Hello parents! Many of you may be considering homeschooling for your children but are unsure of how to get started. Well did you know that cyber school is a home school option with many great benefits? Most cyber schools are FREE online public schools. That's right, FREE. Plus your materials are included, most students even get a free computer to use and internet reimbursement checks! If you are interested in this option you can research free online schools in your state or contact the Home School Cyber School Alliance and one of our workers will give you information on the schools in your area, their reviews and even set you up with the numbers you need to get started. Cyber schooling is a great option for many families. You will still be in charge of your child's education but you will have a licensed teacher to help you along the way, provide online classes and the hassle of dealing with local schools for testing and curriculum approval is eliminated. So what about socialization, support in subjects not covered, or tutoring? Well the good news is that the Home School Cyber School Alliance offers many free and low cost services that can help you fill in these gaps as well. For more information or assistance in finding a free online school please visit http://homeschoolcyberschoolalliance.org today.
Today marks the anniversary of the call for Richard Nixon to be impeached following the Watergate scandal. This lesson is intended for high school students. The video clearing explains the Watergate break in and the political scandal that came shortly after. Highlights are on Richard Nixon's involvement and the views of the American public following the incident.
As the executive director of the Home School Cyber School Alliance I have found that there are many reasons why parents select homeschooling options for their children. Some of the most common reasons include a fear of bullying or school violence, disappointment with their child's current school, public school's inability to fully understand children with exceptional needs, worry about their child's emotional or behavioral development, fear that their child is falling behind in classes or a desire to put the family's personal faith as a guiding factor for education. There are many more reasons why parents select homeschooling but I would like to discuss the benefits of homeschooling and to present a couple of videos so that parents may understand what their child will gain in a home school environment. One of the major benefits is academic improvement. Children who are home schooled are on average two grade levels above their peers. The main reason for this is that the child receives one on one attention during their lessons. Parents are able to tell when their children are struggling and then work to facilitate their children's understanding of the material. Children can also work at their own pace in a home school environment. This allows children who are behind grade level the time and opportunity to catch up with their peers without the pressure of deadlines or added work. Children who are advanced are also at an advantage because they are able to extend their lessons to a level that is challenging and exciting without being bored or feeling frustrated that their class does not follow the same pace. Another great benefit is the connection to family. Children who learn from their parents have a stronger emotional bond and studies show that their emotional and behavioral development flourishes as a result. Plus home school schedules are flexible allowing time for family when work schedules do not accompany a traditional school day. There are even more advantages to homeschooling. But don't take my word for it. Check out these videos and as always feel free to contact the Home School Cyber School Alliance with any questions.
Simplifying Common Fractions Grades 3 and 4
This lesson is on simplifying or reducing common fractions.
This is a 3rd and 4th grade level exercise.
To
simplify a fraction you need to figure out the greatest number that can be
divided into both the numerator and the denominator equally.
Many children have trouble understanding that a
simplified fraction represents the same amount as the original fraction. To
illustrate this, it is often helpful to see the fraction as shaded parts.
Let’s look at an example…
This fraction shows that 4/8 of a circle is shaded.
Have your student count the number of parts shown in the circle. The total
number of parts including both the shaded and blank areas is the denominator of
the fraction. Then have your student count the number of shaded parts. The
shaded area is the numerator.
Now let’s look at simplifying the fraction. If we
divide both the numerator and the denominator by the number 2, we get the
fraction 2/4. This is shown below.
4/2=2 and 8/2=4
If we look
at the fraction for 2/4 we can see that the same amount of the circle is
shaded.
This fraction can be simplified further by dividing
both the numerator and the denominator by 2.
This gives
us the fraction 1/2. Again show your student that the same amount of the
fraction is shaded.
Simplifying using the
greatest common factor:
Factors are the numbers that multiply to get
another number. For example the natural factors of 6 are...1, 2, 3 and 6.
To
simplify a fraction we want to find the greatest common factor. This
will be the largest number that is a factor of both the numerator and the
denominator. So for the fraction 6/12, the greatest common factor is 6.
Therefore
6/12 can be simplified as 1/2.
Factoring numbers:
Sometimes
it is necessary to “factor” the numbers to find the greatest common factor. To
factor a number, write down all of the factors that can be used to make that
number. Sometimes it is necessary to take one factor at a time and break them
down into smaller parts.
For
example, to factor the number 42 we can begin by writing down 1 and 42 because
all numbers have themselves and 1 as factors. Then because 42 is an even number
we can divide by 2, which will give us the factors 2 and 21.
Now look
at the newfound factors and determine if they can be factored. The number 2 is
as small as it can get but 21 can be factored into 3, 7.
This means
that the numbers 3 and 7 are also factors of 42.
Now check
to see if these numbers can be broken down any further. 14 can be divided by 7,
which is already in the factor list and 6 can be factored to 2 and 3 which are
also in the list. So if written in numerical order, the factors of 42 are 1, 2,
3, 6, 7, 14, 21 and 42.
So if you
are trying to simplify a fraction like 12/42, you would factor 12 the same way
and then look for the greatest common factor between the two numbers. The
natural factors of 12 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12. The greatest common factor for
both 12 and 42 is the number 6.
So to
simply 12/42 you would divide both the numerator and the denominator by 6. You
then get the simplified fraction 2/7.
Discuss
with your student the idea behind simplifying. Basically we want them to
understand that simplifying means to find the simplest or easiest answer. This
helps people to understand what portion a fraction truly represents. After all
1/2 is easier to understand than 16/32. You can even show that a large fraction
such as 16/32 can be reduced by dividing by the highest number. In this case
the highest number is 16.
Reducing larger numbers as an example can show
students why simplifying fractions is necessary and commonly asked for. You can
take this lesson further by discussing the reasoning of simplification and
having your students’ share their thoughts. Many students benefit from hand on
lessons such as making fractions out of construction paper or by using
commercial math manipulatives.
For your convenience here is a practice worksheet on
simplifying fractions. Remember the Home School Cyber School Alliance offers
free and low cost tutoring.
For more information visit
www.homeschoolcyberschoolalliance.org
Today's fact family is 2+4=6, 4+2=6, 6-4=2, 6-2=4
For multiplication and division we will do 7*3=21, 3*7=21, 21\7=3, 21\3=7
Remember to practice math facts everyday with your children, especially over the summer in which most children lose a great deal of their acquired knowledge during study time.
A fact family is a set of math facts that go together. For example 4+5= 9, 5+4=9, 9-4=5 and 9-5=4 are a fact family. There are many benefits to learning facts in this way. It helps children to remember their facts and it helps them to associate the relationship between the facts. Many children may realize that 2+3=5 and 3+2=5 but other children do not automatically understand this. The same goes for the reverse facts. While some children may know their subtraction facts simply because they understand the reverse addition facts, this concept is not clear to others. However teaching the facts together helps to strengthen a child's understanding of these concepts. Plus many children report that they were able to memorize their facts faster when they were taught in this fashion.
A common tool for teaching families is the use of a triangle that shows each number in the family.
When using this visual aid, it is important to teach the child how to use it correctly. The middle of the triangle shows the two operations associated with the family. This is going to be either addition and subtraction or multiplication and division. For the above example it is addition and subtraction.
Here you can show the child that the triangle gives them the answer to the fact problem. If you add 3+4 the answer is 7 and vice versa. Then you can show the reverse operation, 7-3=4 and 7-4=3.
The Home School Cyber School Alliance recognizes the importance of these fact families and is therefore promoting the Daily Fact Family program in which a new fact family is taught to the children every day. This blog will feature this as well. So today we will start with the example shown. Practice the family of 3=4=7, 4+3=7, 7-3=4 and 7-4=3 and tomorrow a new family will be featured. You can also find this information on http://homeschoolcyberschoolalliance.org
A common tool for teaching families is the use of a triangle that shows each number in the family.
When using this visual aid, it is important to teach the child how to use it correctly. The middle of the triangle shows the two operations associated with the family. This is going to be either addition and subtraction or multiplication and division. For the above example it is addition and subtraction.
Here you can show the child that the triangle gives them the answer to the fact problem. If you add 3+4 the answer is 7 and vice versa. Then you can show the reverse operation, 7-3=4 and 7-4=3.
The Home School Cyber School Alliance recognizes the importance of these fact families and is therefore promoting the Daily Fact Family program in which a new fact family is taught to the children every day. This blog will feature this as well. So today we will start with the example shown. Practice the family of 3=4=7, 4+3=7, 7-3=4 and 7-4=3 and tomorrow a new family will be featured. You can also find this information on http://homeschoolcyberschoolalliance.org
There are many new and exciting things happening at the Home School Cyber School Alliance. For those of you who are not familiar with our parent organization, the Home School Cyber School Alliance or HSCSA is a group currently seeking nonprofit status that is dedicated to providing affordable solutions to home schooling. This includes offering free and low cost tutoring, text books and materials at the cost of production and promoting social events for students. most recently the HSCSA has updated thier website to make way for new interactive classes, courses and online tutoring. Now your children can take selected classes with a real teacher online that can help them fill the gaps in their education and meet the requirements that are left solely up to parents (such as technology, health, PE, etc.). So check out the home page at http://homeschoolcyberschoolalliance.org and see what the HSCSA can do for you!
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