The students recently have been introduced to fractions. This worksheet is an overview of the things they have been working on. The first box asks them to color in fractions of a shape, the second asks them to draw a line of symmetry, the third asks them to complete the table, fourth asks them to show 1 way to make $1.28, fifth box has them circle an event that is likely to happen, and the sixth asks them to choose what unit makes sense. I don't think there is an overall big idea on this entire page but just testing the things they have learned and see how much they remember. For the second box I am curious as to how the teacher explained "lines of symmetry." I had a very difficult time showing it to the students without a piece of paper that I could fold in half. That would be one of the questions I would want to ask the teacher. Another question I would like to ask is how the students think about completing the chart without the knowledge of multiplication. When I completed the chart while I was helping the students I had a hard time trying to teach them without using multiplication. When the teacher went over it, she described it using grouping. Another thing I am curious about is how they teach science in the classroom. Do they do science and math together to teach the concept of weight? I have not seen science in the classroom but I think it would be a great visual if the students were allowed to use scales and different objects to determine weight. One of the things I would like to see to further this thinking is with shapes. I think the students would benefit from more practice with fractions and dividing them with different shapes. I am curious as to why the student did not color in half of the shape so that they could see "half" more visually. Many of the students had a hard time with that problem and I think it would benefit them to have more exposure to fractions. I also think they should be exposed to more lines of symmetry with different shapes as well. I think it is important for them to realize that some shapes have many different lines of symmetry while others, such as certain triangles only have one.
You have a lot of questions here...which is great, and I think it brings up the issue of these worksheets (we have seen some other examples of this in our class) that like to ask everything but the kitchen sink. Is there a place or purpose for these worksheets? If so, how?
ReplyDeleteI think part of the answer to that question probably lies in integrating the knowledge from the different content areas as you as suggesting here (e.g., weight and science, etc.).
It might, indeed, be useful to look at this all-inclusive worksheets and, as a challenge for the teacher (you), to think about how the different problems (might) intersect...this is essentially like thinking about the connections between different procedures and representations.