Looking for an easy math lesson idea to help you get some much-needed one-on-one time or small group time with students? See what you think... I always have a pocket chart or two on my wall where I keep word problems or other challenges at all times. I can change these out to be more seasonal, to be more review, or to match the topic we are studying. In this case, I ... Read the Post
Area and Perimeter Studies: Part 2–Math Talk, Guided Practice, and More!
I blogged a few days ago about some of the fun area and perimeter activities we had done in class (If you missed it, just CLICK HERE.) and I promised you a follow-up post! With "big" concepts, I tend to have a sequence of teaching that doesn't really follow a formula but does have a certain sequence. First of all, I want the students to explore and build their understanding. That's ... Read the Post
Perimeter and Area: Constructivist Learning
Some of my favorite math units/topics are those where I feel I have a handle on how to really get my students to construct their own understanding. This is NOT the way most textbooks operate! Most textbooks have you set a clear learning target: I can find the perimeter of a rectangle by using the perimeter formula. Then, the teacher models how to do the problems...talks through ... Read the Post
Why Line Plots? Deep Thinking, Test Prep, and More!
Chances are, if you teach third through fifth grades, the term "line plots" has become a part of your vocabulary. If you give standardized tests, you've probably realized that test makers love them! Unfortunately, many textbooks and other resources really don't seem to provide many rich and meaningful experiences with line plots. Most activities are simple "create the plot" ... Read the Post
Building Math Confidence: Revisiting Familiar Tasks
When you have students that struggle, they spend an awful lot of time feeling frustration with the lessons and other activities we do. They often "check out"--and the cycle continues. One thing I have started to do about this time of year is to go back to some of the activities earlier in the year that I know some of my less able students really struggled with--and weren't even willing to ... Read the Post
Fraction Concepts Day 2! Conceptions, Misconceptions, and Mathematical Language
Well, things got even more interesting as my fraction unit unfolded on day 2! For those of you who read my first fraction post, I discussed how we used paper folding to get our fraction concepts unit "launched", and we ran out of time to finish the investigation. I gave them another 25 minutes today to work on folding their different fractional amounts and then asked them to spend some ... Read the Post
Fraction Folding–discovery learning
Today we kicked off our fraction unit, and I think I am going to really try to do a lot of blogging about it over the next few weeks--because I will be immersed in it AND because it is such a critical component of the Common Core for intermediate grades. I think it is vital that we dialogue about ways to help students build their understanding of fractions, so I invite you to share along ... Read the Post
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