
Happy May!
Today we picked up right where we left off last week on our Math Mystery Tour. Students compared and discuss their math homework then continued coloring the different families of helices in pine cones. Next we looked for these in real pine cones and solved the mystery of the number sequence hiding inside....the Fibonacci Sequence! (A few students had already solved it.:) We spent a little time working with these numbers and watched a few video clips that amazed us with how the sequence shows up in nature and the connections with the Golden Ratio, Rectangle, and Spiral we've already discovered. These clips are posted in the Google Classroom. Ask your child to share what she/he found the most amazing! For homework students will work with some "Fibonacci Tricks". We will explore many of these in the next few weeks.
Greek Forum was next. First, families traveled through the "Bluffs of Opportunity" by trying to fool each other with invented definitions of words. Every single family successfully bluffed the others! Next they practiced enunciation with tongue twisters, then gained passage through the "Gesture Isles" by gesturing and speaking to the "pirate" who didn't understand their language (me). This was quite enjoyable and there were lots of laughs. Some students are very comfortable speaking in front of the group and others are being stretched a bit, but everyone is doing great!
We continued learning about the ISS by investigating the Grappler and creating a model. This was also an exercise in reading and following directions. I was pleased with how the groups worked together and used division of labor to accomplish their tasks. You can see some photos below. Also, I showed students the NASA Spacecraft 3D app. Unfortunately my iPads are not new enough to download it, but it's free, and you might want to explore it at home if your device allows. You can find out more HERE.
Finally, students began learning more about Leonardo da Pisa, better known as Fibonacci, and his mathematical contributions in the Moment of Genius. We will complete this investigation next week.
Homework this week:
1. Math: Complete the "Triples Trick" and the "Remainder Trick".
2. Greek Forum: Complete the "Types of Speakers" handout.
Today we picked up right where we left off last week on our Math Mystery Tour. Students compared and discuss their math homework then continued coloring the different families of helices in pine cones. Next we looked for these in real pine cones and solved the mystery of the number sequence hiding inside....the Fibonacci Sequence! (A few students had already solved it.:) We spent a little time working with these numbers and watched a few video clips that amazed us with how the sequence shows up in nature and the connections with the Golden Ratio, Rectangle, and Spiral we've already discovered. These clips are posted in the Google Classroom. Ask your child to share what she/he found the most amazing! For homework students will work with some "Fibonacci Tricks". We will explore many of these in the next few weeks.
Greek Forum was next. First, families traveled through the "Bluffs of Opportunity" by trying to fool each other with invented definitions of words. Every single family successfully bluffed the others! Next they practiced enunciation with tongue twisters, then gained passage through the "Gesture Isles" by gesturing and speaking to the "pirate" who didn't understand their language (me). This was quite enjoyable and there were lots of laughs. Some students are very comfortable speaking in front of the group and others are being stretched a bit, but everyone is doing great!
We continued learning about the ISS by investigating the Grappler and creating a model. This was also an exercise in reading and following directions. I was pleased with how the groups worked together and used division of labor to accomplish their tasks. You can see some photos below. Also, I showed students the NASA Spacecraft 3D app. Unfortunately my iPads are not new enough to download it, but it's free, and you might want to explore it at home if your device allows. You can find out more HERE.
Finally, students began learning more about Leonardo da Pisa, better known as Fibonacci, and his mathematical contributions in the Moment of Genius. We will complete this investigation next week.
Homework this week:
1. Math: Complete the "Triples Trick" and the "Remainder Trick".
2. Greek Forum: Complete the "Types of Speakers" handout.