TECHNOLOGY USE IN

MS. CHON'S CLASS!

3C NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 1, EDITION 1

OCTOBER 5, 2022 Dear Parents/Guardians,

I'm writing to share with you some exciting

news! This upcoming school year, we will be
utilizing two programs, "Splash Math K-5" and
the "Fraction App" to aid us in our math
learning!

Through these programs, students will be able

to practice the content in our upcoming math
curriculum. Being that these programs require
a small learning curve, I suggest that the
students take some time to familiarize
themselves with the different sites.

Boston Elementary School

Chestnut Hill, MA I understand that navigating a new program

Newton Public School may be challenging. This newsletter was made

Third Grade to act as a guide for you to follow along to

make this introduction a bit easier. It will help
you to understand how we can use these
programs to the best of our abilities. If there
are any concerns or questions, please do not
hesitate to contact me. I believe the addition
of these new programs will help our students
to achieve new goals and build their own
confidence. I'm looking forward to an amazing
Contact Information: school year together!
[email protected] Ms. Chon
000-123-4567
 SPLASH K-5
The first program we will be using is "Splash Math K-5."
This program is an excellent resource for the students to be
using, even beyond what I will encourage them to work on.
This program is broken up into four main sections, which are Figure 1: Game cover photo
'Math Curriculum,' 'Math Games,' 'English Curriculum,' and
'Books and Readers.' Since we are only using this website for
math, we will be focusing on the first two sections.
To access the specific problems we will be working on,
you will select the 'Fractions' subsection under 'Math
Curriculum.' This will then take you to a new page filled with
fraction practice problems and lessons. You will see that at
the top are three clouds which represent the three
subtopics. These include 'Understand & Represent Fractions,' Figure 2: The first question,
showing a sound feature and
'Compare Fractions, and 'Equivalent Fractions.' Our class will
the number box.
stay on the first cloud ('Understand & Represent Fractions').
You will see that these subtopics contain 'Glow Chapters'
and games. The 'Glow Chapters' are essentially mini
tutorials to introduce the students to the content. The
students will not be asked to complete them, as they will be
learning all of the content during instructional time.
However please feel free to allow your student to complete
them at home if they express interest. It would be a great
Figure 3: The tube shown on
supplemental resource and practice for them! the right with green for the
first correct answer.
During this school year, we will be learning more about
fractions, and our next unit specifically will be about part-
whole relationships. To help the students practice these
concepts, they will be working on the 'Understand Unit
Fractions' problems. The cover photo should show 3
fractions on a sky view with the title beneath it (Figure 1).
Once you open this program, you will see two yellow buttons
on the top left corner. This gives you the option for the
Figure 4: The tube shown on
students to practice with music. The top of the page has
the right with two blocks of red
the directions in the cloud. Students are expected to read for two incorrect answers, and
the mascot saying 'try again'
the directions and answer the problems (Figure 2). for an incorrect answer given.
This program utilizes a visual representation as well as displaying each fraction in word
form. In addition to having students fill in the missing numerator, the program also
shows two similar fractions but with differing denominators/numerators. There is a
number box for students to select their answer if they are using a tablet.
There is also a figure on the right of the screen showing the student's progress. For
each correct question, the tube is filled with green (Figure 3). If they answer incorrectly,
the tube is filled with red, and the mascot pops up to encourage the student to try again
(Figure 4). Students have two attempts before the correct answer is revealed. While
simple, this program gives students the encouragement to practice looking at, and
understanding fractions. It provides opportunity to familiarize students with similar
fractions in different forms, with each question they are given. In addition, having
students fill in the missing number pushes students to internally review their terminology
of 'numerators' and 'denominators' to arrive at their answers.
This program, used to help students practice, is incredibly beneficial. The fun
characters, sound effects, and music, make the program engaging, without having to
compromise the integrity of the content being practiced. It encourages the students to
practice with enjoyment. This is so important, since we always want to foster the mindset
that learning can and should be fun!
One thing to be weary of when using this program is that not all of the programs on
this site are free. Some require a paid subscription to access. I am not requiring for you
to subscribe, as all of the math practice that I will assign will be free. However, if paying
for a subscription is something that interests you to provide more practice for the
student, please feel free to do so.

Website:
https://www.splashlearn.com/parent-dashboard#/topic/14

FRACTIONS APP
The next program we will be discussing is the
"Fractions App." This app is perfect for students who feel
comfortable enough with fractions to start taking their own
creative liberty. There are many features that this app
offers, such as creating bar or circle fractions, performing
operations with fractions, showing or hiding numeric labels,
etc. Our class will be focusing on creating and comparing Figure 5: A blank board with
the tool bar below.
bar and circle fractions.
 When you first open the app, you will see a blank
white board and a blue tool bar at the bottom (Figure 5). Figure 6: Clear white board
Using these tools, the students will be able to create their
own fractions using visual representations, such as bar or
circle fractions. This tool bar may be difficult to navigate at Figure 7: Make bar fraction
(left) and circle fraction
first, but the more you play around with it, the easier it will (right)
be to practice.
I will briefly run through each of the tool bar options
that are necessary to cover the basis of what we will be
Figure 8: Labels fractions
practicing. The rest of the tools are great to use and
experiment with as the student becomes more familiar with
the basics. The first tool all the way on the left gives you the
Figure 9: Shares work
option to start over and clear all the work that is on your
white board (Figure 6). Two next two options which are
grouped together in one section allow you to create new bar
or circle fractions (Figure 7), with as many parts as you Figure 10: Information section

desire. The next tool gives you the option to have the
bar/circle fractions labeled (Figure 8). The second to last
tool allows you to share the work you have created (Figure
9). Finally, the last tool is an info section, giving you an in-
depth guide of how to navigate the app (Figure 10).
Figure 11: Creating a bar
After having a general understanding of these tools, fraction and choosing how
many parts.
students can then create bar or line fractions. When you
first select the tool to create a fraction, it will give you the
option to choose how many parts you want it to be (Figure
11). Once you select the number, you can change it anytime
by clicking on it. From here, students have creative liberty to Figure 12: One bar fraction
(left) and one circle fraction
play around with the fractions. They can label the fractions, (right), labeled, with parts
use the coloring tool to color in parts of the fraction, and colored in.

even draw or write on the board to explain their work

(Figure 12).
One last thing to note is that students can share their
work using the tool near the right hand side with a box and
arrow coming out of it. If I ask the students to create a
specific bar or circle graph and post it onto Google
Classroom, you would use this feature to save the image
and upload it (Figure 13).
Figure 13: Share your work
tool
 As of right now, there is no set instruction for what to do with this program for my
class. My hope is just that the students would be comfortable with looking at,
recognizing, and comparing fractions. I want to give them the power to create and feel
empowered knowing that they have a role in their own learning experience.
I believe that this program is an amazing opportunity for the students to learn in
a fun and interesting way. They have a chance to be creative, by making their own
fractions, word problems, and even by designing the fractions exactly how they
envisioned. As the students become more comfortable with this application, we will
begin to use it as part of their homework, and they'll eventually even be able to create
practice problems for their peers!

Website:
https://www.mathlearningcenter.org/resources/a
pps/fractionsLinks to an external site.

I would like to thank you again for your patience in navigating this exciting new journey
with me. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. I'm looking forward
to an amazing, fun-filled school year!

Ms. Chon