Math

The month was ruled by factors and divisibility.  The students began November playing the game of Factor Captor that on one level is great practice for the multiplication and division facts, and on another level, allows for strategic planning based on number concepts.  As the students explored concretely with blocks and sketching the concept of prime and composite numbers, their strategic knowledge for playing Factor Captor increased. 

During our exploration of divisibility and divisibility rules, many students understood readily how all even numbers are divisible by 2, or how any number ending in a zero is divisible by 5 and 10.  A fun rule that they just learned is that any number whose digits add up to a number divisible by 3 is divisible by 3.  For instance, 354 is divisible by 3 because its digit add up to 12 (3+5+4 = 12) and 12 is divisible by 3, no remainder.  Ask your child if he/she remembers the rules for 6 and 9.  Playing with numbers is fun, yet it also gives them facility with operations involving multiplication, division, fractions, and more.

The students began taking the weekly facts quiz and recording their scores on a line graph.  The goal is to track their progress and work towards individual improvement. 

The students did a great job of making apple pie for our Thanksgiving Feast.  They followed the recipes for the homemade crust and for the pie filling.  Delicious! 

Amidst all this, the students continued to practice their mental math and problem solving skills daily along with independent work in their geometry books and on the Balance Out task cards.