Writing Big Numbers in Different Ways

We started our day with a school-wide house game of 3-legged races. Well done to Theta for winning this morning's game. We also heard that Theta is in the lead for the house cup, with Zeta in second place, and Kappa in third place.

We are making progress of getting into a routine. We began our work day with a math lesson. Today's lesson focused on understanding big numbers. Students learned that large numbers are organized into groups of 3 place values. Each group is called a period. Within each period, the digits are read as hundreds, tens, and ones. When we read large numbers, we say the period name after each period excepts the units period. When we write a number with 5 or more digits, we leave a space between the periods. Grade 6s used class time to write big numbers in standard, expanded, word, number-word, and place-value form. Students are asked to complete all practice questions on p. 37 and 38 of the MMS textbook.

Next up was our inquiry unit How Shocking! We began the lesson with students contributing information to the questions that were asked yesterday. We learned that lightning is 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun. We also learned that old parking meters were wind-up and did not operate on electricity. Modern parking meters are digital and run on electricity. Students shared that Benjamin Franklin did experiments with electricity but did not discover electricity. The class was divided on the battery question. Some think that a batteries store electricity but are not a form of electricity. We will continue being inquirers and develop a better understanding of batteries through this inquiry unit on electricity. A new question that came up in today's class was:

• If you are in a car during a lightning strike, would you be protected? Students were divided on this question.

Students worked in groups to generate a list of the many ways in which we use electricity. They then worked to categorise their list in different ways.

Grade 6s attended Art, French, and Gym class today.

Homework & Reminders:

• Complete practice questions on p. 37 & 38 of MMS textbook
• Scholastic order forms & payment are due on Monday for those interested in ordering
• Look out for Terry Fox and After-School Programs letters coming home today
• Bring in your devices for research on Monday