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Mr. McGinnis, Math, 5th

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Week of 11/18 - 5th Grade Math

Greetings 5th Grade Math Families, 
The most historically challenging unit is here, Long Division. In this chapter, your student is learning strategies to understand dividing by one- and two-digit numbers. The lessons address estimating quotients using compatible numbers and using area models, partial quotients, and long division to divide with and without a remainder.
 
The vocabulary word for this chapter is inverse operations (describing the relationship between Multiplication and Division)
 
• Your student can practice dividing whole numbers while solving real-life sharing problems! Ask your student to divide a number of items equally among several people. Ask, “How many trading cards will each of 30 people get if they share 480 trading cards equally?” Encourage your student to explain more than one strategy for finding the answer. “How is 480 ÷ 30 related to 480 ÷ 3? 48 ÷ 3?” Have your student draw an area model and explain how it can be used to divide. “How is an area model related to partial quotients?” 
 
• Talk about items that come in cases with separate packages and a total that is a three- or four-digit number. Have your student write the total number of items 
per case. Then, use division to find the number of packages per case. For example, a case of rubber balls has a total of 108 balls that come in separate packages of 18. Ask, “What is the quotient of 108 ÷ 18? How can you estimate the first number of the quotient?” Continue by asking, “Can you find the number of packages in two cases? How many packages would there be in 2 cases of rubber balls with 6 balls in each package?” 
 
• Ask your student to think of a scenario where there is a three-digit number of chairs. Have your student roll a number cube to randomly generate the digits of such a number, and then generate a two-digit number of rows that will have an equal number of chairs. Then, have your student choose a strategy to divide. Have your student use estimation or multiplication to check the answer. By the end of this chapter, your student should feel confident with the learning targets and success criteria on the next page. Encourage your student to think of other contexts for dividing whole numbers, such as finding how many hours there are in a given number of minutes. 
 
Have a great time practicing division! With your support, this unit doesn't have to be as challenging as it as has been known to be. You'll see their Homework & Practice sheets coming home so that you can support their mastery and see how different lessons were taught to them. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you need support with the resource.
 
There are also skills practices on BigIdeasMath.com that they can be practicing if they did not do so well in previous units. 
 
Best Regards,
Mr. McGinnis

Week of October 28th - 5th Grade Math

Dear 5th Grade Math Families, 
We flew through Unit 4 without full mastery of multiplying multi-digit numbers (It was only 5 lessons). We will be revisiting this skill in Unit 5.
 
In this chapter, your student is multiplying decimals using models, place value, 
partial products, and the laws of multiplication. Your student will find products 
involving multiples of 10 and powers of 10. He or she will also learn to estimate 
products. Finally, he or she will solve word problems involving money. 
Some review words for this chapter are: base, decimal, exponent, and power. 
 
Here are some situations you can use to practice multiplying decimals together. 
• Take a walk outside with your student or use a fitness tracker. Make a 
plan to walk for 1 mile, and increase the amount by 0.1 mile each day for 
three days. Ask, “How would you find the distance you walk on the 
second day? the third day?” 
• Go grocery shopping. Find something with a dollars and cents cost of 
less than $10 and ask, “How much will 3 of these cost?” Find something 
that is sold by the pound and ask, “How much will 2 pounds cost? How 
much will 2.5 pounds cost?” Find something in the produce section that 
is sold by the pound. Have your student weigh it, and ask, “How much 
will this cost to buy?" 
• When you pull up to a pump to get gas for your car, have your student 
identify the price per gallon for the type of gas you use. Ask, “How 
much will it cost to buy 2 gallons of gas?” Determine the amount of gas 
you are going to buy. Then ask, “About how much will it cost to buy that 
many gallons of gas?” Compare the actual cost and the estimated cost.
 
By the end of this chapter, your student should feel confident with multiplying multi-digit numbers even in decimal format. 
Talk about the many types of real-life situations when multiplication of decimals is used. 
Happy multiplying!

Week of October 14th

Dear 5th Grade Math Family,

In this chapter, your student is learning about multiplication of whole numbers. Your student will begin by investigating multiplication patterns and estimating products. Then your student will multiply to find partial products, regroup when needed, and add partial products to find a product. The vocabulary words for this chapter are overestimate and underestimate.

There are many real-life situations that you can use to model multiplying whole numbers.

  • When you go to a theater, ask your student to estimate how many rows of seats and how many seats are in each row. Then ask, “How many seats are there in all?” If a movie theater is a multiplex, ask, “If each theater has the same number of seats, how many seats are in the multiplex?”
  • Grocery shopping provides another opportunity for your student to multiply whole numbers. When you see a display that has the same number of items in each row, ask, “How many items are in the display?” Encourage your student to multiply the number of items in each row by the number of rows to find the answer.
  • Going to a restaurant provides another opportunity to practice multiplying whole numbers with your student. If the restaurant has booths that seat four people, ask, “How many booths are there? How many people can sit in the booths?”

By the end of this chapter, your student should feel confident with the learning targets and success criteria. Encourage your student to think of other real-life situations to use multiplication of whole numbers, such as estimating the number of spaces in a parking lot.

Hope you enjoy your movie and dinner!
 
Best Regards,
Mr. McGinnis

Week of September 23 - 26

Greetings Math Families!
 
The end of the first quarter is here. Your child has completed three units of Math: Place Value Patterns to the Thousandths, Order of Operations, and Adding and Subtracting Decimals. 
 
Any Homework and Practice work that came home in Friday Folders can be kept for practice. If you would like to see the work your child has done and see the skills they can continue working on at home, have them log onto www.bigideasmath.com using their login and password. There, they can show you their tests and access resources to help them improve. 
 
We are wrapping up our Math Facts War Tournament this week, based on the card game War, where students simultaneously flip the top card over from an evenly split deck of 40 cards. The value of each card 1-10 (Ace as One) are the factors. The student who correctly says the product of those factors first wins the cards. In case of a tie, each player gets a card. The cards are counted when they run out to declare a winner. Please consider playing this game with them at home. 
 
Our next unit leans heavily on their math fact fluency, so the more familiar they are, the easier the process will be for the next unit.  
 
Thanks for partnering with me in building your child's mastery of skills in math.
 
Best Regards,
Mr. McGinnis

Math: Week of September 9th

Greetings 5th Grade Math Families,
 
We've wrapped up our second unit in math. You should be finding examples of the work they've done for the past couple of weeks. As said before, the Homework & Practice Sheets can be used to improve low grades for the corresponding lessons in Infinite Campus. Thank you for supporting their mastery of the content as we push forward into our next chapter of study, Adding and Subtracting Decimals
 
In this chapter, your student will learn to add and subtract decimals. Your 
student will use estimation to check that sums and differences of decimals are 
reasonable. 

There are many real-life situations that involve adding and subtracting 
decimals. 

• When balancing a checkbook, you need to know how to add and subtract 
decimals. Show your student your checkbook or a sample checkbook. 
Leave the balance column blank. Ask, “Do I add or subtract this entry 
to find the balance?” Then have your student find the sum or 
difference. 

• Go to the grocery store with your student and a small list of items to 
purchase. Have your student record the cost of each item on your list. 
Ask your student to estimate the total cost of the groceries and then 
find the exact cost. Next, tell your student that you want to remove an 
item from the list. Ask, “What is the new exact cost?” 

• The next time you are at a restaurant, ask your student to estimate 
the total cost of the meal before tax and tip. Then have your student 
find the total cost. Ask, “How close was your estimate?” Tell your 
student you have a coupon for $5 off the total. Ask, “What is the new 
total cost?” 

By the end of this chapter, your student should feel confident with the 
learning targets and success criteria. Encourage your student to think of 
other situations that involve adding and subtracting decimals, such as buying 
items from an online store. 

Enjoy grocery shopping and eating out!
 
Best Regards,
Travis McGinnis

Math: Week of August 26th

Greetings 5th Grade Math Families, 
 
We just finished up Unit One on Place Value. A sheet called Performance Task will be coming home in Friday Folders and can be used to improve their grade if brought back. You can see their grade in Infinite Campus and see their graded tests on Big Ideas Online.

In this next unit, your student is learning about number properties and order of 
operations. Your student will learn about the Commutative Property, 
Associative Property, Addition Property of Zero, Multiplication Properties of 
Zero and One, and Distributive Property. These properties are helpful in 
writing equivalent numerical expressions. The vocabulary terms for the chapter 
are: evaluate, numerical expression, and order of operations. 
 
Numerical expressions can be evaluated using a set of rules known as the order of operations. These rules are: 
1. Perform operations in grouping symbols. 
2. Multiply and divide from left to right. 
3. Add and subtract from left to right. 

Your student will write verbal statements as numerical expressions. Your 
student will also interpret the meaning of numerical expressions. 
 
Help your student practice these skills using real-life situations. 
• Have your student find ticket prices for different events in your area. 
The ticket prices should have multiple prices (e.g., adult/child prices, 
sections with different pricing). Have your student write an expression 
to represent the cost for your family to attend the different events. 
Create additional scenarios by having your student invite different 
numbers of friends or by changing the prices. 
 
By the end of this chapter, your student should feel confident with number 
properties. Your student will also have an understanding of evaluating numerical expressions using the order of operations and writing numerical expressions. 
Have a great time working with numerical expressions!
 
And don't forget, the Homework & Practice sheets coming home in Friday Folders are a way for students to improve their classroom grade for that lesson. I end the lessons with a short Online Practice to help me measure if they understood the lesson or not. It's not homework. It's not a separate assignment, it's mainly a way to communicate to you what they are learning and giving you an opportunity to help them improve if it's still challenging after the lesson.
 
Best Regards,
 
Mr. McGinnis

Unit 1 Math UPDATE 5th Grade

Greetings 5th Grade Families,
 
Just a reminder that all the math titled "Homework/Practice" that are coming home in Friday Folders are NOT homework, but it they ARE practice and an OPPORTUNITY to IMPROVE a low grade. 
 
In Infinite Campus you'll find grades for each lesson. This week, lessons 1.3-1.7 are coming home. We'll be moving on from Unit 1 next week and 1.7 Rounding Decimals was a challenge for many. I don't want to move on without their understanding the content, so I'm inviting you to partner with me in supporting your student in skills they have not mastered.
 
Any Math Sheets that come back to me next week I will check for accuracy and update their grade accordingly. Please email me if you need any additional support. 
 
Best Regards,
Mr. McGinnis

Math: (Not) Homework & Practice Sheets

Greetings 5th Grade Math Families!
 
You will find "Homework and Practice" sheets in your child's Friday Folder. 
 
They are not Homework assignments.
 
What are they for then? Two things; 1) The sheets communicate to you what your child is learning in Math that week and give you an opportunity to check their understanding of the concepts. 2) If you go into Infinite Campus and see a grade of 2 or less for that lesson, they have the opportunity to improve that grade to a 3 if they bring the Homework & Practice sheet back to me with accurate answers. 
 
Again, this is not homework. They do not have to do it or return it unless you want them to practice and if you want them to improve a score that they received for that lesson which can be found in Infinite Campus.
 
Best Regards,
Mr. McGinnis

Math: Week of August 12th

Greetings 5th Grade Math Families

For the next couple weeks, your student will learn about place value concepts and patterns of numbers as they relate to place value. Your student will explore decimals to the thousandths. He or she will compare, order, and round decimals.

I would greatly appreciate your partnership in bringing these concepts and applications to life at home. 

The vocabulary terms for this chapter are: period, base, exponent, power, thousandth, and thousandths place.

Look for opportunities to talk about decimals. There are large numbers and decimals all around us. Large numbers can be found in population data. Decimals can be found in measurements and prices.

  • Populations of communities, towns, cities, and counties can be explored and compared. Help your student find the population of your town, city, or county. Then write the number in word form and expanded form. Compare the population with another city or town.
  • Help your student find gas prices for one gallon of gas from three different gas stations in your area. Have your student write each price in word form and expanded form. Ask your student which form he or she prefers to use when comparing the prices.
  • Find the results of a local or national race. Compare the finish times of the top three finishers. Round the finish times to the nearest hundredth of a second. Then round the finish times to the nearest tenth of a second. Determine if using rounded times would affect the first, second, and third place winners.

By the end of this chapter, your student should feel confident with place value for whole numbers and decimals. Your student will also be able to compare and round decimals. Encourage your student to practice these skills in the real world.

Enjoy exploring place value and decimals! And thank you for partnering with me to help make the concepts relevant outside of school.  

Best Regards,

Mr. McGinnis