What’s Going On In our Classroom? Weekly Update from Ms. Goldy 3/21-3/25

(Top: Guest speaker in math, and students explore geometry and angles with mirrors)


(Above) Exploring geometry/angles with mirrors, some student "dictionaries" for geometric transformation terms, and students conduct the "cube drop" as they explore probability.

Hi again!
This week was the first of a two-week “takeover” in which I take a try at being the full-time lead teacher in the classroom, and boy, did we learn a lot this week!

In preparation for the (dreaded) DC-CAS, this week we have been doing some extra math practice in our homeroom. On Monday we explored the geometric transformations called “slide” (translation), “flip” (reflection), and “turn” (rotation). In pairs, we mimicked the transformations using our bodies and then traced pattern blocks to make “dictionaries” of these terms. Later in the week we also explored similar vs. congruent shapes and practiced various math skills using “probes” created by Mrs. Cahir.

In Social Studies we are still learning about the 13 Colonies. This week we finished up our enlarged maps, learned about the Puritans and the Quakers, reenacted the Triangular Trade Route, and wrote diary entries from the point of view of a slave on the Middle Passage.

In Writing Workshop we are still working on our poetry unit—this week focusing on rhythm and rhyme. It’s a tricky concept, but we were able to identify the rhythm and rhyme schemes in limericks and then write our own!

In Coti Math, we are finishing a unit on fractions, and we most recently applied our knowledge to probability, conducting a “cube-drop” experiment in which pairs of students dropped a small cube 50 times onto a piece of graph paper that was colored with a particular ratio of colors. Students then recorded their results and compared them to their predictions (the probability based on the color ratio) from the day before.

On Friday, Coti Math had a guest speaker who taught us how to measure angles and about geometry using mirrors! Check out some of the pictures--the students loved it!

That’s all for now!
Ms. Goldy