So I just wanted to share a super quick lesson idea that you might want to try. It was NOT in my plans, but I saw that a ton of my students made errors on a decimal number line problem and I knew I needed to do something ASAP. Those Standards for Mathematical Practice are SO important, so I took this opportunity to really give my students some work on critiquing the reasoning of ... Read the Post
Partner Problem Solving: Earth Day
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 frustrated with the lessons and other activities we do. They often "check out"--and the cycle continues. What can we do to help with building math confidence? 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 ... Read the Post
Fraction Concepts Day 2! Conceptions, Misconceptions, and Mathematical Language
Well, things got even more interesting as my work with fractions 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 before digging into some fraction misconceptions. I gave them another 25 minutes today to work on folding their different ... Read the Post
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