Thursday, November 20, 2025
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
LCM & LCD
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GAMES AND RESOURCES
Friday, November 14, 2025
November STEM Challenge
In November, we are going to design free-standing pendulums that can draw or paint as they swing to and fro!
A pendulum is an object, hung from a fixed point, that
swings freely back and forth under the action of gravity. The back and forth
movements of a pendulum are called oscillations.
(I could watch that sand pendulum allll daaaay 😍)
Kids love to ride the swings at the playground. The motion
of a tire swing demonstrates the physics of a pendulum. The swing is supported
by chains that are attached to a fixed point at the top of the swing set, which
allow it to move freely back and forth.
The Foucault Pendulum is named for the French physicist Jean Foucault, who used it to demonstrate the rotation of the earth in 1851. It was the first experiment to give simple, direct evidence of the Earth's rotation.
Check out this cool video that explains how the Foucault Pendulum proves the rotation of our amazing planet, Earth.
Let's design a pendulum!
Research pendulums and use items from around your house to
complete this challenge.
Send Mrs. Sol pictures or movies of your experiment to share in class.
DUE DECEMBER 19
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Let's Write a Narrative
Think of interesting characters,
a setting for your story,
and a plot.
What problem will your character(s) face?
How will the problem be solved?
An engaging narrative includes thoughts, feelings, details, description, and dialog.
These things will bring your story to life for the reader!
I love this song about writing a personal narrative.
Turn up your speakers!
The lyrics are typed below, so you can sing along.
Thanks Mr. Laughton!
Write
me a Narrative…
Beginning,
Middle, and a Clear Cut End
Go on
and tell me about…
Where
you’ve been,
Moments
small or big,
or
you can…
Make
up a tale from your imagination!
Kick
it off with a strong lead.
Make
it interesting.
Let
us know who’s in it,
and
the problem they’re facing.
Build
up the action,
and
pace your story right.
Make
a solid sequence,
and
use transitions
that
help your story flow all the way along!
Bring
it to a close with a
LESSON
or
REFLECTION
or
Some
kind of THOUGHT.
Write me a Narrative…
Beginning, Middle, and a Clear Cut End
Go on and tell me about…
Where you’ve been,
Moments small or big,
or you can…
Make up a tale from your imagination!
T. F.
and Triple D
Will
make your words a story…
Thoughts
and Feelings
Details
and Description
and Dialog
Will make your story strong!
We want to
We want to
Feel
what you feel.
See
what you see.
Make
it as real as it possibly can be.
WE’RE
ALL ALONG FOR THE RIDE
and
we see it through your narrator’s eyes!
Write
me a Narrative…
Beginning,
Middle, and a Clear Cut End
Go
on and tell me about…
Where
you’ve been,
Moments
small or big,
or
you can…
Make
up a tale from your imagination!
Make
it your own creation.
IT’S
TIME TO WRITE
BECAUSE
THE WORLD IS WAITING.
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
More Practice: Division Algorithm
If you’ve ever followed a recipe to bake cookies or make your favorite meal, you already know one of the secrets to mastering the division algorithm: it’s all about following steps in the right order! There are measurements, steps, and rules to remember. But once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature.
A recipe tells you what to do, one step at a time — and long division works the same way!
The “recipe” for long division goes like this:
Divide
Multiply
Subtract
Bring down
(Then, repeat!)
If you follow these steps carefully and in order, your math will come out just right, like a batch of perfectly baked cookies !🍪😋
Use this video to help you practice the steps. Pause the video and write down the problem. Solve it on your own and then press play to watch the steps. If you go a different quotient, find your error and fix it. Then, try the next one! Keep going until you get the hang of it.
Oh, and don't forget to send all remainders to me!
BE A YETI!
As with anything, long division takes practice.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Divide and Conquer!
The standard algorithm for division may work for you...
DIVIDE
MULTIPLY
SUBTRACT
BRING DOWN
CHECK!
BUT, I have two new strategies that give you a little more freedom with numbers!
You can choose numbers without having to be so precise with each step of the process.
Suppose that we want to solve the equation
324 ÷ 2
First, draw a box with the dividend on the inside and the divisor on the outside.
Then, think in multiples to find a number that is close, but does not go over.
Think 10s, 100s, 1000s!
Think 10s, 100s, 1000s!
2 x 100 = 200
Subtract and write the answer in the next box.
Repeat until you are left with a number that is smaller than the divisor.
Let’s take a look at one more example.
In this example, we will solve
453 ÷ 4
Draw a box with the dividend on the inside and the divisor on the outside.
Think in multiples to find a number that is close, but does not go over.
Think: 10s, 100s, 1000s!
Think 2s and 5s!
Subtract and write the answer in the next box.
Keep going until you are left with a number that is smaller than the divisor.
When all is said and done, there is a 1 left over...
that's your REMAINDER!
113 r 1 or 113 1/4
The area model strategy works with 2-digit divisors too!
Here's an example from page 20 in your Math Activity Book:
Step 1: Think of a few easy X facts for the divisor.
Step 2: Subtract from the dividend an easy multiple of the
divisor (e.g. 100x, 10x, 5x, 2x). Record the partial quotient in a column to
the right of the problem.
Step 3: Repeat until the dividend has been reduced to zero
or the remainder is less than the divisor.
Step 4: Add the partial quotients to find the quotient.
Let’s solve
679 ÷ 5
679 ÷ 5
Click on the images above for a closer look.
Visit Shelly Gray's math website for the videos above and many other helpful math lessons!
