Although we did some dabbling in fractions earlier this year, we now did into the "meat" of our studies and I wanted to get a sense for where my students were with their basic fraction understanding. One problem I see in elementary math classrooms is our tendency to rely on quick and easy information--a pretest, a worksheet, an exit slip. The simple truth is, in order to really see HOW students ... Read the Post
Decomposing Fraction Fun!
Whether you teach from the Common Core or other sets of rigorous standards, the ability to decompose or “break apart” fractions and mixed numbers is key to strong “fraction sense” and the ability to successfully add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers. I wanted to find a fun and challenging way for my students to practice the THINKING required to be efficient with this! You may ... Read the Post
The Power of NOT Giving the Answer
It was a busy week for me! Report cards were due and we had two nights of conferences. My son's football team made it to the state championship game and WON! Whew! So, we are starting to get deeper into the content of fourth grade and we are beginning the first of many "mini units" on fraction concepts. Although our series is good, I MISS my fraction unit that I wrote a ... Read the Post
Concept Sorts–Deep Thinking about Fractions
Ready to talk fractions? Here we go! One thing that I really like to work on with my students is organizing their learning in different ways. One method I have found to be very successful is to ask students to take work samples or problem types and sort them into categories. People who use Words Their Way do this all the time with students as they look for sound or letter patterns that ... Read the Post
What IS a fraction, anyway?
As we move forward into our next unit in our new math series, I had real concerns that my fourth graders didn't have enough background knowledge about fractions to be able to successfully navigate the rigor of the upcoming lessons. I decided to "frontload" a little with some tried and true lessons that have been successful for me in the past and that would help me not only see what my ... Read the Post
Number sense with fractions–critiquing the reasoning of others!
For those of you who have followed my blog for a long time, you might have ridden along with me on my journey through my month-long exploration on fractions last year. This year we a new math series, and I am needing to use it as my main resource. That being said, I have taught this age group for long enough that I feel I know a lot of the right questions to ask to really get at the kind of ... Read the Post
September “Math is Real Life” Linky! Join Us!
It's the first Wednesday of September which means it's time for our new linky - Math IS Real Life. Last month was super successful! We've even created a Pinterest Board of all the posts that were linked up last month. We will continue to pin them each month to keep all of these AMAZING posts in one location! Presenting..... math IS real life: September edition! A ... Read the Post