Matter

It is very important for elementary students to develop an understanding of matter. Young learners typically have an understanding of solids and liquids as matter, but they may need some support in grasping that air is also matter. Your kiddo may also struggle to understand that “soft" solids like powder, cloth, and paper are solids.

Your kiddo has been learning about the properties of matter. Provide them with some opportunities to measure the following properties:

● Size (Use a ruler to measure height, width, and length.)

● Mass (At this level, it is appropriate to measure weight.)

● Volume (It is easier to measure powders and liquids than solids.)

● Temperature (Use a thermometer or record whether something feels warm or cool to the touch, exercising caution not to burn yourself.)

Provide your kiddo opportunities to measure and compare types of matter based on the properties listed above. Your child should also use the following questions to compare types of matter:

● What is the state of matter? (Is it a solid, a liquid, or a gas?)

● Is the matter magnetic? (Does the matter stick to a magnet?)

● Does the matter sink or float? (What do we notice when we put the matter in water?)

Pick some safe household objects (milk, sugar, paperclips, water, ice cubes, cloth, paper, etc.), and help your kiddo determine the state of matter, whether the object is magnetic, and whether the object sinks or floats.

Help your child understand that all states of water—solid, liquid, and gas—are water. The water particles are the same in each state, but the way those particles move around are different depending on whether they are being heated or cooled.

We will be conducting many experiments this unit. Keep asking your kiddo what they know about matter!

Check out this Crash Course Kids Video:

What's Matter?

Here are some matter games you can play:

Matter Sort

States of Matter

Matter Games

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Place Value

We are working on place value this unit in Math. We go all the way up to the billions place and down to the hundredths place. Here are some definitions that might help during our unit on place value:

Place value – the value of a digit as determined by its location in a number such as ones, tens, hundreds, one thousands, ten thousands, etc.

Standard notation – the representation of a number using digits (e.g., 985,156,789.78)

Written notation – the representation of a number using written words (e.g., 985,156,789.78 as nine hundred eighty-five million, one hundred fifty-six thousand, seven hundred eighty-nine and seventy-eight hundredths)

Expanded Form - a way to write numbers by adding the value of its digits. Example: 1,000 + 900 + 50 + 4 = 1,954.

Expanded Notation - writing a number to show the value of each digit. It is shown as a sum of each digit multiplied by its matching place value (units, tens, hundreds, etc.) For example: 4,265 = (4 x 1,000) + (2 x 100) + (6 x 10) + (5 x 1) or 4,265 = 4(1,000) + 2(100) + 6(10) + 5(1) or 4,265 = 4(1,000) + 2(100) + 6(10) + 5(1).

Powers of 10 - each place in a place value chart has a value that is 10 times as great as the place value to its right and 1/10th the size of the place value to the left.

We have acted this concept out in class. See if your kiddo can show you what to do!

Here are some other ways that you can work on math at home:

Identify patterns in the real world – We have found all kinds of patterns when looking at the multiples of numbers. Talk with your child about patterns they may see in the world. These could be geometric patterns, number patterns, growth patterns, etc.

Play “Race for $1” – Our class will play a game called “Race for a Hundred” using base ten blocks. This game can be adapted to play with money. For two players, all that is needed are about 25 pennies, 25 dimes, one dollar bill, and a die. Take turns rolling the die. The number indicates how many pennies to draw. As a player collects 10 pennies, he/she should trade for a dime. Play continues until someone can trade ten dimes for one dollar. Talk about the relationship of pennies to dimes, dimes to dollars and pennies to dollars. Can your child explain in terms of 10 times as much or 1/10 the amount?

Questions to ask: Describe the relationship between each of the places on the place value chart. (For example, the tens place is ten times greater than the ones place because it takes ten ones to make one ten or the tens place is one-tenth the size of the hundreds place.)

Here are some videos that will help explain place value:

Study Jams Place Value

Study Jams Expanded Notation

Study Jams Number Lines

Here is a fun game to help solidify some of the place values:

Place Value Millionaire

Place Value Headings

Here is a fun place value song to check out:

All About That Place (Value)

Please let me know if you have any questions!