Irving 5/6

On Monday 4th Grade Math students revisited their obstacle course PBL unit. We had taken a break to focus on 20% Projects over the past several weeks. With only a handful of sessions left we decided that rather than creating large scale courses, scheduling students to participate, then calculating speed, we would alter original courses in order to accommodate Spheros! Spheros are small sphere-shaped robots that can be coded and driven using iPads.

Students will create their courses then either use block coding to navigate Sphero through or use the drive feature. One students will time how long it takes to complete the course. They will also measure course distance in order to calculate speed using the formula S=D/T.

4/5 Math students continued to explore area of polygons. Last week we looked at polygons on the coordinate grid which allowed students to practice a number of skills: plotting points, identifying attributes of polygons, and calculating area of polygons using both models and formulas. This week we really honed in on calculations using formulas.

We used formulas for

Square, A=a^2 (a being side length)

Rectangle, A=lxw

Triangle, A=1/2bh

Parallelogram, A=bh

Trapezoid, A-b1+b2/2 multiplied by h

Rhombus and Kite, A=pq (p and q being length of diagonals)

Some of the calculations included decimal and fraction side measurements allowing students to review operations with fractions, mixed numbers, and decimals.

We have not mastered these skills competely yet, but it is beneficial for students to be introduced to the concept of formulas and above grade level content.

Have a great rest of your week everyone!