4.26.19
April 26, 2019 - 6th Grade Announcements
Grow Beasts, Balloon Cars, and Applications of Ratio/Rates!
By Shannon
Over the past month students have been diving into ratios and rates! There are many different strategies to solve with ratios, such as using proportions, tables, and graphs.
In order to connect this to real life applications students have tackled two projects so far!
The Balloon Car Project: students had to build a balloon car and effectively determine the speed of their car. They had to find the average speed of at least 3 trials, graph their different trials, and write a conclusion considering what may have impacted their experiment.
The Grow Beast Project: students received two creatures that grow when placed in liquid to determine if their advertising is accurate. The beasts claim to grow 500% of their original size. All students tested their beasts growing in water and each pair is testing an alternate liquid of their choice, such as vinegar, vegetable oil, kombucha, sprite, and more! Students will find the growth rates of their beast day to day, find the average rate, graph their results, and write a conclusion based on their findings.
FAQ regarding Math:
What if my child really seems to be struggling with new skills?
That’s okay! We will continue to build on these skills in the upcoming units. They will get a lot of practice and there are other options, too! Encourage your student to attend Math Cafe on Wednesday afternoons. This is a smaller setting designated for students to get help on math from myself and other students. Students can also schedule regular or one-off meetings with me at park trip to review material and seek clarification. Finally, if they are stuck on something at home, have them email me to initiate conversation and we will pick it up in class the next day! Would you like more to do at home? Look on google classroom for relevant Khan Academy videos and resource links to practice pages. These are typically also posted in the Content Library of OneNote - more on this below.
What if my child is mastering new skills quickly?
Great! Extension assignments are available to all students as they begin to demonstrate mastery. I review work regularly and initiate conversations with students when I feel they are ready to dig deeper. Students can and are encouraged to initiate these conversations with me, as well. Once an extension plan is created, these assignments due dates will be added to their google classroom and may replace the typical homework assignment for that week. The goal is not to simply give students more rote problems to complete but to expose them to new content that deepens their understanding of the content we cover.
I want to help at home but I’m used to referencing a text book. How can I see and understand what's going on in math class?
Here is a view-only link to the sixth grade math Content Library from OneNote. The Content Library is where I will post all assignments, class notes, warm ups (which have great example problems!), and homework. The ‘Helpful Links’ section has course outlines, unit learning targets, and links to resources pages. In essence, the Content Library is the ‘textbook.’
