So now that many of us have sketched out our year and have done some thinking about the sequence of instruction, resources we have at our disposal, and so on--it's time to start considering the "feel" we want our classroom to have. This is a little less tangible than writing things down on a calendar, so I have a little food for thought as you ponder this idea. 1. Accountable Talk One of ... Read the Post
Area and Perimeter: Getting Students Talking about Math
Research shows that students learn best when they are collaborating and talking about math. My 25+ years in the classroom tells me that this is, indeed, true--but I'll go a step farther and make the claim that math discourse can raise the level of engagement, motivation, and excitement as well. I thought I'd share some details about some recent area and perimeter work in my ... Read the Post
When Problem Solving, Precision, and Computation Meet: 5 Ideas to Ponder
I think it would be hard to find someone who would argue with the following statement: All students need to learn how to compute efficiently and precisely. I mean--I sure can't argue with it! I think the discussion comes in when we talk about how we expect our students to get there. Take these practice pages for example. I use them. In fact, they are part of two ... Read the Post
Decimal Sequencing and Critiquing Reasoning
"A well-crafted argument/critique requires a thoughtful and logical progression of mathematically sound statements and supporting evidence." Pretty powerful words when you think about it, right? Let's look at a few of the phrases: well-crafted thoughtful and logical mathematically sound supporting evidence Pretty sophisticated stuff for fourth graders, right? Not so fast. ... Read the Post
Candy, Prime Numbers, and Conjectures!
One thing that is a HUGE part of our curriculum in fourth grade involves multiplication concepts--facts, large number multiplication, measurement conversions, patterns, and more. Although my students had a LOT of exposure to multiplication concepts and facts in third grade, every year I feel it is worth my time to go back and make sure we are clear on a few things--like the ... 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