Students extend their understanding of our base ten number system as they become familiar with important ways of thinking about and doing mathematics. They use their knowledge of relationships among landmark numbers up to 10,000 to develop strategies for solving computation problems involving the four basic operations. This unit will help students become acclimated to a mathematics class in which the emphasis is on developing strategies, solving problems for which there is no one procedure, and constructing conjectures about mathematical ideas based on evidence that they gather themselves.
Students create polygons with shape pieces.
They construct, apply, discuss, and evaluate mathematical definitions of these shapes. They analyze the properties of polygons so they can draw them on coordinate grids on and off the computer. They investigate various properties of triangles, quadrilaterals, and regular polygons, asking which remain constant and which change when making larger and smaller similar shapes. Students use different models, including grids, arrays, number lines, and clocks, to find fraction, percent, and decimal equivalencies, to play games, and to solve word problems. They investigate and collect data about the participation of females and males, adults and children, in different activities and occupations.