Fifth Grade Math

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Walk into a typical day in fifth grade math and you will see a myriad of ways of learning going on. Some students are working with teachers, mini white boards and white board markers in hand. Some students are on their computers challenging each other to math duels while practicing PEMDAS and two-by-two digit multiplication. Others are working collaboratively to solve hard problems and showing their work while writing step-by-step instructions for doing so. Fifth grade math is one learning community with three adults and 21 students all participating.



















Ms. Jang and Mrs. McCallihan plan mathematics with the "Habits of the Mind" as a part of their thinking. When students are questioning, imagining, modeling, connecting and synthesizing, they are pursuing the Habits of the Mind.



The edition of the Investigation curriculum that we are using has an online component that enhances and enriches learning. Through the Pearson Realize site, students can access online manipulatives and drawing tools for problem solving and games for practice.

A recent activity was a bit more old school. Students were building multiple towers with two-digit numbers of their choosing using post-its. In this activity students are practicing what a multiple is, how you can use landmark numbers to make larger digit multiplication and division more doable, as well as gaining good number sense.

Once they master the skills and use more than one strategy for problem solving, they then design a way to teach others. Some have used video, some slide shows and others create beautiful posters.

“Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.”
― Aristotle

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