Math Skills Review & Preview: Finish Strong Edition

It's that time of year when the days finally seem to be getting a little bit longer, we’ve made it through what some describe as the 2 gloomiest months of the year and Spring Break is in sight!!  As the 3rd nine weeks grading period is winding down, remember to take some time to review key concepts your student should have mastered during the 3rd quarter of school and preview those critical skills that will appear in the 4th quarter.   For more on the benefits of Review/Preview, check out Make the Most Out of the Middle: Review & Preview.

As always, we are here to help with a list of suggested skills to Review and Preview for each grade level and don’t forget to download your FREE Grade Level Math Guides AND Grade Level Fractions Guides for a closer look at these skills!

Review

These are key skills that were most likely covered during the 3rd quarter of the school year.  Ensure that your student will be ready to move on in the 4th quarter by Reviewing the following depending on their grade level.

3rd Grade:

• Understanding Fractions: Representing a fraction in a variety of models including area models (shapes), number line models, and set models. 

• Comparing and Ordering Fractions: Comparing fractions using >, < and = , and putting a given set of fractions in order from least to greatest or greatest to least.  

_{[CHECK OUT OUR NEW COURSE, FRACTIONS UNLOCKED: INTRODUCTION TO FRACTIONS TO GIVE YOUR STUDENT THE ULTIMATE REVIEW OF THESE FRACTIONS SKILLS!]}

4th Grade: 

• Generate Equivalent Fractions:  Students should review what equivalent fractions are and learn how to generate equivalent fractions through putting a fractions in simplest form, finding common denominators, and using multiplication.
• Rename a Mixed Number to Subtract: Just like when subtracting whole numbers, sometimes regrouping is required, the same thing can happen when subtracting two mixed numbers.  

_{[BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR OUR NEW DIGITAL COURSE, FRACTIONS UNLOCKED: EXPANDING FRACTION SKILLS TO GIVE YOUR STUDENT THE ULTIMATE REVIEW OF THESE SKILLS!]}

5th Grade: 

• Adding and Subtracting Fractions with Unlike Denominators: Students should review using their knowledge of multiples and equivalent fractions to find common denominators in order to add and subtract fractions. 
• Multiplying Fractions: Students learned how to  multiply a fraction by a whole number and moved on to multiplying fractions by other fractions and finally learned how to multiply mixed numbers.

6th Grade:

• Writing and Interpreting Expressions and Equations:  Download our FREE 6th grade Winter Math Skill Builder resource on Expressions and Equations to learn more about this skill and provide your student with a quick review.

• Solving Algebraic Equations:  Students learned how to solve basic one-step equations using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Preview:

Heads up!  During the 4th Quarter of the school year, new math quests await!  Make sure your student is ready for their journey by previewing with them the skills listed under their corresponding grade level.

3rd Grade:  

• Elapsed Time: In 3rd grade students learn to tell time to the minute and just as they are feeling confident in their abilities here come those elapsed time problems in which they must determine how much time has passed between a given starting and ending time. 
• Area and Perimeter: 3rd graders also will learn how to find the area and perimeter of squares, rectangles and figures made up of combinations of these two shapes.  *Frequently the most challenging problems for students in this chapter will be drawing a rectangle with a given area and finding the value of a missing side length of a rectangle when given the perimeter and other side lengths.

4th Grade:

• Understanding and Converting Units of Measurement:  4th graders expand their knowledge of measuring length, weight and liquid volume using units of measurement from both customary and metric systems of measurement.  They will use multiplication to convert larger amounts into smaller amounts.  Yes, this means they need to know relationships between these units of measurement (e.g. 12 inches = 1 foot; 4 quarts = 1 gallon; 10 millimeters = 1 centimeter, etc.)

• Finding the Area of Combined Rectangles: In 4th grade students will be challenged to find the area of a figure that is not a square or rectangle.  Their task will be to partition the figure into sections made up of rectangles and/or squares, find missing side lengths of the shapes they partitioned using existing lengths from the original figure, finding the area of each square of rectangle they created, and then finally adding those areas together to get the total area of the original figure. 

5th Grade: 

• Converting Units of Measurement: In 5th grade, the instruction on customary and metric units of measurement is leveled up as they learn how to convert back and forth between larger and smaller units using multiplication and division.  When solving problems to convert a smaller unit of measurement into a larger unit using division, students will frequently be given a measurement that does not evenly convert and write their answer as a combination of mixed measures (e.g., 150 inches = 12 feet, 6 inches).
• Ordered Pairs:  5th graders are introduced to Quadrant I on the coordinate plane and learn how to identify and graph points using the x-axis and y-axis. This skill is further developed as students are taught how to change related number pairs from a given set of data on a table to ordered pairs in order to display and analyze it in the form of a line graph.

6th Grade:

• Box Plots:  Statistics and Probability is a new math cornerstone that students are introduced to in 6th grade.  Just a PSA, if you think your 6th grader will just be learning about finding the mean, median and mode of a data set, THINK AGAIN.  Most 6th grade math curriculums go on to include creating box plots for statistical data which includes calculating and displaying on the box plot the median, the upper quartile and the lower quartile. Sound confusing? Imagine being 6th grader.  

• Surface Area: Gone are the days of just finding the area of one rectangle.  In 6th grade students will learn how to calculate the surface area of different prisms and pyramids.  The surfaces of these 3-dimensional figures are made up of different combinations of squares, rectangles and triangles.  This means students will use multiple area formulas to calculate the different areas of each face of the figure and then add them all up to find the total surface area.  

Now that everyone has their to-do list, get started!!  Seriously just hang in there and keep it up.  Take time to Review and Preview with your student giving them (and you) the gift of celebrating everything they accomplished during the 3rd quarter and being prepared to finish out this school year strong!