HOMEWORK 10-3-12

We have been learning about showing the different parts that can make up the whole in math.  For instance, if you have 10 green and yellow M&M's and 2 are green, then 8 are going to be yellow.  If 6 are green, 4 are going to be yellow.  Understanding the parts and the whole and finding the missing parts builds the foundation for algebra. 

When practicing this at home, you may want to use pennies since each side is different.  To use the pennies to practice, follow these steps to solve the following problem:

There are 8 candles on the cake.  1 is lit.  How many are not lit?  Explain.

1.  Ask your child how many candles in all.  Then have him take out that many pennies, making sure all the heads are "heads" up.
2.  Ask your child how many are lit.  Have your child flip the coins so 1 coin is "tails" up.  Explain that the coin showing "tails" represents the 1 candle that is lit.
3.  Ask your child how many are not lit.  The number of candles that are not lit is shown by the coins that are still showing "heads".  That number is 7.
4.  To explain the answer, the student can draw the coins or write a number sentence.  Some students can apply the subtraction and write 8-1=7 while others can write 1+7=8 or 7+1=8.  Whatever way they choose to show the answer, make sure s/he understands that the parts make up the whole.

This is just one method for solving these types of problems.  Your child may have developed his/her own way to find the missing addend and that is fine as long as s/he demonstrates the understanding that the parts make up the whole.  Often when solving word problems, students automatically want to add the numbers given.  In some cases that works, if the word problem is a joining story that needs the students to find the whole.  However, if given the whole and one of the parts, adding the two numbers is not going to help them find the correct answer.  If your child is having difficulty with this, help by practicing solving both types of problems so they can see the difference.

Tonight's assignment:  
1.  Play Busy Bees for 5-10 minutes.  This game has the student find the number of bees in the hive (the missing part) when told how many bees in all and shown some outside the hive.
2.  In the COMMENT BOX, solve the following 2 number sentences:

*  There are 9 birds on a fence.  2 are blue and the rest are red.  How many are red?  Explain.
*  Three birds were on the fence. 6 more landed on the fence.  How many birds in all?  Explain.

Remember to write your first name so you get credit for the homework.