What makes geometry lessons challenging for so many students in elementary school? Many of us have our own preconceptions about geometry, possibly stemming from our own struggles in high school with geometry. In fact, many of us did really well with the "numbers" math like algebra but felt the walls crash down during geometry. The same is sometimes true for students experiencing geometry ... Read the Post
Teaching Geometry Lessons and Concepts
Teaching Geometry Geometry is often one of the trickiest concepts for teachers to teach—and so often our textbooks and other resources either present things too quickly or in a way that simply isn’t engaging enough or with enough practice opportunities. Geometry actually crosses content areas—both measurement and geometry! I have had SO many teachers ask me for support in teaching geometry, ... Read the Post
Angle Studies Part 2
So, yesterday I showed you how I got my angle studies kicked off with my students--how I solidified understanding of "right angle". We had lots left to accomplish--so I'll try to share some of the different lessons and activities we did over the next days! Tip 1: If you can get your hands on thin drinking straws....like the kind you might get in a school cafeteria...taking 2 ... Read the Post
Teaching Angles: Angle Studies Part 1
Teaching Angles This week was "Angle Week" in my classroom...a week of intense work with angles to help us prepare for later work with geometry! I love this unit for a bunch of reasons. One, many students who struggle with computation-based concepts shine with more "spatial" concepts. I love it! Another reason I find angle studies to be so much fun is that I LOVE watching students start to ... Read the Post
Building a concept: Angles
One concept that the Common Core requires of fourth-graders is that they develop a good understanding of what an angle is, what the different types of angles are, and the concept that a full circle is 360°. It is a relatively new concept for many students, so I work hard to try to build the foundation before I introduce some of the nitty-gritty math and protractor work. Today we did a ... Read the Post
Getting ready to use protractors!
We are halfway through our angle unit . . . we've worked to build some understanding and are ready to use protractors! Today I actually introduced the protractor--we have been measuring with "nonstandard" angle measurers the last few days. If you haven't ever made wax paper protractors with your students, you should give it a try...lots of fun! Simply take a square of wax ... Read the Post