Math Homework Highlights

As mentioned in our weekly newsletter, the first three weeks of math homework serve to review concepts and skills from 3rd Grade. Homework is designed to take students approximately 10-15 minutes to complete each night and is reviewed in class each Wednesday (discussion of Monday and Tuesday content) and Friday (discussion of Wednesday and Thursday content). As we have in-class discussions of the homework, Mr. Pinchot and Mrs. Phillips facilitate the discussions around strategies the students are using to complete the problems. These strategies are highlighted on the document projector and students are required to take notes in pen so that they have accurate and helpful information to reference later on. Misconceptions are also addressed when students approach problems incorrectly, as our philosophy is "Mistakes are LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES". Homework is not graded, however, every three weeks a Homework Quiz is administered (which will count as a test grade) so that students can demonstrate mastery of concepts and skills that have been addressed.

How thorough is my child's approach to homework?
*Does your child take 10-15 minutes to complete each assignment?
*Does your child take thorough notes in pen each Wednesday and Friday in class?
*Does your child reference notes from previous homework assignments as needed and use these notes to study for quizzes? (This Friday, September 10th will be our first Math Homework quiz of this school year.)
*Does your child attempt every problem? Does your child refer to the Math reference pages in the front of the planner, or ask a "Study Buddy" or teacher for direction when help is needed? Mr. Pinchot and Mrs. Phillips are available before and after school and you are always welcome to email us with questions and clarifications also.

Current Topics of Focus
Factors, Multiples, Arrays
**Click the "Factor Game" (in the Math Links section to the left) for a challenging game in working with factors!
Factors are numbers that are multiplied together to get a product. (3 x 4)
Multiples are the product of two factors being multiplied together (12). Multiples are synonymous with skip-counting. (ex. Multiples of 3 are 3, 6, 9, 12... Multiples of 4 are 4, 8, 12...)
Arrays are a model used to see the relationship between factors and multiples. In the array below, a 3 x 4 array has a total of 12 square units.
Multiplication and Division Word Problems
To distinguish between multiplication and division word problems, our focus is to visualize the problem. All problems involving multiplication and division involve "groups" of items. We also ask ourselves if we know the total number of items. If we know the total, we will divide. If we do not know the total, we will multiply the number of groups by the size of each group to find that total.

Patterns
All of the patterns we are studying right now involve whole numbers. If they are ascending (numbers getting larger), we need to determine if the "rule" is addition or multiplication. If the numbers are descending (numbers getting smaller), we need to determine if the "rule" is subtraction or division.

Perimeter and Area
Perimeter is a measure of the distance around a figure.
Real-World Examples: fence around a backyard, frame around a picture

Area is a measure of the number of square units within a figure.
Real-World Examples: grass covering a back yard, tile covering a kitchen floor

Our new math standards have adjusted the formula we use for finding area from "length x width" to "base x height". The approach is the same. If we know both dimensions (of a square or rectangle), we simply multiply the two dimensions together to find the total area (number of square units in the region).

Happy Homeworking!!
Mrs. Phillips :-)