Monday, April 28, 2008

R Controlled Vowels

In word study we have been learning about r-controlled vowels.

*When a vowel is followed by an -r, the -r controls the vowel sound (scar, fern, twirl, porch, burn).

There are two exceptions:

*When a vowel is followed by 2 r, the vowel sound is usually short (berry, hurry).

*When -ar and -or are at the end of a multisyllabic word, they usually say /er/.


R-controlled vowels are very tricky. The children often have to depend on the way a word looks to determine if it is spelled right.

Measurement Conversions

The children learned three basic conversions for customary measurement.

1. 12 inches = 1 foot
2. 3 feet = 1 yard
3. 36 inches = 1 yard

Once they were armed with this information, they were asked to use it. (This part got a little tricky.) If we know there are 12 inches in 1 foot, then we can figure out how many inches are in many feet. Similarly, if we know there are 3 feet in 1 yard, we can figure out how many feet (or inches) are in many yards.

We found it easiest to use a table:

feet 1 2 3

inches 12 24 36


You can practice problems like these at home. Use the table to help!

37 inches = _______ ft. ________ in.

4 ft. 6 in. = _________ in.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Measurement

We started out measuring distance with "giant steps" and "baby steps." As we organized our data on a line plot, we realized that although we were measuring the same amount of space, our numbers were very different. Through this experience and reading the story "How Big is a Foot?" we began to understand the importance of standard measurement.

Today we practiced measuring things to the nearest inch, 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch. It's important to remember to line the measuring tool up carefully with the edge of what you're measuring. We also practiced identifying those small lines that indicate fractions of an inch. As our unit continues we will investigate and practice with other units of measure.

The more experience with measurement that children get at school and at home, the better. Encourage your child to estimate and measure distances. Typical questions that might come up at home include these:

How far is it across our kitchen table - and can we really reach that far?
How many children can sit comfortably on our couch? How many adults?
Will that extra bookcase really fit in the kids' bedroom?

These are good questions, and they're also very practical ones! Measurement questions come up a lot in our home lives, and it's exciting for children to be involved with real-world issues.

Here's how you can help during this unit:

Listen to your child's strategies for measuring.

Involve your child in your own measurement activities - hobbies like sewing or carpentry are a natural for this.

Work together on the measurement activities your child brings home.

Happy measuring!

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Feature Articles

Lately, we have been visiting the computer lab to develop our feature articles. Our amazing authors have researched a topic of their choice. They have chosen 3 or 4 subtopics and are writing a paragraph (with a topic sentence) about each. Mrs. Martell has taught us how to format our articles with columns and find appropriate pictures on the internet. We can't wait to share our finished products! :o)

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Fraction Wrap Up

Today we talked about fractions as part of sets. (A set is a fancy name for 'group'.) You can figure out fractions with groups of things just like you can make fractions out of a whole. For example, if you have a group of 12 crayons and 5 of them are red, then 5/12 of the crayons are red. The children understood this pretty quickly.

The next step is trickier. We found fractional parts of a set. This is similar to the fractions we've been studying. I reminded the children that when we divide a rectangle into fourths, we divide it into four equal parts. Its the same with a group of things. For example, if you have 9 books and you want to take 1/3 of them, you would split the 9 into 3 equal parts. This of course is division, so to solve it you would divide 9 by 3.

Happy dividing! :o)