In honor of Chinese New Year, the 5th graders spent a few days completing pattern and multiples questions using this resource from Yummy Math. Before doing so however, we worked through a couple of word problems from our 2013 partner school in Shanghai, and engaged in deeper conversation and "wondering" about China after using www.ifitweremyhome.com. It was interesting to listen to their thoughts.
- I wonder why people in China die 4 years earlier than us
- I wonder if their are still government restrictions on babies because they have 9.3% fewer babies than us.
- I wonder why they are 2 times more likely to die in infancy, is it because of healthcare?
- Is the reason they spend less on healthcare because it is less costly or their is less access?
- They use 87% less oil but they have high pollution. Why?
- I can't imagine more of a class divide then we have here.
Following the conversation about China we began the conversation about not making assumptions about other places or people in the world, in preparation for our upcoming Mystery Skype call and possible worldly connections using our Wor(l)d problems. The boys were asked two questions:
If San Francisco was trapped in a bubble and it was the only place we knew, what might we assume about the world as a whole?
Given the fact you recently travelled to Marin Headlands (less than 10 miles away), if Marin Headlands was trapped in a bubble and it was the only place we knew, what might we assume about the world as a whole?
These questions allowed the boys to begin to understand the differences and similarities between two locations so close together. We excited to interact with our new friends all over the globe!