I know I gave you all a fraction word problem teaser yesterday, but I'm going to hold off and include that in tomorrow's post. Today what I want to share is something I did for about 15 minutes after math class was over. Before this unit, I printed a list of the Common Core "learning targets" rewritten in kid-friendly language for my students. We had looked at this list as our unit ... Read the Post
Fractions Day 14: Composing and Decomposing
Today was a math rotations day in grade 4 . . . I started the day with a minilesson and then we broke up into three math groups to rotate around the following centers: --“teacher time” --problem solving --</>/= activity Today’s minilesson focused on “composing” and “decomposing” using unit fractions, and I was hopeful that it would go smoothly. I was fairly confident ... Read the Post
Fractions Day 13: Benchmark Fractions
It is getting close to the end of our fractions unit . . . and I am trying to reflect on what more I need to accomplish! I am really seeing students (for the most part) having an "ease" with fractions, with equivalence, and with some of the "big picture" ideas. I know I want to dig into some problem solving with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and I want to throw ... Read the Post
Fractions Day 10: Using Stations to Build Equivalent Fractions
Equivalent Fraction Warm Up I thought I would catch all of your fraction fans up on what we did in fourth grade on Friday. I have been concerned that my students aren't all quite understanding what equivalent fractions are, so I started them off by asking them to review what the word "equivalent" means and then we got to work. I explained to them that they would be moving through 5 different ... Read the Post
Fraction Concepts Day 3: Holy “Critiquing Reasoning”, Batman!
Wow...not really sure how to start this blog entry! Seriously . . . I wish I had today's lesson on video tape! It would be so much easier (and cooler!) than trying to explain it with words. If this lesson intrigues you, it is one of the lesson in my fraction unit. If you were with me yesterday, you know I left off with a challenge to my students--they needed to commit to either a "yes" or "no" ... Read the Post
Math challenge problems–another tip!
One thing that I always want to have easily available to my students of all abilities is work for them to do if they finish early or have some "down time"...they know they can always read or write, but I like for them to have math options as well. My students have "Personal Challenge" folders that have a variety of problem solving activities in them...some of which are introduced whole class ... Read the Post
Historical Fiction, Here We Come! Sarah, Plain and Tall
Well, my fourth graders and I are NEARLY finished with our feature articles unit...and, boy, have we had a blast! They have learned so much about different text structures, how to take a topic and "spin" it to make it more appealing--not to mention all the new tech skills they learned like inserting photos with citations, and so on. So...next on the list? Historical fiction! I LOVE historical ... Read the Post