Math Study Guide and Week 4

Dear Parents,

We had a lot of fun in science class this week. Both classes had the opportunity to analyze stories and come up with reasonable hypotheses about what the observations contained in those stories could mean. It was amazing to see how creative the students were; given the exact same story, many of them came up with completely different hypothesis about it. This gave us an opportunity for great conversations about how different scientists can come up with different hypotheses given the same observations, and how the only way to know if a hypothesis is true is to do an experiment. It was great to see the students’ eyes light up as they came up with their hypotheses and to watch the jy they took in sharing their ideas.

This week I would like to discuss birthdays. In fourth grade we allow our students to bring in treats and celebrate their birthdays; we want the students to feel special, and we enjoy the opportunity to celebrate them as individuals. However, we are concerned about how the large numbers of sweets can affect students’ health, as there are often five or six birthdays a month. We have also heard concern from parents who prefer their children to eat healthy foods but who can’t help it if their child gets sweets at school. Therefore, in order to promote a healthy fourth grade class that celebrates its members, the fourth grade team consulted with the Nurse Perialis and Coach Brinson (who has a master’s degree in nutrition) to come up with the following policy about birthday treats:

Treats for birthdays should be healthy or at least mini-sized. In the past, students have celebrated with watermelon, pineapple, strawberries, and other fruits. Apples with caramel dip, string cheese, or ants on a log are other possibilities. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list, but you get the idea. If treats are not healthy, they should be mini-sized. As an example, some students bring in birthday cupcakes. However, the large 3 inch diameter cupcakes that are sold in bakeries are actually considered two servings of sugar, calories, etc. for adults. Instead of 3 inch diameter cupcakes students should bring in the mini 1 inch diameter cupcakes which are more kid-sized. Instead of doughnuts, students can bring in doughnut holes or mini doughnuts, instead of cookies mini cookies, etc. Last but not least, for the safety of our students with allergies, we ask that all processed foods be accompanied by labels listing ingredients. Naturally, fruits and veggies don’t need labels. J

Keep in mind that many students bring their own snacks for recess and sometimes there is more than one celebration on the same day. Also, recess is only an hour before lunch. They will have plenty to eat and enjoy even when birthdays snacks are smaller.

On a different note, this week I will begin emailing parents of students who are missing assignments. Almost every assignment has one or more students who did not turn it in, so for efficiency’s sake I will be sending group emails to all the parents of students missing an assignment. The message contained will not be personal, but it will be private; I will be using a blind carbon copy so no one will know who else is receiving each message.

Of course, a good student who works hard may still occasionally forget to hand in an assignment. Also, a student may have handed in an assignment without their name on it. In fact, I have had over ten assignments turned in without names since the start of school. Naturally, teachers can’t give credit for an assignment if they don’t know whose it is. This can result in a situation in where the student insists they handed the assignment in, and teachers must further insist that they have not received it. Sometimes a student forgets to pick up a copy of the assignment in the first place and so is unaware that there is an assignment they have not handed in. At other times, they forget an assignment because it is absent work, or they complete the assignment but forget to actually hand it in.

There can be many reasons, sometimes good reasons, why a student has not handed in an assignment. In any case, all missing assignments are ultimately the student’s responsibility. If they choose to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the emails I send their parents, they should first look for the assignment in their homework folder, at home, and in their desk. If they still can’t find it, they can pick up a copy from the missing assignment bins in the fourth grade classrooms. All math and science assignments will be in the bin in my room, and all literature, writing and history assignments will be in bin in Mr. Ohabyashi’s room. Late assignments will be graded at half credit, but this is far better for students’ grades than no credit.

Having successfully completed our first science test last week, we know turn our attention to math. We have a math test coming up on Thursday. Some of you may have received the email I sent explaining that I forgot to have students to put it in their agenda. At such times in class I usually tell students, “See? Teachers make mistakes, too!” While I recognize the test will make this a busy week for students, who also have a history test, I wanted to have the test before Labor Day weekend so that students will not feel pressured to study when they should be enjoying time with their families. The test will be on place value, rounding and comparing numbers using the < > signs. As with the science test I have included a study guide below my signature line in this post.

These are all the notes I have for you this week! If you have any further questions, comments, or concerns, please send me a message through your Jupiter Ed account, and I will be happy to help you.

Sincerely,

Miss Wycklendt

Math Test Study Guide

1.       The ten digits are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

2.       Students should be able to read numbers with places through the hundred millions’ place. They should be able to identify place values through the hundred millions’ place. This may sound simple, but a surprising number of students have been stumbling when asked to work beyond the thousands’ place.

3.       Students should understand the distinctions between digits, place and value. For example, given a number like 4,162 students should be able to answer questions like, “What digit is in the thousands’ place?” (4)  “In what place is the digit 6?” (It is in the tens’ place) and “What value does the digit in the in the tens’ place have?” (60) Most likely numbers used for such questions on the test will have places through the hundred millions’ place.

4.       A round number is any number that ends in 0.

5.       Students should be able to round to any place through the hundred millions’ place. We have discussed the idea that rounding means find the closest round number to a given number.  For example, rounding 275 to the tens’ place means finding the multiple of ten that is closest to 275, in this case 280. However, students should be able to use the standard rules for rounding to find such numbers.

6.       The standard rules for rounding are as follows: Find the place to which you are rounding. Underline it. Circle the digit directly to the right of the place to which you are rounding. If the circled digit is 0-4, then round down. That is, all the places up to the underlined place change to zeroes, and the digit in the underlined place does not change. If the circled digit is 5-9, then round up. That is, all the places up to the underlined place change to zeroes, and add one to the underlined place.  For example, 47,532 rounded to the thousands’ place is 48,000. 47,232 rounded to the thousands’ place is 47,000.

7.       One more standard rule for rounding: If the digit in the place to which you are rounding (underlined place) is 9, and you need to round up, than the digit in the underlined place also becomes a zero, and you add one to the digit in the next place above it. This is because you are adding one to a nine which makes ten, and you must carry your one. For example, 1,973 rounded to the nearest hundred is 2,000.

8.       Students should understand that you can round to a place which the number you’re rounding does not even have. For instance, 767 rounded to the thousands’ place is 1,000, or 12,450 rounded to the hundred thousands’ place is zero.

9.       Students should understand that when you round to a place that is not the highest place of the number you still have to write all the higher place values of that number in your answer. For instance, when asked to round 12,345 to the tens’ place, some students will write 50, but the correct answer is 12,350.

10.   Students should be able to use the wavy equals sign to mean approximately when writing answers to rounding problems. (It looks like two of these signs ~ stacked on top of each other.

11.   Students should be able to use the < > signs. The large end always points to the bigger number. 55 is greater than 6 should be written as 55 > 6.   4 is less than 400 should be written as 4 < 400.

12.   Students should be able to read statements using the < > signs. 67 < 70 should be read, “67 is less than 70.”  34 > 5 should be read, “34 is greater than 5.”

13.   Students should be able to accurately compare numbers through the hundred millions using the < > signs.

14.    In case any students are confused about which numbers are greater or less when comparing very large numbers, the following are the standard rules for comparison: If one number has more digits, that number is greater. If both numbers have the same amount of digits, than look at the place value on the far left. Whichever number has the greatest digit in that place value is the latest. If both numbers have the same digit in the place on the far left, look at the place right next to the place on the left. Whichever number has a greater digit is greater. If both digits are the same, continue comparing the next place and the next until a difference is found. If all digits are the same, the numbers are equal.