Weekly Class Summary: May 10-14

SOLs Covered: SOL 6.10 (MSMI.13) Non-Standard Measurement; SOL 6.15 & 7.11 (MSMI.18) Congruency & Similarity
New Math Dictionary Sections: (30) Non-Standard Measurement & (31) Congruency & Similarity
Upcoming Assessments: Math 6 SOL Practice Test on Wed. 5/19/10

We began the week by discussing non-standard measurement and how it differs from standard forms of measurement (i.e. US Customary and Metric). While more emphasis is placed on using standard forms of measurement, we discussed how non-standard forms can be useful when an exact answer is not need (e.g. when an estimation is sufficient). Non-standard measurements were used to help find an estimated standard measurement. For instance, when the width of a book is known, one can find the approximate height of a bookshelf it is laying on if you figure out about how many books it would take to fill the shelf. The students enjoyed an activity that involved measuring with M&M's® and Cheez-Its® and then comparing those to standard ruler measurements.

Curious George "How Tall?" game from PBSkids.org

While it might seem a little "young" for 6th graders, it does help with visualizing non-standard measurements on the computer, which is helpful on the SOL test where it is combined with standard measurements.

The second half of the week was spent with a brief introduction to congruency and similarity in line segments, angles, and shapes. This topic will be expanded on after the SOL test when we cover the Math 7 portion, but for now we discussed the basics. Shapes are congruent (≅) when they are equal in size, shape, and angle measures. Shapes are similar (~) when they are proportional in size and shape yet equal in angle measures. If any of these measures are neither equal nor proportional, they cannot be considered congruent or similar.

Carol's Congruent Concentration from Beacon Learning Center

This week's review packet was Measurement & Geometry. The quiz for this section was given on Friday and will be returned next week. Next week students will also receive a letter to be signed by parents/guardians with extra information on how to prepare for the SOL test. The scores for each of the "You Can Do It" Quizzes will also be listed on this letter, which will help students study more efficiently, focusing on the strands (Numbers & Number Sense; Computation & Estimation; Patterns, Functions, & Algebra; Probability & Statistics; Measurement & Geometry) that they need to improve on the most.