We had a great walk-a-thon! 16 out of our 19 students participated! Way to go! Here is a photo we took at the end of the day just before the Walk-a-Thon started.
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After I did a demonstration to introduce the kids to sound, they had an opportunity to explore sound using tuning forks. They discovered that sound is a form of energy created by vibrations. While using the tuning forks, the kids were able to literally feel the vibrations and transfer them to other surfaces. Here are some videos of the kids doing that activity. We also demonstrated the movement of molecules as a sound wave passes through them. Here are a couple of videos of this activity. I will post more explanations this week to go with these videos. Yesterday we learned some divisibility rules and played a game to help us with our prime and composite numbers.
The kids have learned what prime and composite numbers are: Prime numbers- have only two factors, one and itself EXAMPLE) 2- the only two factors that can be multiplied together to make 2 are 1 and 2 (itself) Composite numbers- have 3 or more unique factors (can also stated as "more than 2 unique factors") I am so impressed by how many kids know their math facts this year, however, since we have to learn about prime and composite numbers between 1 and 100, these facts don't always help. One way to figure out how many factors a number has is to just do the division, which could take forever... the student would have to do 89 divided by 2, 89 divided by 3...and so on until they got to 89 divided by 9. Ain't nobody got time for that! So, in order to make it easier to determine a number's factors, we started talking about divisibility rules yesterday. What are divisibility rules? They are rules that tell you if a number is evenly divisible by (can be divided by) a certain number. Here are the rules we follow: 2- A number is divisible by 2 if the number ends in an EVEN number: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 Examples) 482 is divisible by 2 because the digit in the ones place is an even number. 891 is NOT divisible by 2 because the digit in the ones place is an odd number. 3- A number is divisible by 3 if, after adding up the digits in the number you end up with a sum that is evenly divisible by 3 Examples) 482: 4 + 8 + 2= 14. 14 is not divisible by 3 (when you divide 14 by 3 you have a remainder), so neither is 482. 891 is divisible by 3 because 8 + 9 + 1 = 18 and 18 is evenly divisible by 3 (when you divide 18 into 3 groups, you don't have a remainder). 5- If a number ends in 0 or 5 in the ones place, then the number is divisible by 5. Example) 615 is divisible by 5 because it ends in a 5. 892 is not divisible by 5 because it does not end in a 0 or 5, it ends in 2. 6- If a number is divisible by BOTH 2 and 3, it is also divisible by 6. Example) 624 is divisible by 2 because it ends in an even number in the ones place. 624 is also divisible by 3 because 6 + 2 + 4 = 12 and 12 is divisible by 3 with no remainder. Therefore, 624 is also divisible by 6 because it is divisible by both 2 and 3 (which are factors of 6). 7- Sorry, the rule takes longer to figure out than to just divide whatever number you have by 7 to see if it is a factor. Example) 57 divided by 7 is 8 remainder 1, so it is not divisible by 7. 91 divided by 7 is 13 remainder 0, so it IS divisible by 7, meaning 7 is a factor of 91. 9- Just like the threes rule, if you add up the digits of the number and it is divisible by 9, then the whole number is divisible by 9. Example) 711 added together is 7 + 1 + 1 = 9, and 9 is evenly divisible by 9, so 711 is as well. To find out how many factors a number has, start applying the rules from 2-9 until you find one that works. Once you've figured out even just one additional factor for a number other than 1 and itself, you can automatically stop and call it composite. Example: 93 We know that two factors for 93 are 1 x 93 because all numbers have the factors 1 and itself. Let's test the 2s rule: It is NOT divisible by 2 because it ends in an odd number. So we still only have 2 factors so far: 1 and 93. Let's try the 3s rule: 9 + 3 = 12. 12 is divisible by 3 with no remainder, so that means 93 is as well. Guess what! We don't even need to figure out what the other factor is that has to be multiplied times 3 to get 93- we now know that 3 is a factor because the rule worked, 93 has at least 3 factors- 1,3 and 93, so we know it is composite! We don't even need to go to the 4s rule because we know three factors already- 1, 3, and 93. Of course, it is a lot less work on paper to memorize the 25 prime numbers from 1-100, however, if you don't do this, you can just follow these rules or do all of the math. For those of you who want to memorize the primes from 1-100, here they are: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, and 97 Always remember that 0 and 1 are neither prime nor composite. When asked to describe a character, students often use words they are comfortable with... and I usually end up hearing the word "nice" or "mean" or any number of other simple adjectives. We worked on expanding our vocabulary today by ranking lists of words that were synonymous (or close enough to being synonymous) with some common adjectives. We called these "Shades of Meaning" (though they are also known as semantic gradients). I let the kids choose their groups and then they were given one of the following adjectives: mean, happy, sad, and nice. They were also given cards with near-synonyms and were asked to rank them on a scale of Least (mean, happy, etc.) to Most (mean, happy, etc.). The discussions in the groups were very insightful as were their explanations to the class. I gave others in the class an opportunity to give their own opinions if they differed from the group. We stressed that there was not a right or wrong answer- it was just an activity to get us thinking of more adjectives to describe our characters. I got more opportunities to sing with my microphone today (woop woop!). I introduced a couple of songs I made up about prime and composite numbers, that go like this:
"Prime and Composite" by Mrs. Wippich (Sung to the tune of the chorus in "Cool for the Summer" by Demi Lovato) Count each factor up one at a time Only two (one and itself) it's priiiiiiiiiiiime If of three or more it is comprised You'll realize It's a composite number "Prime or Composite?" by Mrs. Wippich (Sung to the tune of "Uma Thurman" by Fall Out Boy) I can take numbers and then factor them out, factor them out Wo oah Count up the factors tell whether it's prime or composite You want to know if it's prime or composite Factor it-DON'T JUST GUESS! You want to know if it's prime or composite Factor it- You'll pass the test Just factor numbers with the rainbow method or t-chart, it's your choice, just factor it divide it down to the factors that can be multiplied together and then you will see I can take numbers and then factor them out, factor them out Wo oah Count up the factors tell whether it's prime or composite You want to know if it's prime or composite Factor it-DON'T JUST GUESS! You want to know if it's prime or composite Factor it- You'll pass the test A number's prime if it only has two factors (one/itself), only two But what happens if a number's factors do count up to more than 2 (composite!) I can take numbers and then factor them out, factor them out Wo oah Count up the factors tell whether it's prime or composite Factor it out, and then count up the factors only one and itself, you'll know that you've found a prime Factor it out, and then count up the factors more than two factors, it's a composite number this time You want to know if it's prime or composite Factor it-DON'T JUST GUESS! You want to know if it's prime or composite Factor it- You'll pass the test I can take numbers and then factor them out, factor them out Wo oah Count up the factors tell whether it's prime or composite I can take numbers and then factor them out, factor them out Wo oah Count up the factors tell whether it's prime or composite Prime/Composite Numbers This week we will be working to discover the difference between prime and composite numbers and then will compare them to even and odd numbers. Through a class activity, we discovered that prime numbers only have two factors (factors are numbers you can multiply together to get another number)- one and itself, that composite numbers have three or more factors, and the number 1 only has one factor (1) so it is neither prime nor composite. In order to understand what this looks like, students made arrays to figure out all of the different factors a number has. Those numbers that only have one array (1 x itself) are prime. Here are a couple examples. 3- In order to figure out if this number is prime or composite, we think of all the numbers we can multiply times each other to get 3. We then make arrays to model the multiplication problems, like so: The only two numbers (factors) that can be multiplied times each other to make 3 are 1 and 3, because 1x3=3. Therefore, I know that 3 is prime because it has exactly two factors- 1 and itself (3). 6- In order to figure out if this number is prime or composite, we think of all the numbers we can multiply times each other to get 6. We then make arrays to model the multiplication problems, like so. I start with the factor 1. Next, I think of the next number that is a factor of 6 after 1 and know that 2 is a factor that can be multiplied times 3 to get 6 (so both 2 and 3 are factors). After 3, the next factor is 6, which I've already included, so I know that I can stop. Once you reach a factor you've already found, it means that you don't have to keep going because you've found them all. Therefore, the number 6 has 4 factors: 1, 2, 3, and 6. Since it has three or more factors, it is composite. 1- In order to figure out if this number is prime or composite, we think of all the numbers we can multiply times each other to get 1. We then make arrays to model the multiplication problems, like so. The only factor that can be multiplied times 1 to get 1 IS 1, so I really only have 1 factor for 1. Therefore, 1 is NEITHER prime nor composite because it doesn't even have two factors (which are needed to be prime-remember, prime numbers have exactly two factors and composite numbers have three or more factors). Today students colored in a hundreds chart, coloring in each multiple of 2, 3, 5, and 7. In the end, all of the composite numbers were colored in and the primes (those with only 2 factors) were left! Here is a video that talks about what we did: This week we started our new math unit on even, odd, prime, and composite numbers. A lot of the kids were confused as to why we were going over even and odd again when most of them already knew it. I explained that the main reason is that a lot of people confuse even and odd numbers with prime and composite numbers. First, we did an activity to review even and odd numbers. We all took tiles and lined them up into two columns, then recorded them in a table. We talked about how odd numbers had one tile leftover without a partner and even numbers all had a partner to dance with. We then talked about "third wheels" and "odd man out" and related this activity to being at a school dance, the leftover person standing sad in the corner with no one to talk to or dance with. Of course, I had to take advantage of the opportunity to belt out the song "All By Myself." (A couple people walked past the room excited because they thought Celine Dion was at school, but alas, it was just me ;) j/k). Our next activity had the kids determining if certain rules could be applied to even and odd numbers. When E= even number and O= odd number, they had to test different numbers to see what was true in each situation (see below): To prove each one, they had to list at least two number sentences per question.
For example, for Is the product of two odd numbers even or odd? It would look like this: 3 x 7= 21 5 x 3 = 15, so the product of two odd numbers is ODD. They then had to complete an exit ticket that required them to look at the problems as equations and determine which statements were true: E + E = O E + E = E E + O = E E + O = O O + O = E O + O = O Afterward, we put the following in our notebooks. Last week we did an experiment to practice identifying and using the different parts of scientific investigations. We talked more about testable questions (something that can be tested through a fair experiment and the results of which can be measured). Our testable question was "Which brand of paper towels is most absorbent?" This is a testable question because we were able to design an experiment to test it AND the results could be measured (how much water each towel absorbed). We tested 3 different brands- Kirkland (Costco), Sparkle, and Seedling. Since these brands were what was being tested, the paper towel brand was our "I"NDEPENDENT VARIABLE- the thing "I", the scientist, manipulated. The independent variable is the cause (which one causes more water to be absorbed) and what is being tested. The thing we were measuring is the dependent (or responding) variable. In this case, we are measuring how much water is absorbed, so that is our dependent variable. Depending on the brand of paper towel, a certain amount of was absorbed. The dependent variable is the effect. The brand of paper towels (cause) affect the amount of water absorbed (the effect). We also had to figure out what aspects of the experiments we should keep constant. Constants are what we keep the same in an experiment. They are important because we need to be able to say with certainty that it is the independent variable changing the dependent variable. In this experiment, we had to cut the Seedling paper towels to make them the same size as the other two brands, otherwise this wouldn't have been a fair test as the Seedling towels were bigger. If we'd left the Seedling towels bigger, we wouldn't have been able to prove why they absorbed the amount they did- would it have been due to size or the brand itself? Other constants: We used the same amount of water in each experiment- 200mL. We also folded each paper towel the same way in case the shape had any impact on the results. Time: We left the towels submerged for one minute each. On their lab sheets, students were asked to come up with a hypothesis. A hypothesis is an if, then statement that tells what the scientist thinks will happen in the experiment. It is structured like this: If (independent variable/cause), then (dependent variable/effect). For example: If I soak three brands of paper towels in 200 mL of water for one minute, then Kirkland will absorb the most water. Notice how the "If" part of the hypothesis mentions the part the scientist has decided to change and is testing (we are testing the brands of paper towels), otherwise known as the independent variable. The "Then" part of the hypothesis said what we thought the measurable result would be (the dependent variable-the amount of water absorbed). We then conducted the experiment. After we had completed it, we came together as scientists and shared our findings. We learned how to calculate the mean, or average, for each brand to see about how much each brand absorbed. We discovered that Kirkland paper towels were the most absorbent of the three brands tested. In order to finish our experiment, we had to graph our data and write our conclusions. A conclusion should reference the original hypothesis and state whether it was correct or incorrect. It should also summarize the findings of the experiment. For example, for those who thought Kirkland was the most absorbent, the conclusion would have been like this: Our hypothesis that Kirkland paper towels would be the most absorbent was correct. In our experiment, they absorbed approximately 43mL on average compared to 27mL and 34mL of the other two brands. The least absorbent brand was Seedling (27mL), and second most absorbent was Sparkle (mL). You'll notice that all of our findings are measured in metric units. This is because only three countries in the entire world use US Customary (also known as Imperial) measurement- the USA, Liberia, and Myanmar. As a result, scientists all over the world relay their findings in the most commonly used form of measurement- metric. This makes it easier for people to share their results so others will understand them. Metric measurement is also a lot more precise so we can be more exact. This week we learned a new strategy for generating ideas to write about-stream of consciousness. The kids were told to write for five minutes straight, never stopping, all of the things in their mind, even if it was just "I don't know what to write I don't know what to write..." They had a blast with this and were eager to share their thoughts with their peers. Here are a couple videos of the activity. This week we played a game to study for our Science vocab quiz. The kids had a lot of fun and kept asking if we could play :) Here is a video of the activity. |
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