Hello 4th grade families,
Last week in math we wrapped up our unit on multiplication and division by doing word problems. One thing we focused on for division word problems is interpreting remainders. For example, if there were 211 students going on a field trip and each bus could hold 20 students, how many buses would we need? Well the answer would be 10 with a remainder of 11 but we then realize that we can't have a remainder or that means some students will be left behind. Which means we actually need 11 buses, just one will only be partially filled.
We also worked on multi-step word problems using all four operations. I like to introduce word problems by using things to fill in for the numbers, mostly shapes and letters (variables). We then write out the equation to solve the problem using these variables. I do this first as a reminder to the students that with word problems, the first step is not to find the numbers, but to carefully read the problem and make a plan on how we can solve it. Once we have a game plan, then the numbers will be used to solve it. For example, if there are m boys and f girls in the fourth grade and each student brings s seed packets in for a science project, how many seed packets will we have? By not having any numbers in the problem, we can focus on what's really happening in the problem and how to solve it. The game plan for this problem would be to add the number of boys and girls together to find how many 4th graders there are, which would be m + f, and then we can multiply that sum by the number of seed packets each student will bring. So our equation would look like this: (m + f) x s = ? We put parentheses to show that we want to do that part first. Once we have a game plan in place, then I will give them the numbers to fill in and solve.
As a reminder, since Valentine's day falls on the weekend, there will be no parties happening at school this year. We will not be passing out any valentines at any point either.
Thank you and have a wonderful week!
