WEEKLYREFLECTIONS

Weekone:January30,2017
Ms.Collelis5thgrademathclass
Standard:5.NBT.4
frgh21w2w3
Roundingdecimals-The students have been working with decimals for a while now. Today was
their first day learning about rounding decimals. However, they rounded whole numbers in
fourth grade.
Warm-up:
In their journal, the students independently completed their review warm-up. The question was
to find the greatest value decimal out of .5, .57, .059, and .531. After it was completed, the
students were asked to read the decimals out-loud. The first step in comparing decimals is to
stack the decimals, then add zeros, then start from the left and get to where the numbers are
different. All of the students realized that .059 was the smallest then were able to compare .5,
.57, .531. They looked down their stacked column and noticed 7 was the greatest; therefore, .57
was the biggest decimal. The teacher said that this strategy should be used to prove their
thinking, even if they can compare them in their head.
NOtes:
The students were asked to copy this anchor chart into their journal:
Rounding Decimals is where you find its approximate value
1. Underline the place you want to round
2. Look to the digit to the right
Five or higher add one more, four or lower, just ignore
*This activated prior knowledge from fourth grade for most students because they were
able to remember their old riddle*
Before going onto an example, she gave real life examples of where we round (When we are
talking about what time we get home from school, our budget for the grocery store, the price of
our video games) Within their anchor charts they completed an example as a class round
216.87 to the nearest tenths place
Questions:
Blockone:What if the 8 was a 9? how do you think you would round 216.96? Share your
ideas with your partner. (This caused the teacher to address this question in the rest of her
blocks)
BLOCKTWO:What if it was 216.34? What would you do to the zero?
Practice:The students independently completed problems on their whiteboards. After each
problem, the teacher used students work to explain the correct answer
1. 8.54 (to the nearest tenth)
2. 99.59 (to the nearest whole)
3. 118.380 (to the nearest hundredths)
4. 310.286 (to the nearest tenth)
5. 2,316.357 (to the nearest hundredths)
Commonerrors:
Students took that four or lower, just ignore--meant that the number stays the same
After they round, the remaining numbers to the right the students want to keep them the same
and not make them zeros
ExitTicket:Each student turned in an exit ticket with their answer to round .151 to the nearest
hundredths
Intervention:Based on mastery from the mid-year EOG, the students were placed into groups
for intervention. This week they are re-learning or enhancing their proficiency in volume.
1. Worked on tenmarks- started from the basics and worked their way up to the volume
formula
2. Worked on extension problems- where you are given the volume and a length and have to
find the width and height lead to multiple solutions
3. Word in a small group on understanding the three components of volume
Weekone:February3,2017
Ms.Collelis5thgrademathclass
Standard:CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.B.7
Add,subtract,multiply,anddividedecimalsto
hundredths,usingconcretemodelsordrawings
andstrategiesbasedonplacevalue,propertiesof
operations,and/ortherelationshipbetween
additionandsubtraction;relatethestrategytoa
writtenmethodandexplainthereasoningused.

SubtractingDecimals:Today the students will be working with subtracting decimals in word

problems. This will be practice for when they have to read a word problem and determine which
operation is the best option for the situation, which is the ultimate goal of the standard. They will
then be tested on all four operations on February 17, 2017.

Warm-up:The following problem was written on the board: Garrett checked his funds online.
He saw they have gone up 427.37. The fund had 5348.18 before it went up. How much is in
Garretts fund now?
How much he already had-student underlined the fact in the problem
Today, a student went up to the board to solve and show their work.
Teacher said- look how he lined up his decimals, did he have to fill any placeholder zeros?
The students responded with no because they are both in the hundredths place.
5348.18
+ 427.37
___________
5775.55
The student completed the problem wrong- The teacher said, What would you change? What
you change about your own work? (The student who went to the board noticed their own
mistake)
The teacher continued to guide the discussion to solve the problem correctly and was amazed
when the original owner noticed their own error.
Guidedpractice:
Everyone was given this problem before starting their foldable. The goal was to make sure the
students were on the correct track before working independently
Joseph and Cathy weighed their candy. Joseph weighed 2.91 and Cathy weighed 3.78 pounds.
What is their difference?
Gave the students the problem and they discussed the information the scenario gave them and
told them to reference the word problem solver (I recreated the anchor chart at the front of the
classroom):

Cathy-- 3.78
Joseph--2.91
Teacher said, show your work and asked the rest of the class if
they agreed. While they were working, the teacher said, I like
how the bigger number is on top- that helps verify the
subtraction problem. All of the students agreed with the
subtraction problem

Classwork:The students would be

making a flipbook to prove the solution
of a subtraction word problem. As a
class they decided the information
necessary to prove their solution What I know, what do I need to know,
why did you pick that operation, and to check their work.
During this time, I walked around the classroom helping the partners with
their word problem. During this time, the teacher helped a small group of
students that showed signs of difficulty on the exit ticket the day before.
The teacher went step by step with them through the subtraction process
on whiteboards and instantly assessed their needs. When the students
were done with the flipbooks then they were expected to finish all of the
word problems in the same manner.
Weektwo:february6,2017
Ms.Collelis5thgrademathclass
Standard:CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.B.7
Add,subtract,multiply,anddividedecimalsto
hundredths,usingconcretemodelsordrawings
andstrategiesbasedonplacevalue,propertiesof
operations,and/ortherelationshipbetween
additionandsubtraction;relatethestrategytoa
writtenmethodandexplainthereasoningused.

SubtractingDecimals:Today the students will be working with word problems to determine the
answer and their reasoning behind it. They are expected to use the SOLVE method and to prove
their thinking in this Around the World game.

Warm-up:The following problem was written on the board: Lucy and Gerald gave their heights
for a school survey. Lucys height is 51.25 inches and Gerald is 46.65 inches. How much taller is
Lucy than Gerald?
Information that they know
What we need to know
Today, was the first day that I was able to see co-teaching for this math class. Ms. Colleli was
helping a student in her homeroom. Therefore, the co-teacher set up the problem for the students
and was leading their discussion. After the students talked about what they know, and what they
need to know. The teacher set up the standard algorithm problem and asked a student to come up
to the board to solve it.
51.25
- 46.65
________

After the student solved the problem, the teacher asked how do you know its right? A student
explained that you have to add the answer choice to Geralds height. If you subtracted correctly,
then you will get Lucys height. The teacher set up this math problem and asked a student to
come to the board to solve it.

Guidedpractice:
The teacher passed out paper for the students to complete their Around the World activity. The
students folded the paper into six blocks. Before sending them off in their groups, the students
went over one problem as a class.
Josh had $15. He spent $8.50 on a movie ticket, $3.50 on popcorn, and $1.75 on soda. How
much money did he have left?
Shows that the money is gone subtraction
What we know
What we need to know
Two students explained how they solved the problem:
I added up all of the money spent at the movies and subtracted it from the amount of
money he had spent.
I subtracted each item from the amount of money he had to spend.
Aroundtheworld:
During this time, I worked with a group of students to complete the problems. My goal in this
time was to allow one student to read the problem then have them discuss how to solve it. One
student wanted to just jump right in and we have to figure out our plan before doing that.
Sample problems:
Which answer makes the equation true? 2.16=.2+1.61+___
Alex had 332.4 miles on his odometer when leaving for his trip. At the end of the trip,
Alex had 535 on his odometer. How many miles did he drive in total?
At the end of the lesson, the teachers went over this problem to the class because
many students were confused.

Intervention:
Today was the first time that the students
worked on multiplication and division for
intervention. The students who were proficient
worked on extending their knowledge through
challenging word problems. The students who
were almost proficient worked on their
Chromebooks to complete a tenmarks
assignment. The students who struggled with
this standards worked in small groups with the
teacher and me.
In my small group, we used the following word
problems. Our goal was to determine if the
problem was asking for multiplication or division.
The teacher will work with them to set up their
equations at a later date during intervention.
february24,2017
Ms.Collelis5thgrademathclass
Standard:CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.A.3
Read,write,andcomparedecimalstothousandths.

Creatinganumberlinewithdecimals:Yesterday, the students learned how to compare

decimals to create a number line. Today, they were going to use their knowledge to play a game
of who can fill the number line.

Warm-up:The following problem was written on the board:

A geologist finds the masses of 3 mineral samples to be 4.352, 4.532, and 4.325 kilograms. List
them from greatest to smallest.
A student went to the board to show their work: The student first found their keywords before
beginning to line up the numbers to compare. The teacher compliments the students process of
circling the keywords in the problem. The student lines up the numbers to complete the
comparison: >The teacher states that she did not have to add any placeholder zeros
4.352 in the hundredths place, this one is the bigger of the two, so this is the seconds one
4.532 that is the biggest number of the three, so this one is the greatest
4.325 this is the smallest one

Guidedpractice:The following scenario was written on the board:

What would go in the middle of the the number line? Right now it says , how can we represent
that fraction as a decimal?
Students said: .5 or .50

Teacher says: What is a number that can go after 0.5? Student comes up to the board and drags
0.55 next to the number. The teacher puts 0.275 behind 0.5. The students were upset that the
teacher did not pick .425. The teacher said, that is the point of the game! I am trying to block
Malaythia from putting .425 on our number line game board. They finished the game board with
the remaining numbers.

Placethatdecimal:The teacher gave the students the following directions: You will each find a
partner in thirty seconds and be in your personal spot. You will then each get a pack of decimal
cards (containing hundredths and thousandths place values) and a blank number line. You will
place the zero, the half mark, and one on your board first. She asked which side the one, and zero
should be on the number line. She then set them free to play the game against each other. During
this time I walked around and helped students set up their board and make sure their number line
was in the correct order. I even played against a group of students!
Intervention:This week they are working on the operations of addition and subtraction of
fractions. During our planning session, she asked if I was able to pull a small group of students
during this time. Therefore, she sent me the problems ahead of time and I was able to work
through the equations beforehand.
My small group had 6 people and we sat in the hallway to solve our word problems. We started
number one together and read the problem out loud and discussed what we know, what we need
to know, and the operation for the problem. As time continued, the students ended up working at
their own pace and I checked their word. On Monday, I will continue working with my small
group and making sure they fully understand fractions.
With one student, we talked about turning a mixed fraction into an improper fraction without any
tricks. I told him how many whole groups can we make and how many will be leftover. Overall,
it was very successful and the students really took a step back to make sure they understood the
problem before beginning to solve it.


february27,2017
Ms.Collelis5thgrademathclass
Standard:CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.A.2
Explainpatternsinthenumberofzerosofthe
productwhenmultiplyinganumberbypowersof
10,andexplainpatternsintheplacementofthe
decimalpointwhenadecimalismultipliedor
dividedbyapowerof10.Usewhole-number
exponentstodenotepowersof10.

UnderstandingExponents:Students will be able to use prior knowledge to understand

exponents that are to the power of ten. This will knowledge will expand as they learn this in
relation to decimals and dividing with a power of ten.

Warm-up:The following problem was written on the board for the students to solve
independently in their math journal:
A rectangular garden is 1.25 meters wide and 3.4 meters long. What is the area?

A student came up to the SMARTBoard to show their work. The student correctly lined up the
multiplication problem using the standard algorithm and added a placeholder zero.
1.25
X 3.40
______
The student continued to solve the problem and the teacher reinforced their correct behavior. The
teacher then compared area to volume and discussed when to use each of the formulas.

Powersoften:The teacher introduced powers of ten through their Common Core books.
The following chart was included (Written in red):
The teacher would help the students fill out the chart (written in blue) as this was fourth grade
material, and then they could use this information to work with decimals. She reactivated their
prior knowledge of powers of ten.
The students then were given the same task for division of powers (The original chart is written
in purple) They used this chart to talk about if the number will get smaller or bigger if you divide
3,000 by a ten or a group of tens.
The teacher went on to use powers of ten with decimals of multiplication and division for powers
of ten. The teacher asked the students what number is given, the student says zero and five
thousandths. The teacher then uses movement to describe if the decimal will get bigger or
smaller if the power of ten is multiplied to it.

INTERVENTION:During intervention I was able to pull a small group of students into the hallway
to complete an activity about adding and subtracting decimals. As a group we picked one
appetizer, two entrees, two drinks, and one dessert from the Safari Menu. They then completed
the following problems individually and as a group we were able to check each others work.
The following questions would be answered:
1. Find the total cost of the bill for the selections you have made at the Safari Restaurant.
2. The recommended tip for this meal is $6.72. What will be the final bill including this tip?
(This allowed for conversations about tips and students were able to quickly realize that
you had to add $6.72 to their answer in number one)
3. What is cost if you and your friend are too full and decide to skip dessert? (This allowed
for conversation if we should include the tip amount to this, we decided to include it)
4. Which meal is more expensive- your entree plus your drink or your friends entree plus
his/her drink? Find the difference. (Using logical reasoning, the students quickly knew
who had the most expensive meal)
5. The Safari Restaurant is offering a 2 for $20 deal. With this deal, you get an appetizer to
share, two entrees, two drinks, and a dessert to share for only $20. How much does this
save you for your original meal including all these menu items? (I made sure the students
made an educated guess before completing the problem)
6. How much would the restaurant make by selling one of each appetizer on the menu?
7. You notice that a milkshake is less expensive than a dessert. You decide that next time,
instead of ordering dessert, you will treat yourself and your friend to milkshakes. Find the
cost of REPLACING your drinks in your original order with milkshakes and skipping the
dessert. Will you save money this way? How much? (We discussed the answer before
solving the problem)