Oct 16 2011
Chapter Four Math Tests and Drills
Just a quick heads up that we will be finishing both the 4th and 5th grade chapters on chapter four of math this week. Students will bring their books home on Friday to study over the weekend only if they do not pass the practice test on Friday. If they receive 100%, this will count as their test. So, if your child has no book this Friday, you can pretty much assume they received 100% on chapter four. The test on Monday is just a different version of the same test. The questions are no harder. Just different numbers.
As for the Big Four math drills, we have been and will continue to do these weekly. Many students are still not passing any of the drills within the five minute goal. For fourth graders, addition, subtraction and multiplication should now be mastered and they should be focusing on division. For fifth graders, all four facts sheets should now be mastered. We really should not have to be doing daily drills to reinforce these concepts as they again, should already be memorized. All students, both 4th and 5th, are capable of doing the new math we are studying in class. The problem many students are having in math is not having the big four facts memorized and mastered. The textbook assumes these concepts are learned and requires students to do them in all of the math we are now doing. If a student has to worry about what 7 x8 is, they are not focusing on the actual concept, which makes the work even harder. Therefore, I politely request that each student who has not yet mastered these facts make it a goal to do so as soon as possible. Until the facts are mastered, students will continue to struggle with the math, which will affect grades.
