The Fractions Inn

I hit a brick wall this week when it came to fractions. It’s pretty basic in Grade One; all they have to do is identify fractions-specifically halves and quarters. I challenge my kids by getting them to recognize thirds as well. By the time we returned to fractions last week, I was so tired of pizza or pie questions. Then I found a book called Full House. It’s about a lady who runs an inn with six rooms. Every time a new guest comes, she determines what that means as a fraction. As I read it out loud, I was able to ask the kids what 2/6 (or whatever the fraction was) actually meant. It was a great way to assess which kids understood how to interpret a fraction in a real-life situation, and they got it. With the last week of the unit ahead of us, I think I’ll stick to the concept of the inn to finish off our fractions unit.

We learned about our third and final source of renewable energy by looking at hydro power. Since I knew so many of them have been to Niagara Falls, I thought I’d teach them about the Big Becky project. It’s a massive drill that is being used to make a large tunnel under the Niagara Escarpment to increase the amount of hydro power for the city. I knew I wouldn’t do it justice simply by explaining it to them. I had to show them. Yep. I showed them a Rick Mercer Report clip. They were in awe. 

Click the picture for the link. 

Then we finished off our pros and cons chart by reflecting and discussing what we learned about hydro power.

I had them think about solar, wind, and hydro power and tell me which one they would want to power their homes. I created this sheet to have them complete. Click HERE or on the picture to get a copy for yourself.

In my weekly newsletter, I indicated that we would be learning about the pterodactyl. As I was doing my research on it, I discovered that the correct term is pterosaur, as it embodies a group of flying reptiles. That’s right. They weren’t even dinosaurs! The kids thought that was really cool. I looked at their articles this weekend and I am SO impressed with their writing. Here is an example of what I would give a Level 4.

That’s pretty much it for the week. We had three and a half days of indoor recesses, so I’m praying for some warmer weather this coming week.

Keep warm, everyone!