an animal that we found at the Dothan Brook.  We followed the inquiry process again with support from our peers.  We will be incorporating inquiry into science whenever possible.  We are currently studying animal adaptations.