Greetings!
This week in Math students practiced balancing a checking account. They learned the meaning of deposits, withdrawals, and check writing. Students were then asked to find a specific amount in a list of activity while being given both the beginning and final balance. A quiz is being given today. The November Tic Tac Challenge was collected and the December version was distributed. The Problem of the Week was based on purchases at a deli. We discussed how to make change in our heads by adding the remaining cents to the nearest dollar and then finding the difference between the dollar amounts. Students also learned how adults apply mathematical concepts to real-life occupations using the website: Get The Math. Of the many career choices, we investigated the pricing of guacamole in a New York Mexican Restaurant and how current pricing is set through predicting the cost of goods based on past years pricing - A little intro to Micro Economics here :) We also learned how Chloe Dao of Project Runway creates garments that meet ideal wholesale costs for reasonable retail pricing. Students had to reduce features on the garments to bring down the cost to meet today's competitive pricing. As an undergrad business major I had a lot to say about this in terms of marketing, pricing, profit margin, and customer preference. I want students to see the value of learning math for current and future application.
This week in Science students reviewed content related to electricity from a week ago prior to drawing circuits. Circuits included: open, closed, series, and parallel. We discussed examples of each related to train layout switches, strings of lights, parallel lights in our classroom ceiling, etc. Students later created their own circuits with battery packs, wires, brand new light bulbs, motors, and propellers. Finally, students tested various items including coins, paper fasteners, pencils, erasers, and glass lenses, among other items to distinguish between conductors and insulators. This table included predictions aside of actual results and a comprehension check based on their findings. They certainly enjoyed exploring!
Enjoy the pictures below!
Chris
