Word doc: Quiz 3 1. Fractions. Yay – we’re getting this! Multiplication plus subtraction with borrowing. Example 3 below is one of the few with a mistake, and its last step is correct, it’s the first step that’s not. THIS problem, however, lead us into the pit of confusion. Only the last example below is …
Recent Homework assignments: (mostly available as Word documents) HW#1 HW#2 HW#3 HW#4 HW#5 HW#6 HW#7 HW#8 Solution Keys: HW_keys#1to#8 What are our main goals in assigning homework? Provide thoughtful practice, not drill. Hopefully in an independent setting, without help, so we can see how the learning is going. To allow for long periods of …
We’ve heard so much about 3-Act activities. Here’s this week’s experiment, with our verdict at the end. Day 1… Does $1 million fit in a briefcase? Show this GIF: Ask… “Would $1 million fit into a normal briefcase, and if so, could an average adult carry it? Assume the bills are all 100s. When students …
In our last blog, we asked, “How do we humans react to confusion and difficulty?” Amelia claims grumpily “I don’t get the multiply and divide by 10 thing.” She tends to get grumpy when confused. Michael withdraws into silence. “Shall we get the blocks for this, Michael?” Silence. “Which part is confusing?” Silence. Sigh. Tomas …
Part 2 of “What Does Remediation Look Like?” Michael’s silence. Plus Exploding Dots. Read More »
How do we humans react to confusion and difficulty? Amelia claims grumpily “I don’t get the multiply and divide by 10 thing.” She tends to get grumpy when confused. Tomas minimizes his struggles. “I’m fine now. I was just confused on yesterday’s quiz. I’m good now.” Nicole writes notes to us on her quiz. “I …
What Does Remediation Look Like? Aka “Bring Your Knitting” Read More »
Quiz 2, Trimester 2, as a Word Document: Question #1: Fractions. Everyone was able to solve this problem correctly! This is huge. Fractions matter.
Quiz #1 as a Word Document: Question 1, Fractions. It’s Payoff Time! We’ve been having students draw fractions only for weeks now. Weeks! We are gradually increasing the difficulty of the questions, to cover addition, subtraction and multiplication of fractions. We assign about 1 problem a day. And… drumroll…90% got this problem right now. It …
Learning is an emotional pursuit. A teacher’s most powerful ally is success. Students who can see (“feel”!) their own progress will bring up the perseverance needed to master each new concept. However, there are times when math should just be fascinating. When we should all step back and say “Wow”.
Activity #1: Moving digit cards There was still confusion after the activity described in our last blog. Normal, but corrigible! We had students draw a Place Value Chart on an 11 x 17 piece of paper. Something like this:
Interestingly, this was one of the most difficult lessons we’ve taught this year, both for teachers and students. There are several possible reasons: