I had a "wee hours" brainstorm when my feline friend woke me up...it frightens me that the first thing I think about when awakened at 3:00 in the morning is my blog but...I think I might try a "Five on Friday" posting on Fridays...a list of 5 "somethings" that are worth thinking about...worth looking into...worth trying in your classroom...or worth doing for yourself. So--we'll see if I can ... Read the Post
Number Lines, Number Sense
Well...it's time to start thinking about upcoming units in my fourth grade studio--and I wanted to share with you something I have been doing more and more of this year with great results. I challenge you to think about how you can incorporate this simple strategy into your math instruction over the upcoming months. Number Sense and Number Lines As you all know, number sense is critical for ... Read the Post
Problem solving does not mean word problems!
So...I was right. Snow Day! So--what do I do in between rounds of shoveling? Make more homemade caramel corn? Wrap presents? Clean a bathroom? So many things to do--and here I sit! The beautiful snow (sure wish you could train it to only fall on the grass!) makes me think of how much fun the kids are going to have at recess tomorrow--then winter ... Read the Post
Multi-tasking! Teaching Technology Skills with Science Content
Not sure if any of you have noticed this, but we seem to be being asked to do more and more every year...teach more "stuff", learn new curriculum, assess more, report more...and much of what we are being asked to do is really good "stuff"--REALLY good! However, if you are like me, you may also have noticed that they have not added a 25th hour to our day (YET!), so somehow we need to get ... Read the Post
Looking Closer: Studying the Skeletal System
Today as we returned to school trying to grapple with "normal", we continued our attention on "looking closer". We have been learning different strategies in both math and reading to "look closer" at text, at numbers, at patterns, and more. I want the students to work HARD at making sense of their world...to not just sit back and let it happen around them. In reading we are focusing ... Read the Post
“Why aren’t there ‘oneths’ in decimals?”
As we near our winter break from school, I am going to try my best to squeeze in one more of our new math units--this one on basic decimal concepts. I knew the students had been introduced to decimals last year, but I was certain that it wasn't going to do us any harm by going back to the beginning. Way back. Like..."What IS a decimal?" back. (Just a note...that was a VERY good ... Read the Post