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: Part 1
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 make ... 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