Paper Bag Characters Project

Paper Bag Characters


Character: _______________________________

For this assignment, you will need to choose a character from your text. Be sure to choose a rich, memorable character – it will make it easier to complete your assignment. You will need a paper bag to complete this assignment.

This assignment has several components:

o On the front panel of your paper bag, draw a picture of your character. You may wish to draw the picture on another piece of paper and then glue it onto the bag.

o On one of the side panels, write about your character’s likes and dislikes. Include a bulleted list for each and use supporting evidence from the text.

o On the other side panel, write about how other characters in the text react and interact with your character. Again, don’t forget to use supporting evidence from the text.

o On the back panel, explain how your character changed throughout the text. What was your character like at the beginning of the text? At the end? Why did your character change? Include supporting evidence from the text.

o Inside your bag, include at least 3 items that you would associate with your character. Be prepared to explain and defend your choices in the oral presentation.

o Oral Presentation – You will be asked to orally present your assignment. In your assignment, explain who your character is and what text he or she is from. Briefly explain your information on the two side panels and back panel (DO NOT READ your information – just give us a quick summary.) Show us the items you put in your bag. Explain why you chose these items and why they are important to your character. You may DRESS as your character for this presentation.

o ASSIGNMENT DUE DATE: October 31, 2012!!!!

Friday MATH QUIZ

The blue group and green group students will have a QUIZ on Friday, August 31.  This quiz will cover reading and writing numbers in standard form, word form, and expanded form.  Students will also be asked to recognize numbers using base ten blocks.  The red group will take the same quiz on Tuesday, September 4.  There is a link to Funbrain on the right hand side of this page that will allow your child to practice standard and word form.

Multiply on Your Fingers 6 x 6 through 10 x 10

Multiplying by nine using your hands

Multiplication Strategies

I am teaching multiple strategies to assist in solving multiplication problems.  We have solved problems using the strategies described below.  Please encourage your child to use these strategies when solving multiplication problems.

REPEATED ADDITION
In this strategy, students see the multiplication problem as an addition problem.  For example, 6 x 8 can be solved by adding 6 to itself 8 times, or by 8 to itself 6 times.  Your child's work may look like this: 
  6         8
  6         8
  6         8
  6         8
  6         8
  6       +8
  6        48
+6
48

This strategy works well with single-digit multiplication and some two-digit problems.  It is not going to work for all problems.

ARRAYS
Physical arrays or models are another effective means to solving multiplication problems.  This is a pictorial representation of the problem.  In the problem 6 x 8, students will draw 6 rows and place 8 objects in each row.  This is how it would look:
1 ********
2 ********
3 ********
4 ********
5 ********
6 ********
Once the student has drawn the array, all that's left to do is to count the total number of obects (48) to determine the answer.  The student could also solve the same problem using 8 rows with 6 objects in each row.

NUMBER LINE
This strategy requires students to be strong skip counters and to utilize addition strategies.  Students draw an empty number to assist in solving the problem.  Here is how this would look when solving 6 x 8:

The student made 6 jumps of 8 and ended at 48.  This could also be done with 8 jumps of 6. 

Multiplication

We have started learning our basic multiplication facts!!!  The program I am utilizing is called "Times Tables the Fun Way!"  This program teaches the students stories and songs to assist them in remembering some of the most commonly missed facts.  Here are the facts and the stories we have learned thus far:
3 x 3 = 9  the three blind mice
3 x 4 = 12  and 4 x 3 = 12 the cheerleaders
8 x 8 = 64 the snowmen
7 x 7 = 49 the soldiers
4 x 4 = 16 the hang glider
6 x 4 = 24 and 4 x 6 = 24 the magic pond
8 x 7 = 56 and 7 x 8 = 56 the trampoline
6 x 6 = 36 the thirsty sixes
3 x 6 = 18 bigfoot
6 x 8 = 48 the birthday cake
3 x 7 = 21 butterfly tree
7 x 4 = 28 fireman
7 x 6 = 42 high jump
8 x 4 = 32 pigs
Your child should be able to retell these stories. We have also learned the zeros, ones, twos, fives, and nines.  Your child should be familiar with the commutative property, identity property (when you multiply by 1, the answer is always the other number), and the zero property.  They should also know the terms factor and product.

Number Sense Review

Click on the link above to enjoy a Jeopardy-style game.  This is designed to help you prepare for you first math test on THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 15.