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
Texts on Tuesdays!
It's time for another "Texts on Tuesdays", and today I can't wait to let you in on a FANTASTIC resource. If you are interested in learning more about how to have high quality, rigorous discussions in your math class, this might be the ticket! Today I want to talk a little about section 1. Section one of this text focuses on the first two chapter of the book--"Academically ... Read the Post