Kids Standard's April issue 21

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I S S U E 21 | A P RIL 2 017

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Number

TALK

Motivate. Activate. Celebrate.

F E AT U R E

Number Talk

Index: Feature..................................................2 Editorial Calendar...............................3 Poems....................................................5 Fiction...................................................9 Just for fun.........................................12 Art........................................................13 Food for thought...............................15 Music...................................................18 Technology.........................................18 Sports..................................................20 Math....................................................22 Point of view......................................26 Reflection............................................27 Parent’s Corner..................................28 Teacher’s Corner................................29 Educators............................................30 Parent’s Corner..................................31 Volunteer opportunity is available for students and Adults.

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A

t any given moment, there is a student sitting in a math class, wondering if there will ever be a need for him or her to know how to use the quadratic equation or find the surface area of a cylinder. “I’m not going to use this in life!” - is a common feeling. Yet, if given an opportunity to reflect on numbers and their role in everything we do, children would realize how useful math can be to them and how they can apply math skills to real-life situations.

It is not a secret that problemsolving skills are very important in any avenue of life. If children can approach life’s situations logically and determine the best solution based on the circumstances at hand, they are very likely to be successful at their careers, marriages, friendships - anything at all. One way to acquire these skills is through mathematics.

Mathematics ingrains logic and order. It trains the mind to reach a desirable result by following a precise series of steps in a certain order and completing each step without an error. This discipline of mind can carry over into everyday life.

It is also impossible to live an independent life without math skills.

Arina Bokas

Kids’ Standard Editor & Author of Building Powerful Learning Environments: From Schools to Communities

We must have these skills in order to follow a recipe, evaluate weather, know how much carpet or tile to buy, or whether an item on sale is really on sale. These are just some examples that our writers used in this issue, Number Talk, interpreting the meaning of math in real life.

Happy reading!

Our Sponsor Clarkston Optimist Club Disclaimer: All editorial and advertising material submitted to Kids Standard becomes the property of Kids Standard to be reproduced as seen fit. It will not be returned unless by prior arrangement. Submitted material includes advertising artwork and editorial content (including but not limited to: articles and images, art work and creative writing). All the designs remain the copyright of Kids Standard. Kids Standard welcomes comments and suggestions, as well as information about errors that call for corrections. Kids Standard is committed to presenting information fairly and accurately.

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E D I TO R I A L C A L E N DA R

2016-2017 Editorial Calendar May 2017

Stories that Matter As human beings, we are wired to like stories.

Since the beginning of times, stories have been the way for human beings to pass their knowledge to next generations. Is there a person or place that adds special meaning to your life or lives of other people? Why does this person or place matter? What is your own story? What can we learn from telling and listening to stories? How can stories be used in schools? You can tell any story, just make sure to explain why it is important.

Summer 2017

Family Magic Our families are important to us. Tell us about relationships in your family, connections between kids and parents, and meaningful experiences that you had with your family. What makes spending time with your family important to you? What do you learn from your family members? How do you learn together as a family?

Kids Standard’s Summer Camp

Writing through Learning & Learning through Writing” (Clarkston, Lake Orion, Auburn Hills,

Friday, all families will be invited to attend the last hour of the camp to walk through a gallery of stories and find our more about each story by talking to the writers. All stories will be presented to places featured in these stories and published in Kids’ Standard’s Camp electronic issue, shared with families and participants. The best stories will appear in Kids’ Standard’s September issue.

Young journalists will need to bring their own lunch and snack. Bottled water, a notebook, pen, and small backpack will be provided.

Please note that this camp will involve a walking trip downtown. Students will be divided in groups of four and have a high school mentor assigned to each group.

Rochester Hills, and Pontiac)

Duration: 5 days Dates: June 19th- June 23rd Cost: $225 ($45/day) Age: students entering 3 -8 grades Limit: 20

T

o find and tell your own story takes much more than just sitting behind a computer. It takes slowing down, thinking, noticing, questioning, and exploring. We will get up and go!

This five-day camp will provide participants with an opportunity embark on a first-hand investigation of their hometown. During the first two days, children will do preliminary research and, guided by thinking maps, explore the downtown, record observations, conduct interviews, and collect information APRIL 2017

for their stories. Days 3-4 will be dedicated to collaboration and writing. On

For more information contact Maggie@kidsstandard.org or call

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POEMS The Beauty In Math By: Nichole Shroeder, 5th grade, Deerfield Elementary

Most will say: Math! What a bore!

So I challenge you to find the beauty in math,

My Daddo!

By: Violet Dougherty,

and you will see math like never before.

So give it a try, give it a think!

And don’t let “mathy” complaints catch you down (because they stink)!

1st grade, Independence Elementary, Clarkston

For God is a God who created the stars, and an ocean of the deepest blue!

10 fingernails my dad paints so pretty

For he is the one who created the math that I am speaking to you!

9 kisses he gives me 8 hugs that are so tight 7 is his lucky number and that’s how old I am 6 presents he likes to give 5 thank you’s I say to him 4 wheels he likes to drive 3 chocolate covered cherries we like to share 2 helpful ways he always shows he cares He is the 1 and only dad I love!

Number Life

So don’t let numbers bring you down, because they really are a beautiful thing, the creation of God comes with the numbers you see, And even if math isn’t your favorite subject, And even if math is the most boring thing, I challenge you, oh yes; I challenge you, for math is a beautiful thing!

Numbers frame the world we know

By: Sophia Walker,

Numbers all around

7th grade, Sashabaw Middle School, Clarkston

From clocks and pages in our books

The building blocks of order

Numbers are the world we know

The mechanics in our homes

Confusing as they are

To dates and thermometers

Numbers shape the world we know Equations all around

So when you’re sitting in math class Your teacher droning on

From computers and TVs

Know that all around you

To microwaves and stoves

Numbers are at work.

Numbers

Numbers numbers numbers what would do without numbers???

By: Kate Raguse,

How would you cook? What if you put too much of the ingredients

2nd grade, Orion Oaks Elementary, Lake Orion

What if you put too little? What if?

Numbers numbers numbers what would you do without numbers???

Oh how bad that would be if you put too much sugar in your tea. As you can see we need numbers! I’m telling you we need numbers

You would not measure, you could not cook, you wouldn’t be able to count,

Numbers are on rulers, calendars, dimes and much more you see

to see when it would be the 100th day of school you see.

And they also mean a lot to me So listen up very closely: we need numbers!!!

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POEMS The word, The news, The place - Counting

One month I wouldn’t see him very much.

By: Lauren Gothard,

The Christmas he wasn’t there for.

8th grade, Junior High School, Clarkston

The very end of December he was in remission.

The word I never thought I would hear, the word I never thought would be in my vocabulary, the word that hurt to say,

The very end of December he would be home.

The very end of December I wouldn’t feel worried anymore.

The very end of December when tears streamed our faces.

the word that was a sour word.

He was okay.

The news that froze the world,

Next month he had to go to the hospital for a week,

the news that froze me,

next month I was worried again,

the news that I never thought would come,

next month I was scared again.

the news that startled me.

Next week he came home,

I didn’t think I heard it right.

next week he was okay,

I hoped I didn’t hear it right.

next week he had to go in again.

I prayed I didn’t hear it right.

He had a fever.

I thought I didn’t hear it right.

He stayed another week.

The place I never thought I would be,

He came home.

the place I would be everyday,

He was okay.

the place I hated to go,

Four more months I said to myself.

the place I had to go.

My dad had cancer.

One month he had to stay in the hospital.

One month he wouldn’t be home.

One Day - Winter to Summer By: Calissa Bordine, 7th grade, Sashabaw Middle School, Clarkston

The last hint of light

Only four more months till everything was normal, only four months till we could go on a big trip to celebrate.

Four more months.

Snowflakes sparkle and glow Until one day The snow melts away The sun shines On wet pines

before it is night

The air is no longer cold

Reflects on the trees of white

Popsicles are sold

Making them bright

Riding their bikes

The shimmer of flakes

Going on hikes

Cover frozen lakes

Kids swim

People will skateboard Until it is late With snow on the ground Leaves aren’t to be found

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Only four more months.

Even if the sky is dim

Winter is cold

footprints lead

Summer is hot

To feeders of bird seed

It only takes one day

Gusts of wind blow

For that to change a lot

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POEMS Triathlon Math

through my mind.

She can’t run!

You will beat her!

I tell myself as we race to the track..

By: Melissa Gertsch, 8th grade, Junior High School, Clarkston

As I wait in my triathlon wave, I listen to a brother and sister argue.

“No way you’ll win.”

“Yeah I will! I’m a way faster runner than you.”

“I have longer legs than you!”

“It would help if you knew how to use them.”

God I wish that were true.

This was only one girl in my wave, but it’s my turn.

I’m ready to win.

She takes off while I hold back, pacing myself.

When she starts to walk, I speed up.

This is it.

I’m right behind her when she sees me and sprints off ahead of me.

The splash echoes through the natatorium as I jump in and push off lightly streamlining underwater underneath the tiny waves being made above me I jump out dripping wet way before everyone else and and sprint to the bikes.

She walks again.

I’m not as confident as I was before, but still, I go faster.

I’ve never pushed myself so hard in my life, only to lose to the “sister”.

Again.

It happened again.

At awards, she got second and I got fourth.

It happened again, and again, and again, until we were close to being done.

We end neck-in-neck, many thoughts echoing

My confidence draining, I try

By: Adilane Vernagus, 3rd grade, Orion Oaks Elementary, Lake Orion

Without math Our world is blank No baking, money, or time Without math There’s nothing 6

I keep my pace and angrily watch her running away

the “sister” ends up passing me.

The rubbery bike tires scrape the pavement as I move my legs faster trying to pass her.

Number Talk

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Now furious, I start pushing myself, pumping my legs harder, and harder, as we approach the finish line She does it again, and again, until we finish three seconds apart.

Now the anger really starts to bubble inside me.

I get off to a strong start, but then

one more time.

This time she turns around.

An apologetic mutter escapes her mouth as she sprints off again.

Sadness rose hot in my cheeks as I watched a bittersweet smile forms on her face from the bleachers.

I couldn’t believe someone came in between that three seconds.

No letters, school, or work Without math We wouldn’t be organized No supplies, planning, or packing Without math Life’s not happy No parties, games, or birthdays With math There’s no worries In our amazing math world www.KidsStandard.org

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FICTION

Big Spelling Test By: Kylie Schaffert, 2nd grade, Springfield Plains Elementary, Clakrston

T

here was one family in Number neighborhood - the Addition family. They were all very good at math. Every day, they were excited to go to school because they had to do mostly math. The math tests were a little hard, but they could handle it. Their best friends were from Letter neighborhood they were good at spelling tests.

Their school was very busy. The hallway was always full of kids and teachers.

Their teacher’s name was Mrs. Shape.

Addy, who was from the Addition family, was always listening to Mrs. Shape, while the others were being very loud.

She heard that there was going to be a spelling test! What were they going to do?

Luckily, there were twins from the Spelling family. The twins’ names were Sammy and Sophie. When the Addition kids asked the twins to tell them the

The Adventure to Find Nail Polish By: Violet Dougherty, 1st grade, Independence Elementary, Clarkston

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nce upon a time in Kingdom Awesomeness there lived a king and his daughter. The king’s name was King Bobby, and he was 999 years old (he had a ring that allowed him to live forever). His daughter, princess Gwendolyn, soon was turning 19 years old. So the king decided to have a royal ball for Gwendolyn’s birthday.

As a special gift, the king was going

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to paint Gwendolyn’s nails for her birthday ball. The princess tried to decide which color she wanted out of her 17 nail polishes. Finally, she picked the one she wanted; it was Rainbow Unicorn Awesome - her favorite color.

King Bobby, however, didn’t like the color Rainbow Unicorn Awesome, so he put it in the Magical Forest. Now he was sad he threw it away because he didn’t want to upset his daughter. So King Bobby sent the guards Billy, Bob, and Joe to look for the nail polish in the

answers to the test, the twins said ¨NO!¨ Why did they say no? Then Silvey, from the Reading family, said they said NO because even though they are good at spelling, they couldn’t give out the answers to the test. ¨True,¨ Addy said. ¨We are good at math, but do we tell anyone the answers?¨ ¨No,¨ the other families said. The next day the Number neighborhood parents took their kids to a tutor. They learned how to spell.

The spelling test words were “and, love, two, and said.” The Addition family got to work. Then their teacher gave them the best grade. When the kids got home, their parents were so proud that they got to go to the ice cream shop. Everyone got strawberry.

Magical Forest.

It took days to find out that BIG TROLL had it! The troll had 5 horns on his head; his body was the shape of a triangle, and he had a very fierce face.

They tried to fight the troll. But the troll fought back!

One guard got past the troll. He had a magical sword to cut through the force fields that were surrounding the nail polish. So he took the Rainbow Unicorn Awesome nail polish and ran back to the castle, where he gave it to King Bobby.

King Bobby painted Gwendolyn’s ten nails with the Unicorn Rainbow Awesome nail polish. Gwendolyn put on her favorite dress, which was also the color of Unicorn Rainbow Awesome!

Then they went to down to the ball, and they all lived happily ever after!

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FICTION

Once Upon A Bakery By: Lilyan Owen, 3rd grade, Orion Oaks Elementary, Lake Orion

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nce upon a bakery …..

Yes, I said bakery, not once upon a time anyway....

One day a 20 year-old girl named Emma was walking down a street in Rochester. Now, Emma was no ordinary girl; she was not the kind of girl who wanted to be a model or a singer like Taylor Swift. She had a dream ever since she was 5 years old that she wanted to be a baker. Emma had always watched her mother cook, so ever since the first day she set her eyes on cooking, her heart was set on it. The only problem was: she had never baked.

As Emma was walking down the street, she saw a Help Wanted sign on the door of a bakery, immediately went in, asked for the job, and got it!

“Please make some banana bread,” the

Three Potatoes By: Alexios Simmons, 2nd grade, Bailey Lake Elementary, Clarkston

T

here were three potatoes. One was plain, another was mashed, and the third was a french fry that could split himself into more french fries.

The three potatoes were going to a camp that was three miles away, and there were three thousand and one carrots there; they were all the same. While the three potatoes were at camp for a week, a bad guy showed up and stole

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chef told Emma.

“Yes, chef!” Emma said.

The chef handed her a recipe book.

“Follow the recipe, “ he said.

“Got it!”

Emma got to work. It seemed to be too much math to measure everything.

So she put random amount of stuff in a bowl, mixed it, and put it in the oven for 30 minutes. Then she waited.

“Ring-Ring!” the timer went.

“THE BREAD IS DONE!” Emma hollered The door opened as the chef entered.

“You said you were done? “ the chef asked.

“Yep,” Emma said blushing.

“Please take this to a waitress. The customer is waiting.”

Emma took the bread to a waitress and peeked from around the corner: she wanted to know if the customer liked it.

So did the chef.

“Gross!” A woman in a red jacket looked very upset.

“Gross!” a little boy cried spitting out the bread.

Emma’s heart sank.

“Did you follow the recipe like I told you to, Emma?!” the chef asked.

every penny of the five thousand dollars they had.

The three potatoes decided to get him. Thy used different techniques. The french fries split into thirty three different fries and made a cage that was thirty seven feet long and twenty-five feet tall.

The bad guy climbed over the top of this very tall cage and was about to ran when the mashed potato made a mud pit that was eight feet deep and almost tricked the bad guy.

The bad guy was smart. He didn’t go in the pit; instead he found a path that led to the city twenty miles away. That’s when the plain potato climbed into a tree, three thousand three hundred and thirty three inches tall, and the bad guy didn’t notice him. From that height, he jumped off and landed on the bad guy.

The three potatoes called 911, three

“No,” Emma said quietly . “This is the last time I didn’t use math in baking.”

And from that day on, Emma always followed the recipe because she knew how much math was needed for baking.

policemen showed up at the scene, and within the hour the criminal was locked up for five years. The potatoes said, “It takes a lot of math to catch a criminal!”

They became really special to the world of millions of people.

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FICTION

PROFESSOR JELLY BEAN By: Stella Dougherty, 3rd grade. Independence Elementary, Clarkston

O

nce upon a time there was a town where everyone was a piece of candy. One of these pieces of candy was a Professor of Math. His name was Professor Jelly Bean.

He worked at Awesome University.

One day he decided to go to Number Jungle so he could discover a new division problem. He stopped at Ty’s camping goods. Ty, the candy cane, was a good friend of his and gave him half of his purchase free! Once he got supplies, Professor Jelly Bean ordered one ticket for Carmel Airlines and marked his calendar for June 22 through June 25. He packed his suitcase with his toothbrush,

pajamas, a pencil, ten bowties, and his very special notebook.

After the long plane ride, he finally landed in Number Jungle’s airport. But it was so hot there that Professor Jelly Bean was sweating lemonade. He picked up his suitcase and started looking for a spot to set up his camp. He found a good location by three palm trees and set up his tent.

Right away, Professor Jelly Bean began making important observations. He saw two number 99 monkeys. And then he saw an elephant! And its number was pi (3.14). All of a sudden, he came up with a brilliant idea for his math journal. He ran back to his camp and wrote it down.

On the very last day, Professor Jelly Bean, went to the VIMC, which stands for the Very Important Math Center. He was going to present his very complicated division problems to the best mathematicians of the Candy Universe. Professor Jelly Bean’s division problem was 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 ,000,000. All of the mathematicians were very, very impressed!

Professor Jelly Bean fulfilled his dream and got his complicated division problem entered into the Great Mathematical Records. And his students worshiped him for forever more.

School night AT THE FORT 3 story play structure Cafeé and dinner specials Arcades and ride-ons Call for school schedule

7127 Dixie Hwy at White Lake Rd , Clarkston 248-297-5453 www.fortclarkston.com

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JUST FOR FUN

By: Carson Goetz, 3rd Grade, Orion Oaks Elementary, Lake Orion

T

here is a great shortcut in multiplication that my dad taught me. He showed me it first, and then he went through the process step by step.

Here is an example: 85 times 5. First, you multiply

ONE THEORY WHY 7 ATE 9 By: Stella Dougherty, 3rd grade, Independence Elementary, Clarkston

S

cribble, scribble, scratch went Seven’s pencil as he wrote down some division problems in his notebook and then confidently answered them. He planned on sending his work to Nine.

“I’m the best at division problems!” he thought out loud..

He then ripped the page out, addressed the envelope, and slid in his paper. He strolled out of his house and put it in the mailbox. As he walked back in, he remembered something.

“Oops!” he said. “I forgot to put on the stamp!”

He rushed outside and opened the mailbox.

Slam! went the door of the mailbox. He grabbed the note, got the stamp, and put it on the envelope. He sprinted back outside and put the letter in the mailbox. It took a lot of effort.

Several days later, Seven got a letter back from Nine. It said, ”ALL OF THEM ARE WRONG!” Seven was furious! He stomped over to Nine‘s house and... ate her.

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5 times 5, which equals 25.

Then you put 25 on the bottom. Next you do 5 times 80, which equals 400, and put 400 on the bottom.

Then you just add the two numbers and you have your answer!

85X5= 400+ 25 =425

APRIL WORD UNSCRAMBLE By: Evan Koral, 4th grade, Independence Elementary, Clarkston

Ettginrweramre ........................................

Pilar

........................................

Sterae

........................................

Ariploolfsdya

........................................

Ianry

........................................

Uckl

........................................

Locerv

......................................................

Answers 1. Getting warmer 2. April 3.

Easter 4. April fools day 5. Rainy 6. Luck 7. Clover

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A RT

Math in Art

By: Ember Mohrman, 4th grade, Independence Elementary, Clarkston

M

ath in art is all around us, but sometimes it can be hard to notice! When you look at any art, you see colors, but also shapes, angles, and numbers.

There is a type of math called geometry, and it connects to art when you use

shapes to draw and paint. One can draw a person just by drawing ovals. Any picture can be made out of shapes.

Sometimes, artists use rulers, compasses, and angles. A compass is a technical drawing instrument that can be used for making circles or arcs.To be a

Art and Math Nikoletta Simons, 3rd grade, Bailey Lake Elementary, Clarkston

W

hen doing math, you have to stay focused.

When painting, you have to stay focused, too.

You have to follow the measurements and lines. Also, you have to be in a quiet place.

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good artist, one needs to be a good mathematician because he or she needs to understand proportions of things - what is closer and bigger and what is farther and smaller. Even if you can not see math in art, it is still there. Math is all around us, even when we cannot see it.

There is geometry in the shapes, and there are also numbers on pages. Deciding how long the lines should be requires understanding of math. There are different measurements in art and in math.

What came first: art or math? Did math come from art, or did art come from math. Math is everywhere in art. Even a rainbow has math in it because it is a half circle.

Everything you walk by has art and math in it: signs, papers, electricity, and more! Math and art come together. There is math in art and art in math.

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Math

is Everywhere!

Bella Schwarz,

Gabby Smith,

Ireland McCulloch,

2nd Grade, Orion Oaks Elementary,

2nd grade, Orion Oaks Elementary,

2nd grade, Orion Oaks Elementary,

Lake Orion

Lake Orion

Lake Orion

I

f there were no numbers, life would be impossible. We would not have books, posters, passwords, papers, cars, games, computers, phones, and cards. The world would be boring. If there were no numbers at my home, we would not have a TV, microwave, or dishwasher. When I was little, I counted the polls on the stairs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8! Numbers are good for me and you.

They make our life easier and more interesting.

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M

ath is everywhere. If there were no math, you would have nothing. You wouldn’t have good food or money. If you and your friend had two bags of candy and dumped out the candy, you wouldn’t know how to share them equally. You could’ve had more, but your friend had less! Your friend started to cry, but you just didn’t know how to divide. “We can try again, but I don’t know how,” you would say. Chances are you would’ve never shared equally.

T

he first thing that pops in my head for math is addition. I learned it in kindergarten.

It has gotten more difficult as I got older. In kindergarten, I would do math problems like 2 +2 =4 Now that I’m in second grade, we have to do math problems like 100 + 29.

Without math, you wouldn’t learn anything. School is not always fun, but school is a place for learning.

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT Emma Shorter, 2nd grade, Orion Oaks Elementary, Lake Orion

I

f we did not have numbers, here are some things that we would not be able to do: cook, build , sell and buy, play games, have calendars with days, weeks, months, years, centuries. So if the world did not have numbers, it would be very confusing. You would not be able to tell what chapter you were reading or on which page you stopped. You wouldn’t know how much sugar or flour to put in your cookies. You wouldn’t know how many tiles you need to put in your kitchen. You wouldn’t know how fast you drove.

Haydyn Miller, 2nd Grade, Orion Oaks Elementary,

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Lake Orion

ath is everywhere we look. So we really are learning wherever we go. There’s math on hotel doors, in stores and homes; you

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can learn whenever you want. You can learn math in school - how to write down the problems properly and do calculations. For example, 23-12=11 43+10=53 10x10=100 12/4=3 But you can also use your fingers to do math or draw pictures. There are many ways to learn math.

Avery Lau, 3th grade, Deerfield Elementary,

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Rochester Hills

ath, math, math - it is all around us. We see math everywhere: in sports, shopping trips, and technology. Without math we would not do most things we do today.

Can you find math in things you like and don’t like? I can. For example, do you like playing ball? Balls are spheres.

A tennis ball is a sphere. Something I don’t like is shopping. That has math in it. It has percentages, weight, and a cost.

When you are painting, you need to see how much paint is in you paint pallet.

How many apps are in your computer?

How many items are in your cart? How many yards are in your football field?

How many numbers and letters are on your laptop? How many miles per hour sound can travel?

Chelsea Howe, 4th Grade, Auburn Elementary, Auburn Hills

I

can use a lot of numbers in math.

You use them to multiply, divide, subtract, add, and do fractions.

When you multiply, divide, subtract or add, you need to use the right numbers to get the right answer. For factions, if you have to color in a circle, you need to pay attention to numbers in fractions.

We use math every day in our life - when we buy something, we need to add all our money and subtract to know how much we get back. We need to know fractions to figure out how many pizzas to get for 8 people who want 2 slices each. Numbers are very important.

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Context for Numbers By: Hana Chrenka, 7th grade, Sashabaw Middle School, Clarkston

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ver since I was little, I have always liked math. All we had to do was to remember what every symbol meant and what to do with it. For example, 7+2 meant that we had to start from 7 and count up 2. 4×6 meant counting by six 4 times. Those were simply things we were taught to do, and, to me, they are some of the easier ones. They don’t require much imagination because it’s just a formula.

But then, you stop to think about it: What are numbers?

What exactly do these symbols and shapes represent? The quantity of what? Without context, numbers mean nothing. But in context, they’re everywhere. That’s what makes numbers and math so interesting to me.

I would say that my favorite context for numbers and math is music - how many counts are in a beat or in a measure, how fast it’s played, how loudly it’s played, the frequency of the sound itself. At its very basic, music is a process of taking a bunch of noises and making sense of them, turning them into melodies.

Numbers and math help make it easier to play music. The numbers and symbols make instructions. The numbers turn something that seems like it could never make sense into something that makes sense. So even though it might just be a formula, what it represents is what really matters.

TECHNOLOGY

TECHY MATH By: Ava Palm, 4th grade, Deerfield Elementary, Rochester Hills

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ou may not think much about it, but math is everywhere in technology - in big or small things - and you might be surprised to find out how much time and effort it takes

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to calculate all of the right degrees and manipulate numbers to create sophisticated devices.

Even the tiniest things can have a lot of math behind them, like an activity tracker (such as a Fitbit) or a watch, since all of these devices have to receive the correct data to be accurate. The hands on a watch require an immense amount technology. The mechanics of the watch relies heavily on math to make the hands of the watch move to the time; even the length of the watch hands is important.

In the Fitbit or activity tracker, the technology calculates how many times your

heart beats, the altitude, the time you exercise, sleep patterns, and your activity minutes.

We all search something on the Internet. It takes a lot of math just to look up one thing on any social media site. For example, Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and many other sites use math to find the code and insert it into the site’s search to find any desired request in a matter of seconds!

So, what kind of degree do you need to do this amazing stuff? You need a lot of knowledge, so be prepared for an information volcano! And learn your math!

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Horseback Riding Math

By: Emily Valencia, 5th grade, Bailey Lake Elementary, Clarkston

Swimming Numbers By: Siddharth.N. Mummaneni, 4th Grade, Orion Oaks Elementary, Lake Orion

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umbers help me in swimming.

In fact, swimming is all about numbers.

One day the coach said that I had to swim 100 meters. I didn’t know exactly

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orseback riding and math are similar. They may not seem alike, but in a way, they are.

First of all, you need to memorize the order and the amount of jumps in a course. If you forget the order of jumps, you might approach a jump at a poor angle. When you jump, you could fall off. Also, if the amount of jumps is not memorized, you could still approach the jump at at a poor angle and fall off your horse.

Secondly, you need to estimate the right angle to know when you turn towards the jump. If you are not precise, you might hit your foot on the side of the jump. Then the horse could fall, which is really dangerous.

Last, but not least, timing is everything. You have to time the two-point accurately. A two-point is when you lean forward so you don’t fall off while you’re jumping. If you don´t time two-point accurately, it could lead to a lot of problems. You could fall off the back of the horse. The horse could stop abruptly, causing you to fall off and potentially hit your head on the pole or get seriously injured in some other way..

There is a lot of mathematical calculations in horseback riding. Even though we may not see it, there is math in everything.

how far 100 meters was, but I knew that one lap was 25 meters. Because I knew how to divide, I divided 100 by 25 and understood that I had to swim 4 laps. Without numbers I would have known how far my coach wanted me to swim.

Without numbers we would not be able to do the following things: tell time, days, months, years, dates, how many meters or gallons of water are in a pool.

Without numbers we would not be able to measure, estimate value, or know how many milliliters are in a bottle of medicine. I couldn’t count my money to

buy food and toys. If we did not have numbers, we would not have been able to figure out how far to swim or how fast we swim. No one would have been able to improve not knowing his or her time numbers, even Michael Phelps - the famous Olympic champion.

I would not be able to get to my swimming competitions on time or go to bed in order to feel rested. We need these things in everyday life because they help us. If we did not have them, life would be chaotic. So the world needs numbers for a lot of things, including my favorite swimming.

H

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How I Use Math 22

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By: Jaleyna Alexander, 3rd grade, Deerfield Elementary, Rochester Hills

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ath is one of my favorite things to do.

I like all types of math operations, like multiplication, division, addition and subtraction. Math is my favorite subject at school, and it’s kind of hard sometimes but it’s still awesome. My favorite part of math is learning all the fun facts, so then next time when I do math, I can remember the answers to solve the math problems.

I think that math is interesting, because math papers have

all different math problems on them. When I read math stories, I picture the story that I think goes with the words that I’m reading. I use numbers even when I’m not in school. When I’m at a grocery store, I count how much food we need. I also like practicing my math at home using my flash cards.

I recently had fun using my math skills while I was selling Girl Scout cookies. I would add the boxes of cookies people bought and then multiply them by the price per box. I would also give people change by subtracting the total from what they handed to me. It was a great math learning experience!

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USING MATH By: Sophia Le, 4th grade, Deerfield Elementary, Rochester Hills

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very day we perform basic math operations using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. Learning and knowing this all will help you everywhere; sometimes you won’t even now you are using it.

One way you can use math is by adding. You can take away how many times the number says to find the sum. We can add numbers, toys, flowers,

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and more. You can also use addition in restaurants.

Another way you can use math is by subtracting. Subtraction is used for finding how much is left or how much more is needed. You can subtract money, food, cans, and many other things. You can also use it at home, with pencils, or with other things like plates, spoons, forks, and napkins. You can use it at home or when you are traveling for fun.

You can also use multiplication.

Multiplication is like adding multiple times to find the product quicker. You can multiply crayons, markers, pencils, and other kinds of things. This can also be used in stores. You can multiply markers in a pack so you don’t have to add each one together; it also is faster.

You can use multiplication at parties,

school, and while baking.

Finally you can use division. Division is used for separate things equally into piles to find the quotient. Sometimes, if the number doesn’t go in evenly, you can get a remainder. We can divide paper, boxes, brushes, and more kinds of things. You can use division in bakeries or at home. You can split cakes, pies, or bread evenly with division. Division can also help you in fractions. Fractions equally separate stuff too, but it is written differently. For example: 2/4, 4/8 or 6/12 are examples of how fractions are written. This is also another way you can use math.

You can use anything to do math, and by anything I mean anything. You can do it for fun!. It is a very helpful skill to learn and can help you during your life and during the day.

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Math-a-mazing By: Aashka Bansal, 5th grade, Deerfield Elementary, Rochester Hills

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ath is amazing in several ways. I do gymnastics, and math gets involved when we do conditioning.

Sometimes, when you are shopping you even use math like when you have to figure out the total price of the things you bought.

Addition Addition is where you can have a certain amount of something, then you can put more of the same thing to increase the amount of pieces you have. For instance, if I have 3 pieces of pie, I can ADD 2 more pieces, so I would have 5 pieces in total.

Subtraction Subtraction is where you have

Math!

By: Kaelyn Nardi, 3rd grade, Deerfield Elementary, Rochester Hills

I

t is important to know math. Math is a tool that helps you a lot in life. You can learn a lot from it. There are different ways to do math!

Telling time Telling time is important to know. Telling time means that we will know when to go to bed or when it is time for lunch, breakfast, or dinner. Telling time is important when we go places, like the store or the beach, or have appointments with a doctor or a dentist.

Division This is easy. All you have to do is divide numbers to form equal groups. When numbers do not go in evenly, the answer results in a whole number and a remainder.

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a certain amount of something and you TAKE AWAY some amount. For example, if I have 5 pieces of an orange and I SUBTRACT, or take away, 3 pieces, I would have 2 left.

Multiplication Multiplication is where you have a pile of something, say coins, and you try to figure out how many of the same thing is in total. For instance, if there are 3 piles of 5 pennies, I would MULTIPLY 5 by 3 to know that there are 15 pennies.

Division Division is the opposite of multiplication. In division, you have to have a dividend of an equation and have a divisor to find the quotient.

For example, if there is a total of 15 pennies and I need 3 piles of them, I would DIVIDE 15 by 3 to find the answer of 5.

Multiplication Multiplication might be the hardest type of math out of the five things I chose to mention here. You can do multiplication in many different ways. One way is doing an array. You can use a standard algorithm. You can make fast arrays. You can learn measurements with multiplication.

Addition Now, what is addition? It happens when you add on something. For example: 2+2=4. When I just learned adding, I thought it was going to be the hardest thing I had learned.

Subtraction Subtraction is the easiest one. Instead of additing, subtract.

For example: 5-3=2 I have a connection if you are just learning subtraction. When I just learned it, I was thinking WHY DO WE HAVE TO SUBTRACT INSTEAD OF ADD?! And I learned why: addition is not the only math skill we need to master.

If you can learn math, life will be a lot easier. It will always be with you, and you will always be using it, even if you don’t know it. www.KidsStandard.org

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POINT OF VIEW

Math in Life By: Samantha Nidiffer, 5th grade, Bailey Lake Elementary, Clarkston

T

here is math everywhere we look.

Math is in sports, cooking, coloring, planning parties, cutting a cake, driving, shopping, building with legos and constructions. Doctors need to

know math and dentists; literally everyone and everything needs or has math in it.

Let’s take a look at cooking. When you make a simple recipe, like a cupcake, you have to pay attention to the measurements. If you put two cups of flour instead of one, the WHOLE cupcake will be messed up! Too much salt, and the cupcake is too salty. Too much sugar, and it will be too sweet. Not enough baking soda will make the cupcake sink.

If you mess up just one ingredient, everything goes wrong.

Art is not much different. You need

to know math because when you are painting, you want to make sure that all the lines are straight. You need to measure your canvas to know where the middle is. You need to use shapes and angles. When Leonardo da Vinci - one of the world’s most famous artists painted his Mona Lisa, he incorporated math. In fact, da Vinci had in-depth knowledge of science and math. Art and math go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Math really is in everything. The next time you bake or paint, just know that you are also doing math!

If the World Didn’t Invent Numbers By: Euna Tulda, 3rd grade, Auburn Elementary, Auburn Hills

I

f the world didn’t invent numbers, life would be hard. If people wanted to go to someone’s house, they wouldn’t be able to do so because there wouldn’t be any addresses. They could try to remember what the house looked like, but if all of the houses looked the same, it would be impossible to find someone’s house.

If there were no numbers, there wouldn’t be any money. If there were no money, there would be no stores.

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Without stores, people would have to make things by themselves. You would have to hunt for animals, use the fur for clothes, blankets, and carpets. There wouldn’t be a lot of jobs without money; people would have to trade. But even for trading, they would need to count how many things they had and how many things they needed. In conclusion, we need numbers. Math is not just a school subject. Math is everywhere. We need to understand it for a happy life.

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REFLECTION

A Second Look By: Kathryn Belliveau, 8th grade, Junior High School, Clarkston

A

t first glance you may only see a group of trees in the early morning, with the dim, blue sky in the background. You may be able to imagine the surroundings: the minty wind biting my bare, vulnerable arms, the beautiful notes of the birds as they sing their songs, and the ground that is damp with dew slightly soaking into my shoes.

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Then you look away. What else is there to see? You may walk away, but if you take a second look - a deeper look- you will see that beyond the trees, the power lines, and even beyond the sky, there is nothing and, at the same time, everything.

As far as we know, the universe goes on forever beyond our numeric calculations of time and distance.

Somewhere out there, there is another world where there is no technology, and there’s also a world where there are flying cars

and robot dogs. There are infinite possibilities.

In our world, millions of people struggle with depression, anxiety, bipolar disease, and so much more. At times, you may think that you can’t go on, that nothing is possible. But somewhere out there, there is a world where you are successful, happy, and full of motivation. If there is a world out there where you have achieved all your goals, then that means you can do it in this world also. All you have to do is take a second look. `

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PA R E N T ’ S C O R N E R

Food Footprint

By: Patrice Moesta, MA, RDN, Pediatric Nutritionist, Clarkston

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eople have many unique food preferences individual to them. These individual preferences develop from our experiences with food, our environment and the ethnic backgrounds we have and explore.

Our unique food palettes make up a part of our individual food footprint.

A unique food footprint develops over time based on our food experiences. There may be a food allergy that requires us to avoid a food.

Perhaps there was an experience that either made us apprehensive to try new foods or opened the door to something we had never considered.

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opportunity to explore new foods and pair with old familiar ones adds to our individual food footprint experience.

Our living environment shapes what we like to eat. Living on a farm, or in a big city, or close to the ocean influences the types of food we consume. Ethnic food cultures substantially mold our food footprint as well. I had the opportunity to spend some time in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland exploring their ethnic foods. During my travels, I tried out a lot of the native cuisine, enjoying such dishes as Knodel and Risotto.

One of my fond food memories is eating Shepherd’s Pie - a dish my mom cooked when I was a child. Made with its savory beef, tender vegetables and whipped mashed potato crust, it’s a

comfort food for me. As an adult, I make the dish with a creamy sweet potato topping, and just recently, tried using yellow lentils instead of beef. This is a food footprint individual to me.

Our food preferences paint our food footprint journey: where we have been, where we are now, and where we will be the future. It is always rewarding to share our individual food footprint with others, be culinary creative, and enjoy foods with others. It’s easy: pick a favorite food from several food groups - Vegetable, Fruit, Dairy, Meat, Bread, and Fat. Explore the food pairings in different ways; slice into unusual shapes, mix unlikely combination, change proportions, roast or sauté.

Add a pinch of fresh herbs for flavor, and enjoy!

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T E AC H E R ’ S C O R N E R

Understanding Math with a New Perspective

By: Francie Robertson, 4th grade teacher, Pine Tree Elementary, Lake Orion

Recipient of 2014 Presidential Award in Mathematics and Science Teaching for grades K-6

F

or the most part, school has always come easy to me. I was the student who always wanted to make the teacher happy, turned homework in on time, came to school early, got good grades. In the early stages of school, I didn’t always have to study very hard because I was good at memorizing things.

Little did I know how challenging things were to become later, especially in math.

My ability to memorize math facts and formulas only took me so far since I had very little understanding of what was being taught.

When I think of my younger years, two moments stand out. The first one is an experience I shared with my dad. I remember sitting at the dining room table

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with tears rolling down my face as he tried to make sense of some mathematical concept. I couldn’t understand what he was explaining because I just couldn’t visualize it.

Another experience was in high school.

I asked my Trigonometry teacher to explain to me what the words Sine, Cosine and Tangent actually meant, and he replied, “Don’t worry about it, it’s not important.” To me, it was important. I was trying to find a connection between those words and the math I was learning.

I needed to find a way to make it stick and make it relevant to my world. His response made me dislike math even more.

It wasn’t until I took teaching courses at Michigan State University that I started to see math in a whole new light.

The classes focused on teaching the conceptual side of math - the “how” and “why” - and I began to understand math concepts, not just the procedures I had memorized in school. Being able to visualize the concepts gave me confidence to explain my thinking. By my graduation time, I knew how math was supposed to be taught.

Few months ago, I was honored in Washington D.C. as Michigan’s Awardee for the 2014 Presidential Award in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) for grades K-6. It was an incredible honor to have my math teaching receive such national recognition. It is also a proof that my teaching approach is the right one.

Still, there are times I use my fingers to subtract or take longer with problems that require abstract thinking. Sometimes, there are still tears. However, I also realize that my weaknesses allow me to connect with students, especially those that struggle. I share with my students my own struggles, and sometimes they even

offer strategies to help me. My students know that I want them to grapple and persevere through math problems and that “being good at math” isn’t genetic.

They know that I will spend time with them, trying different strategies, until they, too, can visualize the concept.

I often hear parents of my students

groan and say, “Math isn’t taught the same way it was when I was a kid.” They are right. And it shouldn’t be. Society is constantly changing. Our students are growing up in an age where we want them to solve problems in a variety of ways. We want them to be creative thinkers. We want them to explain their ideas clearly and use multiple representations.

We want them to have a voice in their learning. It doesn’t mean that the way the parents learned was wrong. This way was focused more on procedures than conceptual understandings. There is a need to find a balance between both.

In the end, I want my students to love numbers, enjoy learning math, and above all, not be afraid to take chances on themselves. It’s all worth it!

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E D U C AT O R S

3 Ways to Help your Child Succeed in Math

By: Margie Pearse,

Margie Pearse is a co-author of Teaching Numeracy: 9 Critical Habits to Ignite Mathematical Thinking, Learning That Never Ends, and Passing the Mathematics Test for Elementary Teachers.

She has over 30 years of teaching experience with certifications in mathematics, elementary education, English as a Second Language, and Pennsylvania Quality Assurance Systems.

Author and Math Coach, Chester, PA

P

romoting a healthy attitude toward math begins way before your child steps foot in a classroom. Little ones discover, play with, and use numbers all the time. Toddlers explore numbers by insisting they get a cookie for each hand.

They learn very quickly the concept of more and no more. And they experiment with spatial reasoning in play all the time.

How is it then that by the time children get into the upper elementary grades, too many of them no longer feel capable in math, or worse, even dread it? Can we, as parents, do anything so our children stay curious and interested in math?

The shortest and best answer is a resounding, YES! With all of the available research on learning, parents can set their little ones on the path to success in math for a long time.

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1. Include numbers naturally into your day-to-day conversations.

This doesn’t mean to make everything a math lesson. It’s simpler than that. With younger children, talk about numbers during everyday tasks: you need two socks, we put three plates on the table: one-two-three, etc. Try estimating: About how many steps do you think it will take us to get to the corner? About how many apples are in the basket? Make counting and estimating a daily practice.

With older children, share and think aloud how you budget for vacation, plan for special events, and find sales that work for the family. Let children know that some problems take persistence and grit. Show them how much time and effort you put into figuring out exactly how many square feet of tile to order or how you know to leave the house at 5:00 am in order to the get to the Outer Banks by 4:00 pm for check-in.

2. Help Less Mistakes are often where innovation hides. We want to be careful not to take those important teachable moments from our children. Snowplow parents - ones who pave the upcoming road so their children do not have to experience any bumps along the way- do their children a great disservice. It is in these bumps where children grow persistence.

In math, it is no different; we need to help less. Nowadays, students are exposed to varied strategies that may look very different than the way we were taught. The best part about these new strategies is they are grounded in good number sense and reasoning. Be patient; your child is learning to make sense of the calculations. If we shut down the experience and teach them our way, we are robbing them of selfdiscovery. Step away, come back in a little bit, and say, “Tell me more about that.”

3. Remember your attitude about math is contagious Jo Boaler, a professor at Stanford University, states that “Parents’ beliefs about math change their children’s achievement in math.” In knowing this, we need to be especially careful of the words we choose when sharing feelings about math. We do not want children to think it’s okay to be “bad” at math or it’s unlikely anyone in the family would ever get “good” at math.

The truth is, if we keep saying that, our children will see math as inaccessible. The best advice we can give to our children when talking about math is “Anything is possible with effort and persistence!”

Reference: Boaler, Jo (2016) Parents’ beliefs about math change their children’s achievement. You Cubed at Stanford University.

Retrieved from https://www.youcubed.org/ think-it-up/parents-beliefs-math-changechildrens-achievement/

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PA R E N T ’ S C O R N E R

Number Talk

A Maggie Razdar Publisher/Founder

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s I read our young contributors’ articles, I realize some of our students have learned to have fun with “number talk.”

Number talk is a short discussion about how to use math to solve a particular everyday problem, such as identifying naturally occurring patterns.

A short problem-solving discussion immerses children in the language and culture of math, much the way reading and talking about writing can help students build stronger language skills.

The best number talks occur without math crutches, like calculators and other tools. They may include sentence stems, such as, “The first step in solving . . . .”

The discussion includes plenty of wait time for students to think about their answers. By participating in frequent number talks, students are discovering that math isn’t as scary as they thought it might be. Math is intriguing, and sometimes it even can be exciting. A number talk values thoughtful problem solving far more than speed in coming up with the correct answer.

An average person may be happy without a scruple of mathematical fluency, but numeracy is beneficial for setting goals and measuring progress.

In our communities we need to engage in number talks and mathematics so that number fluency becomes more of a fact of life than it is. Many shy away from number fluency and anything that smacks of numbers because they find math intimidating. Sure, there are exercises we can do, such as the Trivial Notions seminars or games that have mathematics bases, but you can help immerse your child in number fluency

at home by having your own math talks anytime you’re doing something with math – and when are you not?

To get the conversation started, ask open-ended questions like these (make them age-appropriate): • How many of gallons of water do you think you use for your shower/bath? What are some ways to figure out the answer?

• If you have three hours of homework, but wanted to take a 5-minute break every 25 minutes, how many breaks would you take?

How did you figure that out?

• When would someone need to use fractions? Square roots?

Exponents?

Allow plenty of time for responses.

Require that all problem-solving be done mentally. Talk about how your child arrived at the solution. Make it fun.

The younger the audience and participants are, the easier it will be for them to grow not just love for math, but to understand that math and numbers are facts of life, part and parcel of who we are as a society. Math is no more scary than a rose or a seashell; it’s every bit as beautiful.

Meanwhile, we at Kids Standard are working toward bringing you amusing games and math trivia to make it fun for kids to grow their love for math and numbers. Because numbers, like words, have a lot to say. It will be a great way to find out what other students are thinking, and also it’s also a great way to practice talking mathematics in front of others, without the sense that math is boring or numbers are scary.

I hope you’ll join us in our number talks.

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