Maths
We have spent some time now consolidating formal multiplication methods including using decimals and have started to evolve this into division. We had a bit of a probe today and it turns out that we may not have to stay with this for too long. The first technique to use is ‘bus stop’ sometimes known as short division. That’s the one you may be more familiar with from school and is superior when dividing by single digits. It quickly breaks don however with double digit numbers which is when long division, or ‘chunking’, is needed. Both of these methods rely on multiplication techniques so is a natural progression for the class.
Estimation remains key to every calculation and will continue to be applied to check the reasonableness of every answer.
English
The composition work is going really well. The class are starting to really focus on expanding ideas, making sure that each sentence is sequential and progressive but it is pushing many to their limits. We will stick with this concept for the time being because it is so important in writing longer, more expressive works.
It’s a shorter blog this week due to some time constraints so I will provide more detail next week.
