Teaching Fractions

I love teaching fractions! They can be a challenge to start, especially if you have a class that struggles with whole numbers. My current class does not have great number sense, so I knew that I would be in for a challenge when I started this unit last week.

Where to start?
I always use a number line to get my class thinking about what a fraction is. I draw a HUGE number line on the white board that spans from 0 to 1. I ask my students questions and we have a meaningful discussion like:

1. What numbers go between 0 and 1?
2. Where would 1/2 go on the number line?
3. How many numbers fit between 0 and 1?

Based on how those questions go, I can ask more in-depth questions like:
4. Can you think of a number that goes between 0 and 1/2?
5. Where would a number like 1/10 go?
6. How much is 1/4? (Hint: Remind them to think about how much one-fourth of a dollar is. Usually kids realize it's 25 cents so they know it's less than 1/2)

The next thing I do is pass out construction paper with a circle shape traced on it. I have my students cut out their own pie to use. Instead of giving them pre-made fraction tiles, I have found kids are more successful when they have to manipulate and create the manipulative themselves.

          

I have kids use rulers to divide their pies into fourths. Next, we divide our fourths in half so we have 8 pieces of the pie total. We cut out the pieces and leave them on our desks. I have them use these
throughout the lesson and they LOVE it!

                

I'll ask questions like,
- Can you show me 1/8 of the pie? If you have eaten only 1/8, how much is still left?
- What does 3/8 look like? If you add 1/8 onto it, what do you have next?
  (Some of your high students may explain that 4/8 = 1/2, which can lead into a nice and organic discussion about equivalent fractions).

I have kids then turn to a partner and ask their partner questions:
- Can you show me 6/8 of the pie?
- If you have 8/8 pie and then take away 3/8, how much is left?

         

The third thing I do is have kids make a number line on their desks using blue painter's tape. With a Sharpie pen, we mark up 0, 1, and 2 on the number line. Using individual post-it notes, I have kids place where 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 are on the number line. If kids are ready, I might ask them about a mixed number like one and 1/2. But usually, I wait a couple of days for that.

We keep the painter's tape on our desks ALL WEEK! I let kids do gallery walks, partner work, etc, and walk around working with a partner to plot more fractions on their number lines.

At the end of the week, I reference my huge number line on the board. I have kids come up, one by one, with a post-it note. On the post-it is the name of one fraction, such as 9/10. I have the rest of the class watch as their classmate plots the number on the board. If they agree with where he/she puts it on the number line, we give the student a thumbs-up. I do this until every student has come up! I usually do denominators of 2, 4, 8, or 10 to keep it fairly simple. But since you know your class the best, do what you think they need!

:) Thanks for reading my post. Happy fractions to you!

Teaching Explanatory/Informative Writing

School is just around the corner! I'm experimenting with some new explanatory/informative charts. I'm going to color code the necessary parts of the Intro Paragraph to help my 4th graders write their own explanatory intro paragraphs. 

I'm starting with this chart and labeling the Hook, Background Information, and Topic Sentence. I'll be doing a mini-lesson on all 3 of these components.

Next, I'll model how to write a hook, relevant background info about my topic, and a topic sentence. I'll spend the majority of my time discussing the topic sentence since this will guide me with my body paragraphs (and research!). Kids need to understand what a crucial element of the essay the topic sentence will be. My Intro poster will look something like this: 

I'll hang up both posters side-by-side for a nice visual to help my students out.
Note: The Hook is underlined in pink! The Background Information is underlined in yellow! Lastly, the Topic Sentence is underlined in green. I will have my own students do this to their rough draft intro paragraphs as well.

At this point in the process, I plan to do writing conferences with my students. I want to personally approve each topic BEFORE kids try to do any research... sometimes, students have unrealistic expectations of topics they can research or they lack focus. I talk a lot about having 3 key ideas they want to focus their research on and turn into their 3 body paragraphs.

If you're looking for a good FREEBIE lesson, check out my Hook Lesson on TpT

If you need a good Common Core Explanatory/Informative lesson, I sell a monument lesson on TpT.

I also have a bunch of grade-specific Common Core Writing Bundles for all 3 writing genres. You can click here to see my 5th grade writing bundle. 

It's summer! Time to revamp my lessons for the upcoming year! I love feeling refreshed with some time off because it gives me some clarity to get the creative ideas flowing. 

In August, I cannot wait to try this with my new group of students:

As soon as we begin our read-aloud (Day One), I want my students to be critically thinking about what we read. I hope to turn my 4th graders into curious thinkers who question everything. For instance, I want them to question the main character in the book. What are your motives? Why did you do (x, y, or z)? Why did you respond to the antagonist by saying that? How are you feeling about the conflict in the story? 

First, I want my students to generate 1 good question for the protagonist. They will write these on sticky notes. I'll have them come up one by one and put them onto my chart. I'll have the class gather on the carpet to share aloud some of their great questions.  

Next, students will pretend to be the protagonist as they respond. They will respond to the same question they each asked, using the POV of the character. I love that this encourages students to infer as they're reading by making educated guesses. 

Here is a sample question a student wrote to Karana in Island of the Blue Dolphins. Below, you can see Karana's response. 

 

Keeping Kids Awake while Teaching Math... My Latest Trick Works!!!

How do you keep your kids engaged when doing Common Core math review? I like to turn their problems into a walking and learning activity... 

On a chart paper, I write the review problems (fairly large, for viewing purposes).

Next, I cut the problems up into individual questions. Then, I walk around the room and tape them in various locations. Sometimes I post them on the inside of the door, windows, the white board, on my teacher desk, etc! 

Kids get to walk around the room with clipboards and solve each problem individually (or in pairs). During this activity, I pull a small group of struggling students so they get the hands-on review they need. I ask kids to spread around the room and start at number 4 or whatever so everyone is not congregating around the same problem.

My class LOVES it and begs for "Clipboard Math" now...

Try it out! :) 

I've been teaching the Common Core Explanatory/Informative Writing Genre... and learning about the art of teaching students to write good research reports without PLAGIARIZING!!

How are you teaching explanatory/informative writing?

Have you noticed students struggle to take notes from their various sources? My 4th graders are using many great websites, books, and encyclopedias for their reports. However, some students are borrowing more than 3 words in a row... I keep reminding them this is not allowed (unless they're using a direct qutoe).

We did the following activity: Each group of 4 students had to rewrite 2 sentences I pulled directly from our science textbook. They could use a thesaurus to help them! All my kids were SO engaged during the lesson and many even came to realize they had accidentally been plagiarizing their reports.

This next week, we'll be revising our research reports by taking out any plagiarized sections!

If you need a Common Core informative/explanatory lesson, check out my monument lesson from TpT.

 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/InformativeExplanatory-Common-Core-Writing-Lesson-1125643

Back Up and Running... Here Are Some Fraction Word Problem Strategies

Hello Everyone!

It's been awhile since I blogged. It's time to get back at it! I've learned so much about the Common Core standards in the past year or two. It's been a really rich learning experience for me. My fourth graders have become quite proficient mathematicians with the CCSS standards. I just LOVE how their number sense has improved drastically...

Check out some of my student work below. Here they are showing off multiple strategies for solving fraction word problems.

The problem asked them,"If a boy ate 3/4 cups of blueberries each day for 2 days in a row, how much did he have total?" As you can see, my student rounded 3/4 down to 2/4 to solve it (he used relational thinking). Then he rounded up to 4/4 to solve it. He then added or subtracted by the correct amount to get his answer. This was a very unique method to solving the problem. Most kids did 3/4 x 2 or they did 3/4 + 3/4. I was impressed with Zach's critical thinking.

Another problem asked kids, "If he enjoyed 3/4 cups of blueberries for 9 days total, how much did he have in all?" As you can see, the first child did both multiplication and a number line strategy to solve this. The second student multiplied 3/4 by 8 and then added on the extra 3/4s. He also did repeated of addition of 3/4 for 9 times until he found his solution. I love the variety of strategies!

Here is what my bulletin board looks like now! We're showing off a variety of strategies for the 2 problems from above. The kids enjoy learning from one another. They know they're allowed to go up and un-pin another student's work for the day (as long as they replace it later) and try using another student's method to solving a fraction word problem. It's a very neat interactive bulletin board.

Common Core Math

This week was fabulous! My fourth graders and I completed our second week of school. I'm having a blast with my new students as I'm learning about their learning styles and needs.

For math, I told my students, This year's math class is going to be quite different from third grade. They definitely agree that it feels different! And I can tell by their level of engagement that they are loving it so far.

I taught math this week using only chart paper and playing cards. That's right! We haven't cracked open a math book or workbook yet. My students are showing their work in a spiral journal.

Here's what I did yesterday:

I put students into groups of 2. Each group got a total of 6 playing cards.

Once students had their cards, they had to arrange their cards to make the largest number possible. Hence, the photograph above! Next, they had to arrange their numbers from least to greatest. We talked a lot about place values in our pairs, identifying what each card represented.

Next, the pairs of students had choice. They got to select 2 cards to make a 2-digit number. They then selected 2 other cards for a second 2-digit number. They subtracted the smaller number from the larger number and showed their work in their spiral. We reviewed the process of borrowing numbers as a whole group.

After reviewing subtraction, we moved on to adding. I had students take 3 of their cards to create a 3-digit number. They created a second 3-digit number with the remaining cards. Then they added their 3-digit numbers together and discussed their work in pairs. We talked a lot about carrying to the next digit as we added numbers together.



Every child was engaged and excited! I circulated around the room to check on students who needed assistance. After completing the exercises, I gave the students choice and asked them to challenge themselves. Pairs who felt ready to multiply grouped their cards in 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication and solved their problems. I let them check their work with calculators. My math geniuses asked if they could do 3-digit by 3-digit multiplication, so I allowed them to push themselves and try it.

I had my other students challenge themselves wherever they felt comfortable. Some of my kids chose to rearrange the cards into more addition problems while others chose to focus on subtraction. They loved having some creative choice in the lesson and everyone was working at his/her own level! The hands-on component of the cards truly made such a difference. I can't wait for math next week! :)

Another math lesson I did yesterday included our "number talk." I had my students sit on the carpet at my feet while we contemplated and discussed the fraction 3/4. I asked them questions like, "Is 3/4 big or small?" We had a great discussion about it as a class. Some kids said, "It's tiny!" while others argued it could be colossal! Ryan told me, "It depends. 3/4 of a dollar is small, it's only 75 cents. But 3/4 of the world is huge! 3/4 of the world's population would be billions of people!"

I also asked students to imagine 3/4 on a number line. I asked, "Where does it go on a number line?" One girl said, "Between the 3 and the 4." I asked her, "Is 3/4 bigger than 3?" She admitted, "No." We then decided it would go between the zero and the 1 on a number line. Rosie even offered up, "3/4 is also 0.75 as a decimal, like 75 cents of a dollar."

Here is our math talk poster from the lesson!