I think the students in grade six might have heard me say, "Percent means out of 100," nearly 100 times this week! We have been exploring percent in many different ways in class over the last several days. We are learning how to convert a fraction into a percent, how to write percents as decimals, and how to estimate percent using common benchmarks like 50% and 10%.
Today students calculated what percent of the cubes in their mystery bag were red, blue, yellow, and green.
Throughout term two and three, we will also begin working on a problem solving unit. Students will have the chance to try out different strategies to solve word problems. Last week they used guessing and checking, drawing a picture, and making a list to solve some real brainteasers. I will incorporate skills from previous units (for example patterns, multiples, or fractions) into the word problems so that students are maintaining this knowledge throughout the year.
If you want any problem solving activities to try at home, here is a website with several good options.
If you want any problem solving activities to try at home, here is a website with several good options.