10-4 Subtracting Fractions with Unlike Denominators
We practiced finding a common denominator between two fractions and performing an equivalent calculation on the numerators in order to subtract the fractions.

Gwendolyn and I continued to the next chapters in her text, learning about what happened next in history after reconstruction. We read about settling the west and about urbanization and industrialization. Gwendolyn learned many new vocabulary words and added them to her vocabulary cards. She was able to use these new words and understood them in context. We learned about the long drives, the invention of barbed wire, mining and boomtowns and ghost towns, the Comstock lode, the Dawes Act and the Homestead Act. We read about new inventions and technology that changed American life, along with the influx of immigrants and how that shaped our country. We were able to discuss examples of this specifically related to New York City.

Today Gwendolyn worked on revising the rough draft of her Harriet Tubman report. She added details and took away sentences that were repetitive. She is really doing an excellent job with this type of writing. She does not give herself enough credit.

I introduced Gwendolyn to the online game of Way of An Idea. She quickly caught on to this open-ended game which presents a graphical problem and requires the user to draw their own solution.

Gwendolyn began the force and motion unit in her science book. We read excerpts about force, motion, gravity, and friction. As we read, we reviewed the vocabulary words and discussed examples of each. To correlate with the lesson, we finished with a force and motion video by Bill Nye the science guy.

Gwendolyn made a batch of Snickerdoodles cookies today. She added the wet ingredients to the mixer and blended it for 2 minutes. Then Gwendolyn added in the cinnamon, baking soda, salt, cream of tartar and flour. Next, we measured out a scope of cookie dough and rolled it in the cinnamon, sugar mixture. Gwendolyn baked the Snickerdoodles for 10 minutes. Gwendolyn’s cookies turned out soft, buttery and loaded with flavor.

Gwendolyn's lesson covered the concept of adding fractions with unlike denominators. She found equivalent fractions with the least common denominator then added them together. If needed, she reduced the fraction to the simplest form. Gwendolyn completed problems correlating to the lesson using the white board.

Gwendolyn and I worked to find common denominators and add fractions. We also reduced fractions to simplest terms and converted improper fractions to mixed numbers. She flew through this lesson!

We began with "March of the Marionette." We then started a new piece, Tchaikovsky's "Russian Dance." We reviewed "Rage Over a Lost Penny" and discussed the concept of relative minors.

Today Gwendolyn typed up the rough draft of her report on Harriet Tubman. She also used the thesaurus to search for alternatives to some of her frequently used words. Tomorrow she will do a final edit of the written part of her project.