Thursday, 02/26/09

Math
Today, we learned about using algebraic equations. We practiced using expressions and in & out charts. In the in and out charts, there was an in column and an out column. You had to find out how the number changed. Change in and out into variables. For example, in is i and out is o. The way it changes is times 5. You would write i x 5=o. Pretty simple, huh? For equations, there was a problem like this:
Ali was x feet tall. Ali's grandpa was 50 inches taller than Ali. How tall is Ali's grandpa?

You would write x+50. That's an expression. There is no answer or equal sign. It was pretty easy to practice it. We also have a quiz tomorrow to let us practice for the PSSA test that is coming.

Language Arts
Today, each table group went to one center for section 's center rotation. My group went to the prefixes center. There, we had to fill out the sheet in our menu called the Unlock Prefixes and Root Words page. It was easy. We just had to find words with a prefix and root word then guess the definition. I found a lot of themin under two minutes. It was actually fun. We also had to complete pages 69, 70, and 71 in our books. They were about prefixes. We had to find the right word for the sentence they were giving. For example: “The cars drove over to the ____________.” The blank would be intersection. Easy, huh. We finished all the pages just in time to leave for the next class.

Science
Today, we got to do a new lab. We made a landform out of dots of clay. My partner and I made a short little mountain. For the experiment, we each took turns taking out dots and when the person finished, the other opened their eyes and checked to see if there was a difference. The teacher said each dot taken off is worth 1,000 years. It took us 4,000 years to notice a difference!!! When we finished that, we filled in the questions asking about the experiment. On the last question, she asked if we liked it. I liked it a lot. It was fun, and it was like a little game. She should totally pass it on to the other kids coming next year.