News From Mrs. Graves

Upcoming This Week

Monday, 12/9  Kinder Stanford 

Tuesday, 12/10  Kinder Stanford

Wednesday, 12/11  Kinder Stanford

Thursday, 12/12  Kinder Stanford; Student Coalition Mtg, 11:15 am; Piano Recital, 6:00 pm; 2nd gr Winter Show & Art Exhibit, 6:30 pm

Friday, 12/13  Kinder Stanford; Spelling Pre-Bee, 7:15 am; Book Talk, 11:30-12:30; Faculty Caroling, 6:00 pm;

Wednesday, 12/18  Community Exhibition, 6:30 pm

Thursday, 12/19  School Exhibition (watch for schedule)

Friday, 12/20  Book Talk, 11:30-12:30; Class Holiday Parties (after 1:00); Lost and Found Clean Out

What is Spelling Pre-Bee?

All students in grades 3-5 who are interested in competing in this year's spelling bee must qualify through the Pre-Bee.  This will be a written qualifier test using words from the Scripts National Spelling Bee list.  Teachers have copies of the student list.  The Pre-Bee will begin promptly at 7:15 am. on Friday, December 13th.  There will be no late admittance.

Algebraic Principles in Action

Everyday Math, the campus' primary math curriculum, is designed to develop algebraic principles in children as young as kindergarten.  You will find that students are often exploring properties of mathematics that serve as a foundation for the algebra they will learn later.

You may hear us often discuss the complex, multi-step problems children are expected to solve under the newer state assessment system, STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness). A couple of weeks ago we discussed a particular 3rd grade homework problem, that as adults we would solve with simple algebra.  The problem is similar to the problems we may find on STAAR for 3rd graders.  I thought it would be enlightening, and may even be helpful, to share this problem with you, and share the various ways it can be solved.  

Since I don't have the actual problem with me, it goes a little something like this...

Someone is growing vegetables in a garden.  She harvests 26 vegetables altogether.  There are 8 tomatoes. She also harvested peas and beans.  She harvested 10 more beans than peas.  

In this problem you have a total and one addend, with two unknown variables.  Since the value of one variable is dependent on the value of the other variable, we can set up equivalent expressions.   Since 3rd graders don't know how to apply many of the computations required in early algebra, we need to give them strategies for solving the problem in other ways.  As hardworking and devoted homework helpers (yes, you!), you may want to see a couple of grade-appropriate methods for solving problems such as this.

In any method for solving the problem, we want to first identify what we know and what we don't know. For this problem, here is what we know...

Total vegetables = 26

tomatoes = 8

peas = ?

beans = peas + 10

Next, we want to write a number model to explain the problem...

26 = t + p + b

So if we first subtract what we know from the total (26-8=18), it will leave us with a total for peas plus beans.  So if the total for peas plus beans is 18 we can apply a guess and check strategy now...

We can also solve this problem with a unit bar method.  By first subtracting the 8 units for tomatoes, and then subtracting the 10 units we know are beans, we are left with 8 units that are equally divided between peas and beans.  A unit bar method would look like this...

You can find helpful information online in the Student Reference Book at www.everydaymathonline.com. Each child has an ID and password, that can be found on the online password sheet sent home at the beginning of the year. 

Magnet Application Window

The deadline for submitting magnet applications for the 2014-15 school year is December 20, 2013.  For those interested in submitting applications for middle school, please be mindful of the deadline.  You may apply from the main HISD website at www.houstonisd.org 

Have a great week!