Fifth Grade: Collecting Data and Graphing
Dear Fifth Grade Family,
Over the next few weeks we will begin our first unit which focuses on using data collection to build a mathematical community. The purpose of this letter is to give you some background information about our new unit.
Focus of the Unit
Your fifth grader will learn that mathematicians have positive attitudes, respect others, and have a growth mindset for problem solving. Mathematics involves meaningful talk about strategies and students explaining their thinking. Teachers will establish expectations to help students create a “math mindset,” a belief that they can do math. They will learn to take risks when problem solving and learn to persevere even when the problems they encounter are new to them. Students will learn that a math community values mistakes and struggles as learning opportunities. Activities in this unit of study will build a foundation for the entire year.
Building on Past Mathematics
In previous years, students conducted surveys that yielded numerical or categorical data and represented that data in a frequency table, scaled bar graph, scaled picture graph, and/or line plot. They interpreted the data, answered questions about it, and reported conclusions.
Strategies that Students Will Learn
Students will work to create survey questions, analyze the data, and report results. Students will collect data by asking questions that yield data that change over time (ex: rainfall over a period of time). They will make and interpret a representation of data using a line graph. Through these surveys, students will get to know one another, work collaboratively, and begin to build a mathematical community that supports a growth mindset.
Students will explore this idea of a growth mindset and apply it throughout all units this year in mathematics. They will discuss how to persevere when they encounter new and difficult tasks and believe that they can do well in math. They will explore how math problems can be solved with many different approaches and view mistakes as valuable parts of the learning process.
Ideas for Home Support
Encourage your child to share situations where they apply their growth mindset to help them be successful. Talk with them about situations where you as an adult apply your own growth mindset:
Thank you for serving as partners in your child’s success as a mathematician!
Beth Nall
Dear Fifth Grade Family,
Over the next few weeks we will begin our first unit which focuses on using data collection to build a mathematical community. The purpose of this letter is to give you some background information about our new unit.
Focus of the Unit
Your fifth grader will learn that mathematicians have positive attitudes, respect others, and have a growth mindset for problem solving. Mathematics involves meaningful talk about strategies and students explaining their thinking. Teachers will establish expectations to help students create a “math mindset,” a belief that they can do math. They will learn to take risks when problem solving and learn to persevere even when the problems they encounter are new to them. Students will learn that a math community values mistakes and struggles as learning opportunities. Activities in this unit of study will build a foundation for the entire year.
Building on Past Mathematics
In previous years, students conducted surveys that yielded numerical or categorical data and represented that data in a frequency table, scaled bar graph, scaled picture graph, and/or line plot. They interpreted the data, answered questions about it, and reported conclusions.
Strategies that Students Will Learn
Students will work to create survey questions, analyze the data, and report results. Students will collect data by asking questions that yield data that change over time (ex: rainfall over a period of time). They will make and interpret a representation of data using a line graph. Through these surveys, students will get to know one another, work collaboratively, and begin to build a mathematical community that supports a growth mindset.
Students will explore this idea of a growth mindset and apply it throughout all units this year in mathematics. They will discuss how to persevere when they encounter new and difficult tasks and believe that they can do well in math. They will explore how math problems can be solved with many different approaches and view mistakes as valuable parts of the learning process.
Ideas for Home Support
Encourage your child to share situations where they apply their growth mindset to help them be successful. Talk with them about situations where you as an adult apply your own growth mindset:
- Persevering while learning a new role at your job
- Studying to learn an unfamiliar procedure (changing the oil in your car)
- Admitting failure and consciously deciding to press on and try again
Thank you for serving as partners in your child’s success as a mathematician!
Beth Nall
Year at a Glance
Unit 1: Through Data and Graphing
Unit 2: Properties of Multiplication and Division
Unit 3: Multiply and Divide Fractions
Unit 4: Place Value & Decimals in the context of Metric Measurement
Unit 5: Adding and subtracting whole numbers and decimals to thousandths place
Unit 6: Multiply & Divide of Whole Numbers, Decimal and Fractions
Unit 7: Classifying Quadrilaterals
These web links will allow you to keep practicing. Along with these sites we will be send work out when CGS lets us know to begin. We are using these two weeks as "workdays" to prepare for the learning ahead. Currently in math we are multiplying and dividing mixed fractions and decimals (all of this has been introduced and now students just need to practice) . We will have an online test on this unit at some point and we will continue with our weekly calculator inactive quizzes once classes resume. Once this unit is complete, we have one unit left. Study Island and SchoolNet will both be used as well, so for those of you that are not caught up on these assignments in all area of the curriculum, now is the time to catch up.
Below are a list of websites that you can share with parents to help with math problem solving and fluency.
Problem solving:
IXL Math: https://www.ixl.com/math/
Soft School: https://www.softschools.com/math/games/
Embarc: https://embarc.online/
Engage NY: https://www.engageny.org/
Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/math
DPI NC https://sites.google.com/dpi.nc.gov/k-12-mathematics/resources/for-parents
Zearn: https://www.zearn.org/
Figure This: https://figurethis.nctm.org/index.html
Texas Instrument: https://education.ti.com/en/products/calculators/elementary-calculators/ti-15-explorer
Fluency:
IReady Learning Game: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/i-ready-learning-games/id1426614831
Smarty Games:http://www.smartygames.com/games/math/game_super_michael3.htm
Cool Math Games: https://www.coolmathgames.com/
Hoodamath: https://www.hoodamath.com/games/integerstimedtests.html
Keep in mind that reading is an excellent way to escape and take an adventure! I am currently reading the books you guys gave me from the book fair last week. When I finish a few books I will post a summary and you can see if the library has in available online. I love math but I love reading too!! I know some of you like more hands on kind of things, so don't for get there are lots of art lessons online and you can choose your passion: drawing, watercolors, etc. Just enjoy learning anything you can at this time. Help your mom cook, do chores around the house, plan a family game night and keep in mind that in today's society our knowledge doubles every 72 hours. (I just learned this today!!!). So let your knowledge soar!!!!
Below are a list of websites that you can share with parents to help with math problem solving and fluency.
Problem solving:
IXL Math: https://www.ixl.com/math/
Soft School: https://www.softschools.com/math/games/
Embarc: https://embarc.online/
Engage NY: https://www.engageny.org/
Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/math
DPI NC https://sites.google.com/dpi.nc.gov/k-12-mathematics/resources/for-parents
Zearn: https://www.zearn.org/
Figure This: https://figurethis.nctm.org/index.html
Texas Instrument: https://education.ti.com/en/products/calculators/elementary-calculators/ti-15-explorer
Fluency:
IReady Learning Game: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/i-ready-learning-games/id1426614831
Smarty Games:http://www.smartygames.com/games/math/game_super_michael3.htm
Cool Math Games: https://www.coolmathgames.com/
Hoodamath: https://www.hoodamath.com/games/integerstimedtests.html
Keep in mind that reading is an excellent way to escape and take an adventure! I am currently reading the books you guys gave me from the book fair last week. When I finish a few books I will post a summary and you can see if the library has in available online. I love math but I love reading too!! I know some of you like more hands on kind of things, so don't for get there are lots of art lessons online and you can choose your passion: drawing, watercolors, etc. Just enjoy learning anything you can at this time. Help your mom cook, do chores around the house, plan a family game night and keep in mind that in today's society our knowledge doubles every 72 hours. (I just learned this today!!!). So let your knowledge soar!!!!
Homework
Beginning this week students received a homework sheet that is a cumulative review. This sheet has Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights homework. We check the homework together and go over every answer. Their grade is based on doing the homework each night, not on whether it is right or wrong. It is an automatic 100 for the week if they do the work when it is due; for each night the work is not completed before class the grade drops 10 points.
These are strategies students can use to help them find the answers and model they should recognize as it relates to equations.