The focus this week in math has been on equalities. Students spent time exploring equations containing either an addition or subtraction fact on both sides of the equal sign. They had to determine if the equal sign could remain because both expressions equal the same amount or if they would need to use a "not equal" sign to show the expressions did not have the same value. To take our work with equalities a bit further, students then had to determine the missing number in a given expression that would make the equality true. This required them to use their number sense, addition and subtraction skills, and sometimes the use of fact families. Here are some examples of the problems they had to solve.
Looking at Question Stems
This week in reading I worked with the kids to finish reading their A-Z book about Helen Keller. We discussed what an inspiration she was and how much she accomplished in her lifetime, despite her severe disabilities. Next, we practiced using passages to help us answer very specific types of questions which students may see on an assessment requiring them go back into the passage and evaluate what they have read. Questions included:
Which paragraph would answer - "insert question here?"
What question is answered in paragraph ___?
If "insert detail here" was added to the passage, in which paragraph would it fit?
Which paragraph would answer - "insert question here?"
What question is answered in paragraph ___?
If "insert detail here" was added to the passage, in which paragraph would it fit?