Fourth grade continued to work on their visual proofs. We did take the opportunity to talk about the purpose of the assignment – which is to find different ways to multiply efficiently. Creating an array for a 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication problem is not an efficient mathematical strategy, though it is a strategy with which they are very familiar.

Second grade math continued to show their flexible thinking by creating equations for large numbers. They’ll do a quick gallery walk on Thursday and then we’ll move on to new and exciting activities.

I continued to assess third and fourth grade reading students using the QRI. I completed fourth grade today and handed them the book they’ll read with me while they are reading The War That Saved My Life with Mrs. Rickabaugh. Students started asking me about World War II based on some of what they’re reading in the novel. As anyone who knows me knows I am always more than happy to talk about history, I went into the Closet of Doom and came up with an informational text book on World War II. Students need to read pages 6-11 by Thursday. They have post-it notes to write down anything they thought was interesting or any questions they’d like answered. On Thursday, we’ll have more time to plan. I will give students a deadline for the book to be finished and then a good chunk of our time will be spent making a plan for finishing the book before that date. Much of what we do in fourth grade will be designed to teach students independence and give them support on planning when and how to get their work done.

Third grade math wrapped up their exploration of equal groups by discussing the inverse relationship between multiplication and division. While I assured students that if they could multiply, they could also divide, I’m not sure they all believed me. The activity we’ll do on Thursday and Friday, as well as next week should convince them I’m right.