Dear Family,

WHAT WE'VE LEARNED

Chapter 1 focused on place value from thousands to thousandths and the base 10 pattern. Chapter 2 focused on Order of Operations. Chapter 3 focused on adding and subtracting decimals. Chapter 4 focused on multiplying multi-digit whole numbers. These chapters all build up to our next chapter of study.

WHAT WE'RE LEARNING

In this chapter, your student is multiplying decimals using models, place value, partial products, and the laws of multiplication. Your student will find products involving multiples of 10 and powers of 10. He or she will also learn to estimate products. Finally, he or she will solve word problems involving money.

Some review words for this chapter are: base, decimal, exponent, and power.

LEARNING AT HOME

I'll continue to send home the exit tickets from each lesson with feedback on it along with the Reteach Sheets that show how it was taught in Friday Folders. Starting with this last chapter, I sent home some Extra Practice samples from each lesson to offer additional practice at home to bring back to school to improve grades for that lesson in case they didn't do well on the Exit Ticket. You don't have to rely on worksheets to get mathematical practice in at home. 

Here are some situations you can use to practice multiplying decimals together.

• Take a walk outside with your student or use a fitness tracker. Make a plan to walk for 1 mile, and increase the amount by 0.1 mile each day for three days. Ask, “How would you find the distance you walk on the second day? the third day?”
• Go grocery shopping. Find something with a dollars and cents cost of less than $10 and ask, “How much will 3 of these cost?” Find something that is sold by the pound and ask, “How much will 2 pounds cost? How much will 2.5 pounds cost?” Find something in the produce section that is sold by the pound. Have your student weigh it, and ask, “How much will this cost to buy?"
• When you pull up to a pump to get gas for your car, have your student identify the price per gallon for the type of gas you use. Ask, “How much will it cost to buy 2 gallons of gas?” Determine the amount of gas you are going to buy. Then ask, “About how much will it cost to buy that many gallons of gas?” Compare the actual cost and the estimated cost.

By the end of this chapter, your student should feel confident with the learning targets and success criteria on the next page. Talk about the many types of real-life situations when multiplication of decimals is used.