Learning in M30

Middle School M30 Vamvesos is sharing the learning taking place in their class...

Recently, the students in M30 have been working through the concepts of volume and fractions in mathematics.

M30 undertook a volume challenge! In small groups of three, students had to work together to find the exact volume of an object provided to them.  Each group had a different rectangular prism to measure and then they had to use the formula for finding the volume of a rectangular prism (v = l x w x h) to obtain their answer. This task was considered a challenge because there were numerous aspects in ensuring that the correct answer was given.  Students had to use their understanding of measurement, place value, rounding, multiplication and formulas to complete this task.  Each group needed to work collaboratively and respectfully as Miss V would only accept one answer from each group.

This meant that each person in the group would need to agree on the final answer they were to submit.  Students were engaged and showed each other respect when they helped each other and when they discussed their answers.  It was great to see responsible students maintaining their focus and using all their skills.  At the end of the lesson, after all the answers were given with many groups calculating exact answers, Blayne, Ben and Angel were each given a prize for working so well together and showing resilience, even when they found the task tricky.

Another major focus across the whole grade 4 cohort has been Fractions.  During our lesson on developing our understanding and exploring equivalent fractions, students were each given a tub of Play-Doh.  The Play-Doh was used as a way to prove that two fractions were indeed equivalent to each other.  Each tub of Play-Doh was seen as one whole.  Students needed to divide their Play-Doh into equal parts depending on the fraction.  M30 loved playing with Play-Doh! They liked how they had to make sure their parts of a whole had to be as equal as possible.  They enjoyed extending their knowledge and using manipulatives to understand the concept of equivalent fractions.