Fourth grade math learned the definition of place value today. We assume it’s something they know, but I like to make sure they really, truly understand that the value of a numeral depends on its place within the numeral. We also talked about the pattern involved in naming each place. So much of math is about patterns but we don’t always do a good job making that connection explicit. Next week we’ll learn about other numeral systems, which will confuse them initially but then really cement their understanding of base 10.

Second graders continued to write their stories while I conferenced with students about that writing.

Mrs. Rickabaugh’s class did the Geography Bee today. They did not give up even when the questions were really hard. I was very impressed with how seriously they took it. The Geo Bee is really one of my favorite activities of the year. I get to do it with the entire grade and some kids are always shocked by their performance, though their teachers and I never are.

Some third grade math students are still working on adding in base 4 while some groups have moved on to subtracting in base 4. Both groups are grappling pretty hard with the concepts in regrouping in another base. They’ve had some very productive conversations, so I’m letting them continue to grapple.

Students cheered when I told them we were going to do place value today.  Some thought it was going to be easy, but they soon learned otherwise. Fourth graders reviewed the differences between a number, a numeral, and a digit. Students created a place value chart and had to show me, using popsicle sticks, the number 126. What I thought would be an easy part of the assignment turned out to be more challenging. We didn’t get a chance to discuss what they were thinking, but we will tomorrow. Don’t be alarmed – everyone could show 126, but how they did it raised some questions about how deeply they understand the concept.

Third grade reading read a myth about Hades. It was a little trickier as we couldn’t write a summary using our usual method. This turned out to be good for some and not so good for others. While our usual summary method makes it a little easier to sort out the details from the main idea, this was a free-form summary, which meant that there were more details than needed in most summaries. They’ve made a lot of progress on this skill.

Fractions continue to bedevil the second grade in the most delightful way. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a student say they hoped we didn’t get snow because it meant they’d miss a day in my class, but there it was. Today we briefly explored the idea behind equivalent fractions. We put fractions on a number line and played with cuisenaire rods to show that 12/4=9/3=6/2=3. These are pretty complicated concepts and not everyone is there yet – nor do I expect them to be. I love watching how amazed they are when they do figure something out or see something that excites them.

The fourth grade reading group heard the Declaration of Independence. We talked about how complicated history is, how complicated a man Thomas Jefferson was, and how important it was to be able to see that nothing is easy when it comes to understanding big ideas. As always, they asked amazing questions, which had us talking about slavery and its impact in the North as well as the South, we discussed the cotton gin and its impact on slavery, and what happened once the international slave trade was abolished in the US. Next week we’ll dig a little deeper in the Declaration and talk about how the United States continues to strive to live up to its ideals. This will allow them to create a baseline for their independent projects.

Fourth grade completed their geometry project today. Most students were able to figure out how to determine the area of a non-quadrilateral shape. Some needed a few questions to help them on their way but they did a spectacular job. Thursday it’s on to place value. I’m excited, which has made them a little nervous. I have no idea why.

In third grade, I read a myth about Minerva and Arachne. We compared that to the myth we’d read earlier about Athena and Arachne. We discussed how Greek and Roman myths were similar and often had the same gods and goddesses with different names. They immediately noticed that Roman gods had been named after planets. After explaining that the planets were named after the gods, we had a quick word lesson – which seems to be a fan favorite – on the root word tele when discussing the word telescope. We also looked at telephone, television, and telegraph. It’s a lot of fun to watch them work out word meanings as they’re told what individual word parts mean.

Second grade math continued to grapple with fractions. Today they use cuisenaire rods to put fractions on a number line. For the most part, students did really well putting 1/3, 1/4, 1/2, etc on a number line. They ran into a little trouble when asked to put 2/4 or 5/6 on a number line, but this lent itself it to a great conversation about number lines and how they work, along with the idea that while each piece might be 1/6, when you have 4 of them together, you have to write it as 4/6.

Fourth grade math continued their geometry exploration. Tomorrow will be our last day. Today they had to figure out how to determine the area of a shape that was not a quadrilateral. The idea was to see if students could use what they know to figure out what they didn’t know. Most students found this easier than I expected. A few students can now determine the area of a triangle based on what they know of quadrilaterals.

Third grade reading had a breakthrough! One student wrote a fabulous summary. We were able to discuss how hers was just a little bit different from some of the others that had been turned in. Students are starting to figure out the small pieces that make a strong summary. I’m excited by their progress as a whole, though I know some of them are less excited – they’re doing a great job!

Grappling seems to be the word of the day. Second grade math grappled with some difficult fraction concepts (if this rod is 3/4, which rod is the whole?). We reviewed that as a class today and I know some left still a little perplexed. Again, this is completely expected and will come as they deepen their understanding of fractions. We moved on to putting fractions on a number line and I feel like I might actually have seen some brains explode. This is something they’ll work on tomorrow, but it is something that is a difficult concept. Understanding a visual representation of a fraction is a little easier than understanding how it relates to a number line. I started by putting the number zero at one end and the number one on the other end. Most of the class told me that couldn’t really be a number line with only two numbers. Once we started adding fractions, there was more brains exploding. It was a great day in math.

My second grade writers continued to write their stories. I’m excited to see where they end up. Each student is taking a different path, but I’m having great conversations with students as they write.