Math Monday

It's Math Monday! 

Join Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learning for the Math Monday link up!

Well, spring break is well and truly over. The Problem Solving With Fractions math quiz that my 5th graders took on the Thursday before break finally got graded Saturday night. Because of the importance of assessment driving instruction, I needed to grade that quiz before I knew what I would be teaching today in math.

We won't be starting with dividing fractions just yet, that's for sure. So many stitches were dropped in that quiz that we'll start off with a healthy dose of review. We need to go all the way back to reading a problem carefully to understand what it's asking, and paying attention to key words and phrases like "product," "how much more/less/farther/bigger," and "in all/total." Carefully reading the problem will tell us how to label our answers, or better yet, write the answer in a sentence.

We'll remember what we learned about multiplying a fraction by a whole number or a mixed number by a fraction, and how to take an answer that's an improper fraction and simplify it into a mixed number. 

Then I'll give them their quizzes back, marked with the problems that need a second look, and we'll see if they can fix their mistakes, or finish their work by simplifying or correctly labeling answers.

And for the three students who got everything correct, I will give them this problem that NO ONE got correct (and that confounded me for a minute or two when I started grading). It doesn't make sense when you're solving for area to wind up with an answer that's less than the length of one of the sides. How can you solve this so your answer makes sense...and answers the question?

Jen makes a rectangular banner that is 1 3/4 yards long and 6/12 yards wide. What is the area, in square yards, of the banner?

Poetry Friday -- Hatch

Wikimedia

SACRIFICE

How does
the buzzing
hummingbird
sit still enough to hatch

the two
(not three)
(size of a pea)
eggs that are in her batch?


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015




Happy Spring!

This poem is my fifteenth (!!) in Heidi's MarCH CHallenge. You can browse through all my CH poems here.

If you're curious, the list of emotion words for my Poetry Month 2015 project PO-EMotions is here. Formal unveiling ceremony will be next week.

Catherine is hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup this week at Reading to the Core.

It's a Blog Vacation!

It is time for our traditional Spring Break blog vacation!

Have a great week! 

We'll be back on Friday for Poetry Friday!  

We'll see you then!

Poetry Friday -- Announcing My Poetry Month Project!

SKEPTIC

Head tilted,

one eyebrow arched,

lips pinched:

Are you sure?

Seven days a week?

Really?

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

That skeptic lives inside my head, but I'm going to ignore her. 

Will writing a poem a day that either uses an emotion word or evokes that emotion be any harder than writing a poem a day about obscure wonders of the world? 

("Um...yes," says my skeptic in my ear.)

Sorry, skeptic. We're doing this. And any of YOU who want to come along for the ride are invited to join us for an April that will LITERALLY be an emotional roller coaster!

I've created a list of 30 emotions that various researchers have identified, using this resource.  I'll publish the list next week. I made my graphic for this year using a public domain, no-attribution-necessary image and the graphic design site Canva. 

My poem today is for Heidi's MarCH CHallenge.

Last, but not least, Laura (who coincidentally shares a perfect PO-EMotion for today) has the Poetry Friday roundup at Author Amok.

More Spring Break Reading Possibilities

Here's what's in MY to-read stack!

Spring Break Reading Possibilities

I am looking ahead to spring break reading and am hoping to get to lots of books on my stack. There have been so many great middle grade novels that have been released recently.  Many are by authors whose work I love. I doubt I'll be able to read a MG novel a day over break but this is my Spring Break wish list--the stack I am hoping to get to.

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan

Wish Girl by Nikki Loftin

The Imaginary by A.F. Harrold

Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai

Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper

Hero by Sarah Lean

Paper Things by Jennifer Richards Jacobson

Kate Messner is Brilliant!

I read two brand new picture books by Kate Messner this week. Both were such a treat. I am amazed by Kate Messner because her writing is so diverse. She can write so many things well.  These two pictures books are very different and I loved them both for different reasons.

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt is a companion book to Over and Under the Snow. I remember reading Over and Under the Snow and being fascinated by all that happens in winter that I had never realized.  Kate somehow made really complex science really accessible and interesting. She does the same thing in Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt.  This book follows a little girl and her grandmother as they plant a garden in the spring and watch it grow and change through the summer. We watch as the two tend to the garden as the garden's needs change. And we watch the fun of seeing the work pay off as summer continues. At the same time, we learn of all of the things going on in the garden that are not as visible-the things going on in the dirt.  Just as in the first book, Kate alternates between work in the garden and work in the dirt.  There is so much information packed in the book that it is one that begs to be reread.  In the author's note, Kate Messner states, "Every garden is a community garden.  Do you know why?  You may work hard planting seeds and pulling weeds, but plants can't thrive without the help of all those smaller gardeners down in the dirt."  Definitely a book I want in my classroom!

Kate Messner's How to Read a Story is due out in early May but I'd preorder it now!  This is a how to book--and it gives directions for how to read a story. It starts out with Step 1: Find a Story.  A good one.  It is packed with all that is important in reading--finding a reading buddy, finding a cozy spot, using voices that match the characters' voices, and more.  This will make for a fun read aloud but it will also start great conversations about reader identity--what are your tastes as a reader? where do you like to read? etc. A great conversation starter for our reading workshops!

It isn't often I find picture books that are must-haves for all K-5 classrooms but these two seem perfect for all ages.  As I said, Kate Messner is brilliant:-)

That doesn't seem right...

It's Math Monday! 

Join Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learning 

for the Math Monday link up!

"That doesn't seem right..."

How I love those four little words!

Saturday was our appointment with the tax lady. When she was all done and told us that our return would be xxxx, my heart sank a little -- the amount was almost a third of what we have been getting back in recent years. But I didn't say anything.

Lucky for me, our brilliant tax lady said, "That doesn't seem right..." and poked around until she found a default setting that doesn't fit for us. She worked and worked to get the online form to reflect our particular reality, and when she was done, she said, "That's better! Your return is XXXX! That's more like it!"

Indeed! Now we can get new siding for the house AND have some left over!

This story is brought to you by Math in the Real World. You can bet I'm going to tell this story to my students today, and the moral will be to ALWAYS think about whether your answer makes sense!

Heidi's MarCH CHallenge

Flickr Creative Commons photo by L Church

What to do if You Are a Retriever

Freeze until the command is given.
Explode from the down-stay.
Tear across the lawn at lightning speed.
Catch the frisbee, mid-air.
Hustle back, tail high, ready for more.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015



I am participating in Heidi's MarCH CHallenge at My Juicy Little Universe. Here are my poems for the rest of this week's words:

March

Stretch

Twitch

Punch


Robyn Campbell has the Poetry Friday roundup this week.

Austin Kleon on the Importance of Attribution

"If you share the work of others, it’s your duty to make sure that the creators of that work get proper credit. Crediting work in our copy-and-paste age of reblogs and retweets can seem like a futile effort, but it’s worth it, and it’s the right thing to do. You should always share the work of others as if it were your own, treating it with respect and care."

"All of this raises a question: What if you want to share something and you don’t know where it came from or who made it? The answer: Don’t share things you can’t properly credit. Find the right credit, or don’t share."

Austin Kleon is the author of Show Your Work!, Steal Like an Artist, and Newspaper Blackout. The above quotes are from an older blog post of his (Credit is Always Due) that he shared via his weekly newsletter.

Thank you for this important reminder, Mr. Kleon. Some believe that students should be able to use media that is not licensed for reuse in projects that never leave the classroom. But I believe that we need to teach students the importance of using only that media which is licensed for reuse (plus giving proper attribution to the source) EVERY time they borrow from others. 

I want my students to be the MAKERS, not just the USERS, and as such, they need to use unto others' creations as they hope others will use unto the things they make and share in the classroom, in the school setting, and in the wide world.