Our current mathematics study is on graphing and determining different rates of change based on tables and graphs. You may have heard your child talking about the Rhomaarian children and their magic marbles. Here is the story behind it:
For the first thirty nights of every year, each child on Rhomaar is visited by a Magic Marble Messenger, who leaves that child the same number of Magic Marbles each night. The odd thing, though, is that the number of Magic Marbles received by one child each night can be different from the number of Magic Marbles received by another child each night. So different Rhomaarian children can get different numbers of Magic Marbles. The Magic Marbles can be used to buy toys, books, snacks, and other things children like. Also, the Magic Marbles are so valuable that many children do not use all of their magic marbles in any one year and may save some for next year.During this unit, the students have been looking at various Rhomaarian children and exploring how the number of marbles change throughout the month and then develop rules to determine how many marbles each child would have on any given during that month. Students are also asked to predict which child would have the most at the end of the month based upon the number of marbles each starts with and the number
they receive each night.
In writing the students continue exploring their family traditions and are writing their first essay. Until this point, children were responsible for writing a single paragraph; however, with this project, students are now writing an essay on their traditions and are devoting a full paragraph to each of three family traditions. Another first is that this essay is being composed exclusively on the computer. All rough drafts, revisions, and final copies are typed directly into Google Docs. When completed, these essays will be added to each student's website; however, if you would like to preview it, or help your child complete it, all Google accounts can be accessed at home. You can access it via Google, our class website, or here.
I was hoping to complete the last portion of the traditions project, a presentation about their family traditions, before spring break. However, several children are still in the process of typing their essays and we will need to put the next phase off until April.
Please encourage your child to continue to read for AR. The quarter ends next week Wednesday and a number of students have quite a lot of reading to do if they are going to meet their goals. All students reaching their goal will have a popcorn and movie party after spring break. Those not reaching their goal will spend the time reading in another classroom. If you would like to monitor your child's progress towards his/her goal, you can visit AR Home Connect from our classroom website or click here.
