CONGRATULATIONS MATHS STUDENTS OF 2016!

Wishing all the students who have come to Maths classes (over 120 Middle School students throughout the year) a very Merry Christmas and wonderful restful holiday with your families. I look forward to watching your amazing progress. You have all worked extremely hard in our group sessions!! Make sure you use your Maths knowledge and skills over the Christmas break - whether its adding up the monopoly money, checking the change given at the shops, measuring your ingredients for some Christmas baking or timing yourself in a running race. Enjoy Mathematics all around you!! Best wishes and kindest regards, Mrs Kim Madden

Decorating our cone Christmas trees!

Rice Bubble Cone Christmas Trees - ENJOY!!

Rice Bubble Cone Christmas Trees 2 Ingredients is all that’s needed for these cute little Christmas Trees Ingredients: 200g White Chocolate 200g Rice Bubbles, Other Equipment: Baking Paper cut into semi-circles, White Icing in a tube for decorating, Various Sprinkles for decorating, Icing Sugar for dusting. Steps: 1. Roll the baking paper semi circles into cones by using the middle of the flat side to create the point. Fasten with sticky tape. 2. Melt the white chocolate for 60 seconds in the microwave. 3. Add the rice bubbles and mix until they are evenly coated. 3. Spoon the mixture into the cones, pressing down with the back of a spoon as you go to make sure it is as compacted as possible. Stand the filled cones point side down in a glass to hold them, and refrigerate for 1 hour. 4. Once refrigerated, peel off the baking paper to reveal your beautiful Christmas Tree! Decorate however you like. I used a squeezy tube of white icing to stick on some stars, but you can really use any kind of decoration you want, or leave them plain. It’s totally your creative project! Watch a modified Video of the process. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqXdQLG0OS4

Baking Time -Rice Bubble Cone Christmas Trees

Today we made 3d shape cones out of 2d semi circles and filled them with white chocolate and rice bubbles. 

 Here is the recipe: 

 Rice Bubble Cone Christmas Trees 

2 Ingredients is all that’s needed for these cute little Christmas Trees 

Ingredients: 

200g White Chocolate 

200g Rice Bubbles

Other Equipment: Baking Paper cut into semi-circles, White Icing in a tube for decorating, Various Sprinkles for decorating, Icing Sugar for dusting. 

Steps: 

1. Roll the baking paper semi circles into cones by using the middle of the flat side to create the point. Fasten with sticky tape. 

2. Melt the white chocolate for 60 seconds in the microwave. 

3. Add the rice bubbles and mix until they are evenly coated. 

4. Spoon the mixture into the cones, pressing down with the back of a spoon as you go to make sure it is as compacted as possible. Stand the filled cones point side down in a glass to hold them, and refrigerate for 1 hour. 4. Once refrigerated, peel off the baking paper to reveal your beautiful Christmas Tree! 

Decorate however you like. I used a squeezy tube of white icing to stick on some stars, but you can really use any kind of decoration you want, or leave them plain. It’s totally your creative project! 

 Watch a modified Video of the process. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqXdQLG0OS4

Maths Acceleration at Sunnyhills

Last week I was able to share all your hard work and achievements to other teachers and Principals around NZ. 

Here I am getting my certificate with other teachers doing the same great Maths programmes in their schools. 

Next year I get to wear a gown and hat to receive my certificate from the University. I will post a photo of that next year. 

Showing Clines

A visual representation of distance: 

Amazing questions - making the links.

Mathematical language is a great part of understanding mathematics. It can be the key to connecting ideas and when to apply mathematical concepts. 

Here we look at how our number system helps us convert types of measurement.  

We can see the words gives us a clue as to how it relates.  

Vera asked " why do all the words have metres in it"

" what does centi mean?"

- this discussion led to the meaning of century - being 100." Then we made the links.. So what does milli mean... 

This is the best part of teaching, when students direct and ask the questions and discussions occur so meaning is authentic to them.  

Converting our measurements

Here we wrote how we can change measurements 

Recording measurements

Together we are recording our measurements and talking about the different ways we can record this. 

Measuring our foot steps..

Today we started our measurement challenge sponsored by " Be Healthy, Be active." 

Can we walk the entire length of NZ in a day? 

This activity is designed for year 5/6 students.  However in our small groups we are challenging ourselves and learning  so much along the way.  

Here we are measuring our foot step with a piece of string.

Is this the best and most accurate measurement?? 

We tried again.. 

 

After we found out the length we went around measuring various objects. 

Here we decided everyone's foot step is a different size. We all had different measurements. 

We noticed it's not always the tallest person with the biggest foot step. 

We discussed which foot steps were the biggest and smallest.  Using ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd....) we could order the steps. 

We are looking forward to our next step! 

Geometry - applying our learning.

Getting ready for Sophie to teach the teacher and class about making a cube. 

Thank you Rebekah for showing us how to create a Venn Diagram and how it can help classify shapes. 

Well done team!! 

Making and talking about 3D shapes

Creating nets for our 3D shapes. 

Working on our 2s,5s and 10s times tables

Modifying a game ... Have you played this at home yet? 

Learning the properties of 3d shapes.

Our group looked at how the shapes are made and started creating their own nets.

Our Voice wall.

Angles

Students Reflections Today:

- There are acute and obtuse angles
Acute means smaller than a right angle and Obtuse means bigger than a right angle.- By Wilma

How to draw a three d shape - Sophie

I learnt the names of different angles - Nessa

A prism has rectangular faces - Joshua

I learnt the difference between a prism and pyramid.  It is about its faces.

Sharing our classroom maths

Today Isabelle came back and shared her fantastic learning she had completed in class.

She was given a number (100) and was asked to create her own problem.  She used so many maths concepts in a wonderful word problem. Check it out below!! 

Fantastic work, please come and show us anytime!! 

 

Nicole and Shavaun have been making posters in their classroom showing the strategies they can use when adding or multiplying numbers together. 

You explained this very well Girls!! 

thank you for sharing and teaching the others. 

Teaching others

When you are able to teach someone else and answer their questions you must have real understanding of the Maths.

Learning from the experts today. 

Making and breaking numbers: if we can master this then we can add, subtract, multiply and divide more easily! 

Using the different tools to solve problems.

Here the group is sharing their tools for learning...

Sausage Sizzle number problem

Keeping our learning relevant:

At our Sunnyhills School BBQ we had 6 rows of 8 sausages.

How many sausages is that altogether?

How did we work this out?? 

8 groups of 6= ?

5 groups of 6 is the same as 6 groups of 5 = 30 sausages and another 3 groups of 6 is 18 

30 + 18 = 48 

Mandy showed us on the abacus 

This is great to see the patterns of numbers. 

8 groups of 5 = ?

8 X 5 = 40

And

1 group of 8 = 40 + 8 = 48. 

Using our 5 X tables to work out a problem with our 6 times table can help us. 

Well done group!! 

Geometry you tube clips

Here are some popular raps to help explain and remember the properties of the shapes.

Please spend time thinking about similarities and differences. 

Students can then find ways they can compose (make) and decompose (break) shapes.  This powerful skill is one way to reinforce and practice spatial awareness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcuzXwtamJc

  

Geometry Today...

Current research states that geometry and in particular spatial skills is a key to mathematical success.

These skills also support the future STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers.

How do we include Spatial Awareness in our mathematic classes?? 

Visualising shapes and talking about how these shapes are made.  (Composing/decomposing shapes)

Here are some clues of our mystery shape:
We gave one clue at a time - most children found this relatively straight forward until clue 5, We worked as a group to solve it and then watched a youtube clip to get a greater understanding;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcuzXwtamJc

Answer:

A parallelogram

Can you see the multi link cubes used to create the parallelogram ( do you notice the angles are the same when they are opposite each other?). 

From there we looked at other shapes - rectangles and triangles and saw how this parallelogram was composed.  This activity gave us wonderful mathematical discussions. 

Using our stories to create word problems.

Together we are collaboratively working on methods to understand and show our understanding... 

Abraham has used the place value blocks to create an array or a model to show his thinking.  

He is able to show how to multiply two digit numbers. 

Here he is explaining to others his understanding!!

Ka pai!!