Math

The second week of school was just as good as the first. We dove headfirst into our math curriculum on Monday, and things are going well.

My school uses the Math Expressions curriculum and I actually really like it. It has an adaptive technology piece, and I am fortunate to have a laptop cart in my room. Every student is assigned their own laptop in my class, and we went over internet safety and rules last week. The first few weeks of the school year I will continue to remind students of our safety and rules while on the internet, and they are also posted in my classroom.

This week fourth graders were learning about place value and brushing up on rounding large numbers. Fifth graders are reviewing fractions and will shortly be adding and subtracting them. In sixth grade, we have been working on Rate Tables.

With three grades, teaching math can be challenging since I have to teach based on the grade level Common Core Standards. I basically run three groups, one for each grade. When I am working with fourth graders, my fifth and sixth graders are reviewing the previous lesson, or are working on their computers with that adaptive math program. After the lesson with fourth grade, I send them to their seats to work independently and once they finish working on the day's lesson, they can work on their computers too. I rotate through each group, and usually have about 10 minutes left before lunch so I can work one-on-one with some students, or circulate and help where ever I am needed.

Here's a picture of the 6th grade math boards from Thursday's lesson:

For my next post, I will write about what we are doing in language arts. Until then, have a safe and fun Labor Day weekend!