"I Excel in Math"

October's Estimation Jar was filled with candy corn taffy. After estimates were made, students drew tally marks for the given data. Tally marks is a review skill for fifth graders, so I tried to add some fun with the estimation jar.  

 

Brian was the winner of 53 pieces of taffy. He is now a big fan of tally marks!

More Exciting Math News to Share

NMS has added IXL for our students. IXL is a math software program. Since IXL is web-based, your student can access the program from your home computer. Whether your child needs some extra practice, or just something fun and educational to work on, IXL can help them improve their math skills. I hope you will take advantage of this wonderful educational opportunity for your child.  

Home Login Information 

Go to   https://www.ixl.com/signin/norfolk

Students have a username and password. 

Becoming good at math takes a significant amount of practice. When practice is fun, students are more likely to spend the time mastering necessary math skills. 

Let's do some math! 

The Estimation Jar

Put a little candy in a jar and students are excited and motivated to do math! Students were asked to use reasoning skills and number relationships to estimate the number of gumballs in the estimation jar. Alejandra was the winner of September's estimation jar.

187 gumballs were in the jar.

February's Estimation Jar

Students love to make predictions and they get so excited in the hopeful anticipation of being the winner.  What was fun this month was watching the parents get involved with an estimate. One set of parents got out their phone to crunch numbers on the calculator app. 

The estimation jar was a fun addition to Parent Conferences.  Sydney's mom stopped by today for lunch and was given her winnings- 53 chocolates in the jar! Congratulations!

Thank you, parents,  for attending your child's conference during conference week. I enjoyed the opportunity to sit down with each of you to discuss your child's progress, the many ways we can best support your child, and goals for the upcoming months. 

As we move forward into the quarter,  if you have questions or input that you believe would be beneficial to your child's success, please do not hesitate to contact me. I appreciate and value your involvement and support.  

Elf Kisses

December's Estimation Jar was filled with Elf Kisses. Students' estimates were used to create a frequency table. The monthy estimation activity helps reinforce math skills and provides a whole lot of fun while learning. 

Anden's estimation was right on - - 84 Elf Kisses!

Go Big Red

This weekend the Huskers are in the Big Ten title game against Wisconsin and there is talk of a Rose Bowl trip. Room 102 was all about "red" for this month's estimation activity.

November's estimation jar was used to teach mean, median, mode, and range. Students enjoy the estimation activity. It helps reinforce math skills and adds fun to the curriculum.

This month's GO BIG RED activity was especially fun for the winner of 91 big red candies. 

Pumpkin Puzzler

Put a little candy in a jar and now students are excited and motivated to do math! Students were asked to use reasoning skills and number relationships to estimate the number of pumpkins in the estimation jar. Sydney was the winner of October's Pumpkin Puzzler Estimation Jar.

101 pumpkins were in the jar.

Congratulations, Sydney!

Eggs-actly or Estimation

Estimation means an opinion or judgment. Room 102 is practicing estimation. Students are learning estimation is more than just "taking a guess".  It is reasoning to find a useful estimation.

Time spent “teaching” students to estimate, and evalate estimations, is valuable. These types of activities are critical in students’ development of number sense. They provide students the opportunity to learn and hone a skill that they will use in the real world. Mental computation is an important part of number sense.

To avoid wild guesses and to create a foundation for understanding, students used a benchmark to estimate the eggs in the jar. In mathematical estimation, the benchmark is usually a set of 10 of the presented objects in a second identical container labeled "This is 10." This jar will give students a frame of reference to make a more accurate estimate.

One student estimated eggs-actly.

Alex wins 76 eggs.

MacKenzie added to the spring fun with a tasty treat for the entire class.

Thanks, MacKenzie!

Have a wonderful spring break!  May your days be filled with "sunny fun."