4th Grade

Goldfish Elementary
Chestnut Hill, MA news 2024
Volume 1
Issue 1
FEB
21st
Letter
New Math « Dear Parents, »
Resources I am writing to announce some big news: We are about
to start our rational numbers math unit! With this unit,
we are implementing new websites and apps to aid
in Ms. B’s class! your child’s learning. Our goal is to enhance students’
understanding of rational numbers by utilizing
technology resources. - Ms. B

What’s new? Why technology?

We are implementing one new
website, Oppia, and one app,
Smartick. These programs will
give students access to a
variety of topics to practice, but
will be extra helpful during our
rational numbers unit by
providing interactive models for
representing numbers.
Technology is an excellent tool for
problem solving. It can provide
applications to be manipulated and
revised in electronic formats to support
our classroom learning. It is also able to
adapt to fit the individual needs and
speeds of each student. Technology is
also applied in our everyday lives, so
students should obtain the practice in
order to more easily navigate it later.

Links
How to help
https://www.oppia.org/
https://www.smartick.com/?f=1

!
I encourage you to familiarize yourself
with these programs at home in order
to help your child if needed. That being
Keep in Contact
Email: buchanai@bc.edu
said, I will outline the key features here.
for questions or concerns.
 4th Grade
Goldfish Elementary
Chestnut Hill, MA news 2024
Volume 1
Issue 1
FEB
21st
Letter
« Website: O p p i a Free, Online, interactive
lessons for everyone »
How does it help?
What is it? Oppia is easily accessible on any hand-held
device or computer, and students only
Oppia is a free interactive online
need their login. We will be focusing on the
learning tool that offers lessons,
topics: fractions, decimals, and ratios &
videos, and unique stories to teach
proportions. During allotted class time or
and practice topics for all elementary
at-home practice, students will log on and
grade levels. The graphics and
continue the lesson matching the topic
question variety keep the students
covered in class with questions similar to
engaged, and the activities can easily
Figure 1.1. Oppia provides various question
be shared and embedded into
types in different contexts/scenarios too so
classroom lessons.
students can see problems in a real-life
setting. At the end of every lesson, there is
also a recap, as shown in Figure 1.2.

Mistakes
Oppia gives personalized feedback
with mistakes and gives alternate
suggestions on how to find the
answer. They will tell the student if
Figure
they are partly correct, then offer a
1.3
hint. See Figure 1.3 as an example.

Services
AUDIO SUBTITLES

STORY-BASED LESSONS

TRANSLATIONS

PRE & POST TESTS Figure Figure

1.1 1.2
 4th Grade
Goldfish Elementary
Chestnut Hill, MA news
FEB
21st
Letter
« app: Smartick
What is it?
Smartick is a parent and student-friendly
app designed to lessen the frustration with
learning math. Students progress at their
own pace and go through steps to learn
the material, not just the solutions. A
Smartick account requires payments, but
the school has this covered. Smartick is
appropriate for all ages since it is based on
knowledge, but is especially useful for our
rational numbers unit.
Mistakes (Figure 2.3)
When a student makes a mistake,
they will have the chance to correct
themselves, and the app will revisit
the questions they struggled with.
If necessary, they will provide
further explanation or examples.
Services
VIDEO TUTORIALS
GAMES AND BUILDING
TRANSLATIONS
PARENT PORTAL
2024
Volume 1
Issue 1
Online elementary
math for children »
How does it help?
Smartick begins with a general assessment,
then places students in their correct level so
they stay engaged with their learning which
isn’t too difficult or easy for them (Figure 2.1
for example). We will use Smartick to aid our
unit on fractions, decimals, ratios, and
proportions as we will practice alongside our
lessons, and students can practice at home.
There are tutorials for every new topic that
students can revisit when they are stuck. A
unique 15-min session is generated every day
so students can form a routine, and there are
fun characters and rewards for earning
progress points. Parents can also track their
child’s progress through their own account,
as seen in Figure 2.2.
Figure
2.2
Figure
2.3
Figure
2.1