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Last week in project we continued to work on our colonial simulation. First, we determined which roles we would play within our colony groups, these are Governor, Vice Governor, Mapper, Trader, Recorder and Auditor. Now that each person has a different job, it will become even more important that we work together within our colony groups. After deciding our roles, we started our settlement (secret word) rounds, during which we drew ‘fate cards’ that tell us what happened to our colonies and the colony members our group decided would be fishing, hunting, and farming. We will continue to play through these settlement rounds to establish our colony’s home in the New World. Starting in round 6, we will also be able to start trading with other colonies and the Native American tribes that we live alongside in the new world.
Ask your student what position they hold in their colony and what it was like to decide where to put people.
Extend the learning by reading about some of the hardships colonists faced after their first year at Jamestown in the early 1600s.
Literacy
Last week in writing, we continued to look into what makes a story captivating as we got inspired to write our own historical fiction narratives. We practiced thinking about how every story has a story arc that starts with exposition, builds tension, reaches a climax and then falls into resolution. We also learned that some stories have more than one up and down and that the general shape of a story arc can be interpreted in many ways. In reading, we continued to read our historical fiction books, and again looked at point of view, and decided whether or not we liked the point of view of our story. This week, we will have our third meeting, and then move on to focus 4 to start to think of our book’s theme.
Ask your student whether they like stories told in first person or third person better.
Extend the learning by listening to Voices in the Park and talking about which perspective your student was able to relate to most. How would this story be different if we had only heard one of these voices, or all three of them at the same time in third person!
5th Grade Math
Last week 5th grade mathematicians continued solving multi-digit problems, and they focused on using relationships between numbers to solve problems more efficiently. Students began combining methods such as ratio tables, array method, and standard algorithm to solve multi-step word problems. As we neared the end of the week, 5th graders learned how the standard multiplication algorithm works, along with some strategies in order to keep track of their work and not miss any steps. Moving into next week, we will delve into learning about why the algorithm works and have several opportunities to practice our new skills.
Ask: How is the array method similar and different than the standard multiplication algorithm?
Extend the learning by playing this multiplication dice game. Play one round with single digit multiplication then challenge yourself and use multi-digit multiplication. Do this by rolling the dice and combining both digits to form the first number, do it again with a second roll, then multiply them together to get the solution.
6th Grade Math
6th grade mathematicians started a new routine of practicing multiplication facts for 3 minutes each day. Knowing these facts is essential for simplifying fractions, as well as finding area and volume (which we will move into soon). We continued to practice multiplying and dividing fractions, and toward the end of the week, we added in mixed numbers. This week, we will put all of these skills together for the block 5 test.
Ask your student why we never need to divide fractions across, all we need to know is how to multiply. You can also ask what their favorite way to find the product of two fractions is!
Extend the learning by watching this khan academy video. We will practice converting mixed numbers this way this week!