Viewing: March, 2015
March 14, 2015
Pi Day 3/14/15
Happy Pi Day, everybody! Pi is one of those nearly magical mathematical values because it makes its appearance in so many different areas of math, especially geometry. Every year, 3/14 is a big day for teachers because it corresponds to the start of pi: 3.14. But since pi continues as 3.141592653, this year is actually a big year, since we can translate it to 3/14/15, 9:26:53am. That’s the pi moment of the century, and it’s happening today! (I think that’s more exciting to math teachers than most people. :-D)
Last Friday, Mrs. Labowsky, our district K-6 math coach, joined our class for a special Pi Day lesson. We examined the cans of food that students generously brought in for donation to Gifts of Love. Students measured the circumference of the cans and the diameter, and they divided the circumference by the diameter in order to find the relationship between the two values. Most groups found a quotient between 3 and 3.5. (The variation was because of the imprecise measurements.) This let us introduce the value of pi (and to reveal our awesome pi day t-shirts!) We discussed that pi is ALWAYS the relationship between circumference and diameter, no matter how large or small the circle is. We also discussed some of the other places in which pi makes an appearance in math!
I hope you have a great pi day! Curious how long pi “feels”? Click here to see the first million digits of pi!
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
March 3, 2015
Southeast States and Capitals Practice
You can use these websites to practice your southeast states and capitals!
http://quizlet.com/462893/southeast-states-capitals-flash-cards/ – Can you identify the capital when you’re given the state?
http://quizlet.com/2045477/flashcards – Can you identify the state when you’re given the capital?
http://www.purposegames.com/game/southeast-state-capitals-quiz – A game to place the capitals on the map with the right state. (Also great for learning the locations of each state!)
http://www.sporcle.com/games/trwrenn/SERegionstatescapitals – This game quizzes you to see if you can type in the correct capital, so spelling counts! It also times you. (You will NOT be timed in class.)
Posted in Social Studies|By Jon Moss
March 1, 2015
Welcome Ms. Murray!
Please join me in (belatedly) welcoming Ms. Amber Murray to our classroom! Ms. Murray is a senior at Avon High School and will be working in our classroom periodically over the next several months. She is participating in a new internship program at AHS that is designed to give students an opportunity to learn about about the adult career fields they are considering as they conclude their high school career. It is hoped that the program will develop to the point where all AHS students can participate in an internship before they graduate. Ms. Murray is interested in becoming an elementary school teacher and is hoping to learn more about the profession by visiting our class and Mrs. Gregg’s second grade class. Right now, she is just observing the class, but over the next few weeks, I expect to put her to work more by working with groups of students, team teaching lessons, etc. She’s done a terrific job in her first few visits, and I look forward to her continued involvement is our class. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss