Homework 10/24-10/28

Monday: Home Connection #13
This homework will not due until Wednesday because one group did not get it yet and a lot of students still have questions about it. We will be going over it, in class, on Tuesday.

Homework 10/3-10/7

Monday:
Águilas-Number Corner book page 5
Wolves and Jaguars-Number Corner Book pages 5 & 6

Tuesday:
No homework

Wednesday:
Águilas: No. Corner pages 6, 7 & 8
Wolves and Jaguars: No. Corner pages 7 & 8

Homework 9/22

Some students may have Number Corner homework today, if they did not finish it during math. They are working with place value (base 10 pieces, modern numbers and ancient egyptian symbols) and decimeters/centimeters. It is due tomorrow 9/23/11.

Off and Running!

Sorry I haven't been here for a while. It's been a very busy, but good, September. We have a wonderful fourth grade class and everyone is ready to learn!

Tonight is Curriculum. We'll be explaining all the fourth grade expectations for homework and fourth grade standards. I hope we have a big crowd!

I need to mention the homework we've had since school started. I am catching up, but promise to do a better job posting all homework assignments so parents and students can look it up when needed.

Sept. 8: Home Connection #4-Story Problems due 9/9/11
Sept. 14: Home Connect # 5-Area Models due 9/15/11
Sept. 15: Cracking the Code-Place Value due 9/16

Sept. 20: Factors of 36 and 48 with graph paper due 9/22/11
Except the Águila group who will get it 9/22 and it will be due 9/27

Sept. 21: The Jaguars may have 2 story problems that focus on patterns, if they did not finish it during iTime today. It is due 9/22.

Great Books to Read Over the Summer

Mrs. Velázquez will be starting a new with the 4th and 5th grader during the 2011-12 school year...Battle of the Books. Here's what she says about it:

Battle of the Books.....
is a voluntary reading incentive program for students. A battle is a game, like the College Bowl, in which student teams earn points by answering questions on the reading list. Classroom teams compete at the end of each trimester and get to keep the Battle of the Books Trophy in their classroom for the following trimester.

What fourth grade teachers are saying about it:
This is a great way to try out different genres and leveled books. Students do not have to participate in Battle of the Books, but we will be reading several of the books, from the reading list, for homework and students will be creating end of the book projects (like diaramas) to demonstrate what they read.

First Trimester Book List
*Midnight-The New Prophecy Warriors Series, by Erin Hunter
*Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn
*11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass
*Revolutionary War on Wednesday, by Mary Pope Osborne
*Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White
*Beastologist, by R.L. LaFevers
*The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, by Avi
*Our Strange New Land-Elizabeth's Diary, by Patricia Hermes
*Riding Freedon, by Pam Muñoz Ryan
*Benjamin Franklin, by David Adler

Homework 3/14-3/25

I gave the students a math packet for homework this week. I wrote that it was due on Monday, March 21. However! After looking at the quantity of work I put in the packet, I have changed the due date to Friday, March 25.

Homework 2/28-3/4

There will be no math homework this week. Many students have turned in late homework and I need time to correct those in addition to my normal correcting. We have been working very hard, and I think, the students and I both deserve a break!

Homework 2/22-2/27

Reading:
Last week we began our new reading at home logs. Students will still need to read for at least 30 minutes five times a week, to earn a level 3; however, they will also need to answer a question about their reading. For students in the Dual Language program, Monday and Wednesday's reading homework should be written in Spanish. Monday's reading should be a book of their choice, A.R., at their Spanish reading level.

Math:
Students received a math packet again this week. It includes basic math fluency practice for addition, subtraction, multiplication and working with fractions.

Homework 1/31-2/4

This week, students will be receiving a pack of basic facts. It will include addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems. They will, also, receive flash cards for multiplication and division (we have not received these yet). They should practice with the flash cards for 10 minutes, then they should take one of the practice tests in the packet. Each practice test has 40 problems and students should time themselves for 2 minutes. They will then graph the amount of problems they answered correctly in 2 min. on the graph included in the packet. After graphing, they should complete any unanswered problems without timing themselves again.

Please check their practice test to make sure they are answering the problems correctly.

Homework Rubric

New Homework Rubric

Homework scores will now be based on the number of problems correct out of the total number of problems (fractions) and then converted to percents.

90 - 100% = Level 4
75 - 89% = Level 3
60 - 74% = Level 2
0 - 59% = Level 1

Homework 1/18-1/23

Monday: No school or homework

Tuesday: No. Corner pages 60-62

Wednesday: Practice for Math Olympics

Thursday: Bridges Student Workbook: pp. 44-45
Choose one of the problem solving activities on page 44, circle the letter.
On page 45, write the letter of the problem you are solving and why. Then, solve the
problem. You do not need base ten paper. You can draw your sketch and labels on the
room provided on page 45.

Homework 1/10-1/14/11

Monday: No homework today because we had an assessment on area and perimeter. We will be using the information to see who understands the concepts and who needs more help.

Tuesday: Again, no homework today because I only had two out of the three groups today. It's art day for the Eagles and the Wolves. However, be prepared for work in your number corner books tomorrow.

Wednesday: No homework

Thursday: Number Corner book-pp. 55-57

Homework 11/8-11/14

Monday: Number Corner book, pp. 22-24
On pages 22 & 23, student will be working on strategies for multiplying by six. One strategy is to think of multiplying by three and then double it.
For example:
6x8=(3x8)+(3x8)
6x8=24+24
6x8=48

This strategy helps students break the problem down in to smaller factors they feel more comfortable with. Another great strategy you can do at home is to have your student skip count by sixes. 6,12,18,24,32...

Tuesday: Number Corner book, pp. 25-27
Pages 25 & 26 work on strategies for multiplying by 8. Students who have a hard time with the eights can think about multiplying by fours than doubling (x2).
For example:
8x7=(4x7)2 or 8x7=(4x7)+(4x7)
8x7=(28)x2 8x7=28+28
8x7=56 8x7=56

Another strategy: Since 2 times 2 times 2 is 8; doubling 3 times great! (p.25 of book)
8x7= 7 doubled 3 times
Double once: 7+7=14
Double twice: 14+14=28
Double three times: 28+28=56

On page 27, students will be working on problem solving.

Wednesday: Number Corner book, pp. 28-30
Pages 28 & 29 are working with strategies for multiplying with 9s. The one mentioned is multiplying by 10, than subtracting.
For example:
9x7=(10x7)-7
9x7=70-7
9x7=63

There are many strategies for multiplying by 9 and your child may use the one that works best for him or her.

Page 30 is solving word problems. These are important because students need to understand how to read the problem, identify what the question is asking them to do and know what steps they need to take to find the solution. Many of these problems have more than one step and students need to perform all of them.

Homework 11/1-11/5

Monday: There is no homework today.

Tuesday: No homework because some groups did not get to practice the math in class enough to do it alone at home.

Wednesday: Same as Tuesday.

Thursday: A Home Connection worksheet. Students are to practice identifying the dimensions and area of an array created with base 10 pieces.

Friday-Sunday: Don't forget to read this weekend.

Homework 10/25-10/29

Monday: There is no homework today. I did not have a chance to go through all of the number corner books and could not return them for new homework.

Tuesday: Students received a worksheet for their homework today. On one side, they are working with multiples of 4. The strategy is to "double-double." For example: 4x8= (2x8)+(2x8). If they can remember what 2x8= than they can multiply 2x8=16 so 16+16=32, thus 4x8=32. There are several multiplication expressions toward the bottom of the page. Students need to circle 3 of the expressions and find the product (answer in a multiplication problem).

On the other side, they will need to complete a "crossword" puzzle with numbers. We did go over this in class, but if they have any questions I will e available before school tomorrow morning.

This sheet is due Wednesday.

Some students did have a chance to work on it during class, while other students were finishing a test, and they may already be done.

Wednesday & Thursday: Students will receive a worksheet with addition problems at their level tonight. It is 2 sided, but one side should be completed on Wednesday and the other on Thursday. It is due Friday, October 29th.

Homework for the week of 10/18-10/22

Due to the short days this week, I was only able to see each math group one time. The only homework for the week is in the Number Corner book, pp. 19, 20 & 21. The books should be turned in Friday, Oct. 22nd, but may be turned in Monday, Oct 25th since some students may not have time to finish it by Friday.

Homework 10/11-10/17 Due: Monday 10/18

Monday: Number Corner book pages: 11, 12 & 13
problem solving and working on the math fact x4

Tuesday: Number Corner book pages 14,15 & 16
problem solving and working on the math facts x5

Wednesday: Number Corner pages 17 & 18
problem solving

Thursday: Multiples of 3 sheet
Students should time themselves to see how fast the can do 100 multiplication facts. The fourth grade standard is 100 facts in 5 minutes.

Please note: I have note been able to find where my substitute placed the students basic facts tests. As soon as I find them I will be able to send home new flash cards. We will have our next facts test on Monday, Oct. 18th.

Basic Math Facts: Flash Cards

Division side of flash cards.

Basic Math Facts

Every Friday, I will be sending home basic facts flash cards. It will be geared to each student based on the multiplication facts he or she is working on in class. Each week students take a timed multiplication test, start with multiples of 2 (2x0 through 2x12). They must get 22/25 equations correct, in 1 minute, to move on to the next level. If a student passes the multiple of 2 test, s/he will then do the division by 2 fact test. When s/he passes that test, with 22/25, s/he moves on to the multiples of 3, etc. Students are to cut the flash cards an practice. Multiplication is on one side and division is on the other side. The numbers in bold (on the division side) are the product, answer in multiplication, and the quotient, answer to a division equation, are the numbers in bold on the multiplication side. I have gone over this with the students, because it's obviously a little confusing, so each child should know this information.

Knowing the Homework

Knowing what to do for homework always seems to be a problem for many students. Although students have a homework log, they carry to each class, it never seems like there is enough time for all students to fill in the log and be prepared to do the homework in the evening. To help students more, I have written a HOMEWORK SCHEDULE on my whiteboard. Whenever I assign homework in math or English grammar, I write the homework assignment on the whiteboard. The students should also be writing it on their homework log sheet. When I assign pages in the Number Corner math book, I always go over the pages i assign with the class and have them write the date on the pages to be completed. If I give math handouts for homework, I go over them and ask students to write their name on the paper before leaving class. I do keep a blue box labeled, "No names." If your student is missing a worksheet, but believes it was turned in, he or she should look in the box. Hopefully, together, we can make sure that every knows what is expected for math homework and can complete the work consistently.