Division

Thank you so much for your feedback on the new fourth grade math blog! We are ready to start with our first instructional video. Please view this video tonight with your student and have them prepared to ask any questions that you or they may have.

       The blog topic today is division. We have been working on division for about a week now from facts to the beginnings of long division. The algorithm that we are using is most likely not the one that you are familiar with. It is a way of teaching the child to look at the whole number and use facts and number concepts they already know to solve problems.. We have attached an article concerning the research and reasons for teaching division in this way to the note that went home today. The formal name for this division strategy is “Scaffolding” but your child will probably refer to it as “Hangman”.

       Please view the video and have your child work the sample problem on the note sent home today. Write down any questions you may have and return them with your child tomorrow. Thank you for your continued support!

Welcome to our Fourth Grade Math Blog!

We are so excited that you are here! We have decided to start this blog with the hopes of opening up our classrooms to parents to see what we are doing in math and the methods we are teaching. We will be posting lots of information as well as videos with explanations of the mathematical procedures your child is learning in class. There will be nights we ask you to view the videos on this blog with your child for homework. There will also be times we simply use it for support. For example, if your child is struggling with a certain homework concept, our hope is you will be able to come here for support.

Let me begin by saying that the math curriculum we use is different. You have probably already noticed that from the homework, tests and classwork. You have also probably noticed we do not work from a traditional textbook. The curriculum we use is called "Investigations" and is published by Scott Foresman. Feel free to follow the link to their parent page to read more about it. 

This curriculum is different than the way that we were taught as children. It is designed to:

• Support students to make sense of mathematics and learn that they can be mathematical thinkers.
• Focus on computational fluency with whole numbers
• Provide substantial work in important areas mathematics-rational numbers, geometry, measurement, data and early algebra- and connections among them. 
• Emphasize reasoning about mathematical ideas.
• Engage the range of learners in understanding mathematics. 

A test video has been included to make sure all parents and students are able to access the blog and videos. If you have a Google account, please post a comment to let us know you are able to view all the features.

Welcome to the fun! We hope you are as excited as we are!