Money, Money, Money!

Today we began a unit on MONEY. We will focus, first, on how to count bills/coins. Here are some tips:

- Start by counting the coins or bills with the greatest amount FIRST, then count coins of smaller values.

BILLS - HALF DOLLARS - QUARTERS - DIMES - NICKELS - PENNIES

- Help your child count change using real money. When you empty pockets or receive change from making a purchase, ask your child to count what you found or received. Practical, real-life practice is key!

- Help your child by modeling how to count change by "adding on." For example, if you had two quarters, three dimes and two pennies, start with .50 then add on the two dimes by counting by tens (.60 then .70 then .80) and then add on by counting by ones (.81 then .82).

- One of the most important skills - at this point in the unit - is for your child to recognize amounts of money without having to physically count or even think. Help your child with the following:

2 quarters = 50 cents

3 quarters = 75 cents

4 quarters = $1.00

10 dimes = $1.00

20 nickels = $1.00

Mountain Math

Check out a sample bulletin board for Mountain Math (this is essentially what ours looks like in the classroom). Each week, using the numbers, symbols or problems posted, students respond to questions and review 24 key concepts. The same concepts are reviewed each week - the numbers, shapes, problems, etc. change. Students did a GREAT job this week and I'm very excited about the great progress they will make with this supplemental spiral program. I am very confident that my students are going to master their content at higher levels and will be able to retain math skills instead of memorizing a skill during the unit and forgetting weeks later. Look for your child's Mountain Math answer sheet to see all the skills that were reviewed each week.

Subtraction and Regrouping

The following site gives a great illustrated and animated explanation for regrouping when subtracting.
http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/subtraction-regrouping.html

Another topic we have been working on is subtracting across zero. Most students have surprisingly done very well with this skill - it is usually pretty challenging!

Click on the link below and scroll down to find a tutorial, sample games and a quiz to check your child's understanding or mastery.
http://www.macmillanmh.com/math/2009/ca/student/grade3/chapter_03.html

Virtual Base Ten Pieces

This site might be helpful if your child is struggling with the concept of "regrouping" in addition.

VIRTUAL BASE TEN PIECES
http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/math1-3/baseten-1.html

Addition

Most students are doing a great job with addition, but some tips for helping your child are included below:

Multi-digit addition can be a challenging concept for some. In order to help students, remind them that they need to -

1) LINE UP DIGITS. Many students are forgetting to line up their digits so that the ones place is directly over the ones place in the addend

368
+219
_____

The 8 and the 9 are directly over each other, helping the child to clearly see what needs to be added together (and to make sure they are adding the correct digits).

2) ADD THE ONES COLUMN FIRST. After adding the ones column, proceed by adding the tens, then the hundreds, etc. Multi-digit addition should always be done RIGHT to LEFT.

3) If, when adding a column together, the sum is larger than 9, students will have to REGROUP. See example below:

278
+159
_____

8+9 is larger than 9, so 17 has to be regrouped as 1 ten and 7 ones. Students should write down the 7 in the ones place and "carry" the one over to the tens. We have practiced using base-ten pieces in class, so students should be able to visualize, or draw out a visual representation of "17" using base ten pieces.

4) ADD ALL DIGITS in a column - even the "carried" digits.

5) CHECK WORK....does it make sense? Often, students will record a sum that is SMALLER than the addends they began with. This is just a careless error and can be easily fixed if students check, or proof their work.

Rounding demonstration

Rounding is challenging....if your child is struggling, hang in there....it will get better as the week progresses!

ROUNDING

Rounding is a math concept that is sometimes tricky for students. Some students will master the concept with ease, while others are often stumped by its more abstract nature. I encourage my students to think about rounding in conjunction with a roller coaster or a hill with a car. Numbers either roll over the hill (rounding up) or fall back down the hill (rounding down). The trick is to teach students to look, like a detective, at the CLUE the number leaves for you. This clue is the digit to the RIGHT of whatever place you are rounding to. For example:

Round 62 to the nearest TEN.

Look at the TENS place (6, value 60)

Look at the digit to the right of the tens place, in the ones place (2)

If the number to the right of the place being rounded is 5 or GREATER, round the number up. If the number is less than 5, round DOWN.

I ask students to always lay out two possibilities or choices. See the example below:

45 - round to the nearest ten

Choices: 40 or 50 (since rounding to the nearest ten, my choices must end in zeros)

Look at the tens place (4, value 40)

Look at the ones place - the digit is 5, therefore I will round up

The answer is 50

It often helps students to have a visual of a hill and even a paper car to move up and down the hill. The important steps to remember:

1) Think through both choices (rounding up or down)

2) Look at the place you are asked to round to

3) Look at the secret number to the RIGHT of the place you are rounding to

4) Decide if you should round UP or DOWN

I will post a video later in the week.