Explorer Presentations this Week

Hello Parents,

This week the children are finishing their explorer blog posts. They will be presenting on Thursday and Friday during Social Studies time. I have already sent a Remind notice to families with the day of each individual child's presentation. Please check the Remind notice for your day.

Thank you and see you soon,

Mrs. Lynch
781-238-6844
klynch@bpsk12.org

Vicious Vocabulary

Math Vocabulary is IMPORTANT! Throughout elementary school we encounter vocabulary that builds. From year to year we add more. At some point, it becomes imperative to know the vocabulary to be able to follow the directions. Throughout the course of school this week, submit a relevant math vocabulary word to Mrs. Lynch to add to a math dictionary page.

Once you have your word approved, go to Math is Fun. Copy the word and definition into Math Vocabulary Spreadsheet. Then, use the vocabulary in your own word problem. Mrs. Lynch's is done as an example. 

Finally, copy your word problem and answer it in the comment section below! DO YOUR BEST AND SHOW ALL YOUR WORK!

Let Us Tell You How to...

Since returning to school for the New Year, students have been working on writing their very own How tos! They enjoyed making Fortune Tellers by following the directions, visiting the library to find their own how tos, and finally looking over How to Use a Telescope.

Students came up with a classroom list of what constitutes a strong "How to..." From there they went on a hunt for strong content specific present tense verbs within their chosen How to. They were all very secretive of course because they shared their strong verbs for the class to guess what the student searched out. 

Once the word lists were complete and the children were able to play their guessing game, the verbs were all copied and given back to students to sort into various self made categories. These categorized lists were later used to help the children use powerful verb choice to write their own How tos. 

Now, children are working to complete their own how tos. So if you are wondering How to... Simply ask the experts below! Or just wait until their own blog posts are complete.

Reverse Planning

Earlier this week, our class encountered this problem.

Chris paid $3.60 for 3 colored pens. Each pen cost the same amount. How much did each pen cost? Solve the problem any way you choose. 

Children all used some form of mental math to solve and were then asked to try another way.

Example strategies that worked.

Compatible numbers: 36 is a multiple of 3. The missing factor is 12. $1.20 is the answer.

Breaking apart numbers into place values or expanded form: 3/1 = 3 and 60/3 = 20. $1.20 is the answer.

This week, you need to choose a set of compatible numbers.  Then write a word problem for them. Finally, show two ways to solve, the first must be compatible numbers. The dividend must be a decimal number. The divisor cannot be a decimal number. The quotient must be a decimal number.

Compatible Numbers: 36 and 3

Word Problem: Chris paid $3.60 for 3 colored pens. Each pen cost the same amount. How much did each pen cost? Solve the problem using compatible numbers. Solve one other way.

How to solve: 

• Compatible numbers: 36 is a multiple of 3. The missing factor is 12. $1.20 is the answer.
• Breaking apart numbers into place values or expanded form: 3/1 = 3 and 60/3 = 20. $1.20 is the answer.

Winter Art

Moonlit Winter Scenes for All

I hope you all received your winter gifts by now. The children all worked so hard to create these amazing pieces of art complete with some 'snow person' fun. Here's how we did it: Sharpie Winter Landscape. We started the day before Thanksgiving and finished up the days before winter break. I hope you enjoy them!