Budgeting, Polygons, and April Foolin'

 Gloria challenges me to a game of fraction war!

Students are reading from Because of Winn-Dixie. We take in this beautiful book in a number of ways. Students read independently, read aloud in pairs, read aloud in small groups, or listen to me read aloud to them.

 The fourth grade mathematicians just finished working with this question:

Jose earns allowance for doing chores around the house. He earns $2.50 each time he unloads the dishwasher, $1.25 each time he walks the dog, and $3.15 each time he takes out the trash.

He’s had his eye on a new skateboard and he has decided to try and save up to buy one. His favorite skateboard is a Skate Warehouse board and it costs $114.00.  His second choice is a Lost board and it costs $73.00. His third choice is an Enjoi board and it costs $69.00. He wants to have his board by Spring Break (in 21 days!).

He always has a lot of homework on Mondays. He has soccer practice on Thursdays and games on Sundays. He likes to watch his favorite TV show on Wednesdays.

Work with your partner to come up with a plan for Jose. What would you do if you were him?

The partners approached the problem in a number of ways. Some started by considering the restraints on Jose's time. Some started by figuring out how much Jose would need to make each week in order to have enough to by his dream board. It was interesting to see them grapple with the multi-faceted nature of this problem. They asked questions like, "Is that too much work for him to do after such a long day of activities?" "Should we just go for the most expensive board? Or is that not really reasonable?" When they gave their recommendation to "Jose" they needed to show him the math to back up their ideas for him and they needed to do it in a way that was both clear and concise.  After they finished their work, they gave the other teams feedback and made some last changes.

It's always fun to work with our buddies from Room 6! Teams selected random words from books in the library and used them in a team story. 

It was sweet to unveil our finished painting to Becky. She was so excited as the puzzle came together. 

Those stinkers!!!! Happy April Fool's Day, Devin. Here's a tray of delicious Brown "E"s!

We're working as a whole class with some new geometry vocabulary. The students are using giant elastic bands and their bodies to build regular and irregular polygons.