P U B L I C S C H O O L 7 0 Q .

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Dear Parents,

My name is James Huerta and I will be your child’s fifth grade teacher this year. I’m looking forward to working with all of you to help your child succeed this academic school year. I’m writing to inform you all of the new software I’ve decided to use this year, Destination Mathematics and interactive web-based applets. Both software programs will be use as supplement material to enhance your child’s conceptual understanding of rational numbers. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Mr. Huerta

Destination MathematicsDestination Mathematics is a software program and provides great illustrations and real world problems to keep students excited and motivated about mathematics. Over the years, I’ve realized that students struggle the most in gaining a understanding of rational numbers. Through this software, I hope your child develops critical reasoning and problem-solving skills that your child can carry on in life.

Each module presented in this software is composed of a mini-tutorial with keys words and main objectives students should develop along this process. By using Destination Mathematics, students will be able to further explore the concepts in this unit and become comfortable as they become more expose to it. This is a great opportunity for you as a parent, to be involved in your child’s education. As a parent, you can help your child complete the problems they struggle by providing them with suggestions and positive reinforcements to build up their confidence. Research has proven that confidence within a child can help them become stronger problem solvers.

Another great feature about this software is that the problems provided to students are very relatable and incorporate ideas related to subjects taught in school . Students become interested in their learning when they are able to relate with the topic being presented to them. This helps students gain interests and become more engaging in their learning.

Sample Destination Mathematics Graphic

Students will use this software in and out of the classroom to reinforce the topics introduced in class. It is a very easy program in which students should have no problem using. I will dedicate one classroom period to help students who are struggling with the software get familiar with Destination Mathematics. At the end of the school year, I hope that your child becomes comfortable working with fractions, decimals, and representing the values on a number line and gain confidence with their problem solving skills.

Questions or

Concerns ?

Contact Mr. Huerta

huerta@bc.edu

The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (MLVM) is full of interactive, web-based applets and manipulatives for mathematics instruction throughout all grade levels. This site supports the argument that students are most successful when they are actively engaged in their learning. Manipulatives and objects in which students can get hands on will help students visualize concepts to develop a better understanding of rational numbers. This site is absolutely free, which students will be able to get access from a home computer or local library. Topics on this site range from number of operations to data analysis and probability.

Students will be asked to work in groups to solve all sort of problems dealing with rational numbers. Students will be allow to use the manipulatives provided on this site to help them develop learn how to order and compare fractions, decimals, and the value of percentages. Some of the specific applets that will be used in class are: Fractions (Naming, Comparing, Visualizing) and Percentages.

In the Fractions-Comparing applet, students will judge the size of the fractions to be able to order them on a number line. Students will able to manipulate the shaded area of a rectangle to understand the values of fractions with different denominators.

The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives can be used at any grade level and it provides students with a variety of fun activities that will help them develop as learners of mathematics. These manipulatives are not specifically oriented towards rational numbers which is great. If students think they are struggling with other topics in mathematics, your child should be encouraged to use this site at home.

My goal at the end of this year is to help students become great problem-solvers which is important not only for mathematics, but in life. I hope that we can work together to help students develop this goal. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at any point throughout the school year.