November 4th, 2016

Who is getting excited for January 13th! I can't wait for A Series of Unfortunate Events the series. January is soooooo far away! Guess I'll just have to curl up with my Snicket at home and reread the books while I wait. 

In Math we started to work with using variable to write equations. This is probably one of the most challenging concepts that we will be working on this year. So, we may be working on the concept longer than our usual Day 1 and Day 2. Today, Day 1, we practiced turning story problems into equations. Students are already familiar with writing algebraic expressions using variables, operations, and numbers (eg. f + 1). Today, we began writing equations. An equation has an = sign in it. It is important that students remember, that whatever is on one side of the equals sign must equal (be the same as) whatever is on the other side of the equals sign. So, we can write 3 + 4 = 7 because if we evaluate both sides, they both are 7 (ie. (3 + 4) = 7, (7) = 7, 7 = 7). But we can also write 8 = 5 + 3. This is still a correct equation! Why? Because both sides of the equals sign, when evaluated, are 8 (ie. 8 = (5 + 3), 8 = (8), 8 = 8). Or, we can write something like 4 x 2 = 5 + 3. Again, this is a correct equation because when evaluated, both sides of the equals sign are 8 (ie. (4 x 2) = (5 + 3), (8) = (8), 8 = 8). We need to understand this about equations, because when we are using a variable, we can use the knowledge to evaluate the equation for the amount of the variable. Take the following example:

Jean Luc opened a package of 20 pencils. 
He gave out some pencils. 
There were 6 pencils left. 
How many pencils did Jean Luc give out?

We can write an equation to represent this story problem. First, let's assign a variable to the unknown value in the story problem. We do not know how many pencils Jean Luc gave out. Let's use p to represent the value of the pencils Jean Luc gave out. So, Jean Luc had a package of 20 pencils. He gave out some pencils, and he had 6 pencils left. We could represent this as:

20 pencils altogether = p (amount Jean Luc gave away) + 6 pencils left
20 = p + 6

We can use the commutative property to write this equation in other ways that match this story problem:

20 = 6 + p
20 - 6 = p
20 - p = 6

If we wanted to evaluate this equation for p to solve the story problem, to figure out how many pencils Jean Luc gave away, we could solve for p. The equation that makes this easiest is:

20 - 6 = p
(20 - 6 = 14) = p
14 = p

So, Jean Luc gave out 14 pencils. As stated above, working with equations can be difficult. We will spend several days reviewing and practicing this concept before moving on. 

In Social Studies today, we practiced reading latitude and longitude. Students began by examining a map of Canada. Students were asked to find the closest line of latitude to Fort McMurray and the closest line of longitude to Fort McMurray. Then we did the same for Ottawa. Finally, students worked in small groups to solve some problems using a map of Nigeria and lines of latitude and longitude. Afterwards, we worked together as a whole class to explore our final mapping concept - scale. Scale can be difficult for students to understand at first. Since distance can't be exactly represented in maps (the maps would have to be too big!) we use a distance scale to express how far something on the map is in real life. To practice, we used a distance scale in which 1 inch equaled 300 miles or 480 kilometres. Together, we used a map of Egypt to practice using this scale to identify the approximate distance between cities in Egypt. We will be practicing using all of our mapping skills: reading legends, a compass rose (cardinal and intermediate directions), latitude and longitude, and distance scales next week on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, we are going to be having a quiz on these concepts before we move on to the regions of Canada! 

Got a busy weekend planned? Remember, you can always take some time for a "Magic 10" to help calm down your amygdala. Let your prefrontal cortex do the thinking! ​
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Agenda
Language Arts:
- Read 20 minutes
- Fri-yay Reflections (read with a parent/adult)

Math: 
- Review 5x and 10x tables
- pg. 22 #1, 2

Science:
​-Weather Quiz (THURSDAY)

Social:
- Mapping Quiz (Wednesday) 

Picture Retakes - November 16th
Remembrance Day Assembly - Thursday, November 10th @ 10:15 am (parents are welcome to join us)
Tech & Trades Academy - Mondays (3:00-4:00 pm)
Grade 5/6 Volleyball - No Volleyball on Monday! 
Grade 5/6 Guitar Club - No Guitar Club on Thursday! 
Recycling Leaders - Day 1 (lunch recess)