Viewing and Drawing 3-D

In this unit students will be studying the geometry of three-dimensional objects. They will be looking at boxes, cubes, and objects made with building blocks.

During the unit, the students will take on the role of toy designers and apply their knowledge of geometry to drawing plans for toys and small buildings.

Students will find the volume of cube models and describe them using cube model plans.

Volume-the amount of space, measured in cubic units, that an object or substance occupies

Face-A plane surface of a geometric solid. A cube has 6 faces

Vertices-a point in a geometrical solid common to three or more sides.

The intersection of two sides of a plane figure.

Practice: Ask your child to build a tower or other shape with toy blocks or cubes.

Ask your child to show you the faces, edges, and vertices of a tissue box or cereal box. Ask him or her to describe the shapes, lines and angles that form the box.

One thing you can do to help out is save empty tissue and cereal boxes and send them to school with your child. We will use these to help in studying three-dimensional objects.

Links: http://www.learner.org/interactives/geometry/

http://countdown.luc.edu/NCTM_cat/Geometry/Three_DimensionalShapes/970206/FacesEdgesVerti/index.html

Wholes and Parts

Wholes and Parts

In this unit students will build a deeper understanding of fractions. One important idea is that fractional parts must be equal in size. You cannot know the size of a fraction unless you know the size of the whole: a half can be large or small depending on what it is half of.

Equivalent Fractions-The same amount can be named in different ways: two-fourths, five-tenths, and one-half are all the same number.

If students can understand the basic concepts of fraction then they will be more proficient later when they calculate them.

Practice: When cooking have your child help you. Ask what the whole is when you measure something. Ask if there is another name for a fraction in a recipe.

Talk with your child about fractions you encounter in everyday life. "If we live 10 blocks from the park, how many blocks do we walk to get halfway there?, etc."

Links:

http://www.kidsolr.com/math/fractions.html

http://www.aaaknow.com/fra16_x2.htm

http://www.coolmath.com/fractions/index.html

Volume

Volume

We are about to study volume. Volume is a measurement of size. It is the amount of space an object takes up.

If the volume is a container, such as a box or a jar, then it is the amount of space inside.

Students will explore ways to find volumes of both solid objects and containers.

Students will estimate the volumes of small objects by making models from centimeter cubes. They will then measure the volume of these objects by displacement, putting them under water in a graduated cylinder and measuring how much the water rises.

Students will measure the volume of containers by pouring graduated cylinders full of water into the containers and using addition and subtraction to find the total volume. They also use their data to solve problems involving multiplication and division.

The metric system measure volume in liters, milliliters, and cubic centimeters (1 milliliter=1 cubic centimeter). In the US common units include the gallon, quart, and cubic inch.

Practice: Help your child find containers that hold cups, pints, quarts, or gallons.

Surveys

Making Surveys

Students will be collecting data about other students in the classroom.

Students will be choosing a variable to investigate and then collect, organize, and graph data on that variable.

Vocabulary

Survey-an investigation made by collecting information and then analyzing it.

Variable-a quantity the may assume any one of a set of values.

Students will pick variables that have values that are not numbers. For example, hair color, favorite sport, and favorite type of pizza. Choosing a categorical variable allows the students to work more independently. Students will be making a survey, collecting the data, tallying the information, and reporting the totals when they finish.

Practice:look for examples of survey data in newspapers and magazines. Students can conduct similar experiments at home, surveying family and friends.

Time Again

Time

Students will practice telling time to the nearest minute and

learn about elapsed time.

We have worked on telling time to the nearest 5 minutes. This unit focuses on telling time to the nearest minute. It also focuses on elapsed time.

Elapsed Time-The difference between two times, the amount of time that has passed.

Students will also be introduced to many types of clocks, for example:

Sundial

Hourglass

Greek Water Clock, Chinese Water Clock, and Shadow Clock

Practice: Work with your child on time, every day. When they ask what time something is and how much longer it is, help them in figuring up the elapsed time. Use an analog clock in helping your child figure up time to the nearest minute.

Links: http://classroom.jc-schools.net/basic/math-time.html

This website has a lot of interactive activities for your child to use in helping with time.

http://www.primarygames.com/time/start.htm

Match the analog clock with the digital clock.

http://www.netrover.com/~jjrose/time/Time.html

Move the hour hand and minute hand to match the times.

Building with Triangles

Triangles

Students will use triangles to make shapes by putting two or three isosceles right triangles together edge to edge.

Students will be able to represent shapes using manipulatives, drawings, and words.

Some of the vocabulary used in this lesson:

Congruent Shapes-Shapes that are the same shape and the same size

Vertex-the point at which the sides of an angle meet (corner, 2 or more corners are called vertices)

Right Angle-a 90 degree angle between two perpendicular lines

Line of Symmetry-when two halves of a figure mirror each other across a line

Area-The extent of a surface or plane figure as measured in square units

Perimeter-the border or outer boundary of a two-dimensional figure (measure each side of a shape and add it together to get the perimeter)

Building with four triangles is the next lesson. Students will do the same activities except with four triangles.

Tangrams

Tangrams

Tangram is a puzzle and tans or tangram pieces refer to the seven pieces used to make the puzzle. The pieces are made up of 2 large triangles, 1 medium triangle, 2 small triangles, 1 square, and 1 parrellogram.







Students will be using the tangram pieces to represent shapes. They will attempt to cover a series of figures with all or some of the seven tangram pieces. Some of the figures are possible to cover; and others are not. Students will also make their own tangram puzzles and share them with other students.

Literature Connection: Grandfather Tang's Story by Ann Tompert

Practice:

Links:

Websites with tangram games for students to practice working with tangrams.

http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/games/area/tangram.html

http://www.kidscom.com/games/tangram/tangram.html