Math

Unit 4 is in full swing!  We are working with larger multiplication problems (using two strategies to solve them: partitioning rectangles and partial products), writing about how we solved problems, solving extended facts, estimating, converting units of measure, using dollar bills to understand the volume of a box.  Kids should be practicing their basic facts (we will take our first timed test of 2017 next week) on a regular basis if they are still struggling to answer them quickly. 

Kids used 6 dollar bills (not the real thing!) to figure out how many bills would fit on a piece of paper (about 6).  With that information, we figured out how much money you could put into an empty paper box.  Each box will hold 10 reams of paper, and a stack of bills is approximately 1 inch high.  A ream of paper is two inches high.  Can you fit a million dollars worth of one dollar bills into the box?  How about hundred dollar bills?  We worked together as a whole class, and then in small groups to help figure out the answers.  Another problem:  If your math journal pages were made out of $5 bills, how much would your journal be worth?  The problem solving was interesting and I loved it when they realized mistakes (instead of taking the total number of pages in their books, they had to divide that number in half) and how proud they were when they solved it.  Bravo!