During the first week of school, students took a couple of pre-tests to help me determine some of their skills for the beginning of the year.

Last week, we began Chapter 1, “Numbers and Arrays.” In this chapter, your child is learning about numbers and arrays. Students will learn when a number is odd or even and how to use repeated addition to find the number of objects in groups and arrays. The addition lessons address equal groups of objects.

Vocabulary words and phrases for this unit are:

• Even
• Odd
• Equal groups
• Array
• Column
• Row
• Repeated addition
• equation

Last week’s learning goals were:

• Tell whether a number was odd or even. We used the strategies in this video to learn how to determine if a number was even or odd.
• Use an addition equation to model even and odd numbers. Students modeled a number using pairs in a grid, then wrote an addition equation to match the grid, and finally told whether the number was even or odd.

This week’s learning goals are:

• Determine the total number of objects in equal groups. Students will identify the number of groups and the number of objects in each group, write a repeated addition equation, and then tell how many objects there are in all. Here is a link to a video that explains this strategy.
• Determine the total number of objects in an array. An array shows equal groups in an organized way using rows and columns. It can help students count more easily. Arrays are a rectangle shape. In this lesson, students will identify the number of rows and columns in an array, write a repeated addition equation, and tell how many objects there are in all. Here is a link to a video that explains this strategy.
• Make an array to solve a word problem. Students will explain when an array helps them solve a word problem, make an array to model the problem, and use repeated addition to solve the problem. Here is a link to a video that explains this strategy.

Students will be taking the Math MAPS test on Wednesday, August 13.