Math - Exponents

We did Exponents today and it was a fabulous lesson.  It was one of the those lessons where everything fell into place.  I typed in "exponents" into the search bar on Pinterest and found a foldable with a sentence strip and some candy corn! The sentence strip foldable is from To the Square Inch and it was a huge hit with the students.

I asked them to fold it into 8 parts, then asked them to write two to the 6th power and then had them fill out the rest of the "boxes" created by the folds.  I did not have them fill out the last one, the answer.  I had them go back and write out the standard and then we wrote the objective and highlighted the appropriate words: repeated multiplication.  Then I asked them to figure out the answer to the sentence strip problem.

Sorry it is sideways.  I cannot figure out how some pictures turn over and some stay upright. 

After we glued our sentence strips into our journals, I handed out the candy corn blacklines to the students.  I found this on TpT via Pinterest (Stacy DiNello).  I made the definition fit my needs, but it was a great idea!

I walked the students through the definition.  Then we labeled the parts (base, exponents), reviewed the key idea: *repeated multiplication* and I asked the students to solve 4 to the 3rd power.  A few of my math whiz kids got this immediately.

Then we paused to color.  Coloring is important.  *I* find it incredibly relaxing!  The students appreciate the brain break. Please excuse my messy coloring!  I did some guided practice.  Under some of the problems, I wrote in words what the numbers were saying so the students could more easily follow along.  It was at this time that I reminded them that 4 to the 3rd power could also be identified as 4 cubed.  I showed them the 10s trick that the number of zeros was the same as the exponent number.  After we walked through 8 guided practice problems, I gave them my ticket out the door paper and had them solve two exponent problems. It was very enlightening! 19 students did this easily.  Five students were able to write the exponents, but did not do repeated multiplication.  Instead they multiplied the base by the exponent. Two students were just completely lost.  So, tomorrow, I have two small groups to work with while my other students do the independent practice on their own.  I was very pleased with the lesson outcome today.

And then do you know what happened later this morning?  My district blocked Pinterest!  Hmphf.  Now I have to email our Tech Support and ask them to unblock it. 

Class Elections and Cootie Catchers

CLASS ELECTION

We have not had a Student Council in a few years.  This year we've got one again.  Our election in our class was so awesome for me.  This past week was not one of the best.  Lots of deadlines all in the same week.  Such fun! I squeezed in nominations, campaigning, and the election into an already crammed week.  As you know, when you cram things in, they are not done with justice.  Except this time, these children stepped up on their own.  It was a sweet thing to watch.  I walked through the the nomination process of nominating, seconding, etc.  We got ten candidates.  I allowed the ones who did not want to run to bow out of the race.  We ended up with six candidates.

On their own, they made posters and campaigned.  It was so cute!!  I was amazed.  The candidates made their promises and told why they'd be the best representatives for the class.  One girl (one of the two eventually elected) said she would make a great representative because she had a lot of school spirit and showed it.  Yes she does.  Our election coincided with mustache day and she was sporting a walrus mustache while wearing a school t-shirt.

When it was time for elections, I was just going to pass out ballots.  The students were having none of that.  They wanted voting booths.  They wanted pomp and circumstance!  I dug out my homemade privacy shields, got a box for dropping in ballots, and started calling students back to the voting area. They had a blast.  I had a blast watching them.  Then I tallied up the votes and we had two new representatives!

COOTIE CATCHERS

I was reading on Runde's Room about how she uses cootie catchers.  I love cootie catchers!  I marked off the lines, added in the information I wanted them to focus on, and used them for a math review for the chapter test.  The kids were really engaged in the review!  I gave them a sheet for figuring and writing down answers, and they used a clipboard--but not text books or math journals.  I told them they had to answer all eight questions.  They moved around the room and worked with a partner.  I think I will use them as a review for Science as well.  The possibilities are endless.  As a result of the math journals and the review, for the first time ever, my students did well on the Place Value chapter!  Yay!!