Math Is NOT Only for Careers!

I remember being in 4th and 5th grade and having a hard time with math. Math was my worst subject! I thought to myself, "Don't worry. You won't have do math when you grow up." Boy, was I wrong!!!

Now that I am a grown up, I have to use math all the time! Let me give you some examples. I am going to have a party at my house in March and I want things to be just perfect. So, here's what's happening: I have to use addition and subtraction every day to balance my checkbook . This is important to make sure I have enough money and that I don't run out of money! That would be bad!!

I have to plan my grocery shopping so I won't spend to much. This means I have to look at the recipes and multiply fractions to make sure I have enough of each ingredient.

Once I go to the grocery store I have to subtract money and then count money to make sure the girl at the cash register gave me enough change.

What else? I had to use geometry and measurement to figure out how much paint to buy for my walls since I wanted to fix up the room where the party would be.

Now I'm cooking all the snacks and I'm having to use fractions and measurement with every recipe. And I sure didn't know I would have to use algebra just to make meatballs! Did you? Sure enough, the recipe makes enough meatballs for 8 people, but I'm having 20 people. Now I have to figure out that if 1 pound = 16 meatballs, then X pounds = 40 meatballs.

So, the next time you're thinking you won't need math when you grow up, think about me in my kitchen with my cookbooks trying to use algebra!!!

My advice: PAY ATTENTION IN MATH CLASS!

Math Problem Solving

Here at TCE we use five steps to figure out how to solve math problems. The steps are:

1. READ: Read the problem carefully. You might need to read it twice!
2. IDENTIFY: Find the key words. Figure out what the problem is asking you to do.
3. PLAN: Make a plan for how to solve it. There is more than one strategy you can use.
4. SOLVE: Solve the problem.
5. CHECK: Check your answer.

Watch the video to see me solve a math problem with these 5 steps.

DREAM IT! BELIEVE IT! DO IT!

One of the things I know is that what you believe will happen. So, if you believe that you will fail, you will. But, if you believe you will succeed, you will. My point is that each of us need to believe in our own success. I want you to think about the CRCT that we will be taking in April. This is a test of all the things you have been learning in school this year. Your teachers have given you all the skills you need. Now you need to set yourself up to be successful.

Blog back to me about your goals for CRCT. In order to pass you must have a score of 800 or higher. Set a goal for yourself. Will you score 830? 850? 900? Once you write this goal down, you have to make a picture in your mind of yourself achieving this goal.

I can't wait to hear from you about your goals and then to celebrate your success!

MARKET DAY @ TCE!

Okay, fifth graders, I need your help in a BIG way! My husband, Mr. Walts, is retired. He is thinking about starting his own business. I don’t think this is a good idea because we don’t know about all the things we need to do before starting up a business. Mrs. Stone told me that you have been learning all this in order to get ready for Market Day. Can you give us some advice?

What are the things we have to decide on? I think we need to decide what kind of a business we want to have first. Is that right? Then, what about location? How do you know what is a good location? Also, don’t we have to decide on what we will be able to sell? How do we figure out the supply and demand? What about customer service? Is that important? Oh, my gosh! I didn’t even think about the pricing! How do you decide how much to charge? Is quality an important thing to consider? He’s not very artistic either; do we need to worry about presentation of the product?

Good grief! I’m worried! He has a lot of work to do before he starts. Please respond to let me know what we need to do before we start.

Check out Mrs. Aspinwall's WAY COOL Podcast! Learn how to subtract with regrouping from her student, Daniel.

http://maspinwall.podomatic.com/entry/2009-11-17T04_26_23-08_00

Click above. Let me know what you would like to Podcast about.

FACES

Don't you just love it when someone smiles at you?

Smiles are like the bubbles in a soda - they make a face sparkle! When someone smiles at me, I just automatically smile back. And then, as I walk away, that happy feeling follows me. Look at the slideshow below to see some of the faces that smile at me here at TCE. (Click the sound button to hear the music.)

Now, take a moment to write about someone who smiles at you and makes you feel good.