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
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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
Today I got out of their way…
So today was one of those "I know I should have this lesson more planned out" sort of days, but I just didn't quite have it together. I knew my objectives...take the information my kids' research teams had been collecting for the last few days and get it ready to share with each other by tomorrow. I debated about a mini report...about writing an article...a powerpoint...and then decided ... Read the Post
Best 10 minutes today…getting students hooked on reading
Just 10 minutes? Strangely enough, my best ten minutes today were spent working with one of my students who is STILL not making good book choices...she struggles with comprehension and is constantly abandoning books. Today we had a private conference in the reading area where we dug in deep to the books...I would pull a book and she would have to decide "no way", "maybe", or "for sure!" ... Read the Post