Multiplication (not the way WE did it)

As I stated at Open House, the math in our series is not how we learned in school. Much to our dismay, it's actually a great way to introduce concepts so the children have a fundamental understanding of numbers. Question to you: Can you explain WHY you carry over the numbers when you multiply from right to left?  This is the reason why GO MATH has arranged their book the way they do. They teach students conceptual ways of learning math. First with concrete items like base ten blocks, then drawn models, then multiple methods before a traditional algorithm. 

With this being said, and the multiplication quiz tomorrow, I've attached a picture of my notes for you (yes, you the parent lol). The students all have the notes in their composition books (which should be home this weekend). But just in case they missed something, or transcribed incorrectly, here it is: 

This is distributive property where you "break apart" the larger number, multiply the parts and add them back together. 

This is partial product. Done similarly to distributive property but without the drawn model. Opposite to the traditional way of multiplying and carrying over the numbers from right to left, you multiply left to right by the VALUE of each digit. Then add the products together. 

I hope this mini-lesson is enough for you to help your child. If you've thrown your hands up and taught your child the traditional way of multiplication, good. They are ready for lesson 2.10 but they need to know these methods for the quiz tomorrow. They can use the algorithm to check their work. 

The quiz will cover: the two definitions in the notebook (distributive property and partial product), estimating products (not rounding answers), multiplying using partial product, and word problems like those in lessons 2.1 and 2.2. The students cut out study material and glued it in their notebooks Friday. They can use their Practice Book pages for studying as well. 

Let me know if you need clarification. 

Summyr Siegel 

Study Time

As we dive into 4th grade, we discussed the importance of studying as well as the difference between studying and homework. See the notes we took today. The kiddos taped a copy in their agenda for future reference ;)