Division using an area model - Excellent alternative for stuggling students.

So you have a student who is struggling with division. They don't get the "standard" algorithm. What do you do?

A.  I keep showing them the standard algorithm until they get it.
B.  I give up!
C.  I listen to their thinking and try to find an alternative that might help.

For those who choose "C," here is an alternative that might help. It leads into the Partial Quotients method favored by Everyday Math.

Friday Funny - A present for you. (12/20)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's Break!

Multiplying and Dividing Integers

Multiplication

Division

Subtraction of Integers

Review: Addition of intergers

This video begins with adding single digit integers, but then extends the idea using a place value model to add integers up to 3 digits.

2nd Friday before Christmas

 

Does anyone do a better job of conveying Christmas Spirit than Charlie Brown?

Absolute Value

Here is some instructional information for Absolute Value. You can use this for your own understanding or review, or use this as part of your instruction for the class.

Site of the Week: Indiana Dept. of Ed.

Hopefully, we all have been to the Indiana Dept. of Ed. website before, but are you aware of all that the site can do for you?

Use LVIS to renew, print off current copy of, or update your Teacher's License.

Find out more information regarding your grades transition to Common Core Standards.

Contact the DOE with a comment or suggestion

Click on "Educators" to find out information on many topics of value to teachers.

Click "Data" to find reports on various types of data about a school or corporation.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Take some time to explore the site as you have the time.

Number Line Activity

Here is a short video that you can use to help you further understand how to do a number line activity.

Note: Remember that if you have the same representation of a number (such as the number 1 and the fraction 4/4, these occupy the same space on the number line.

3rd Friday Before Christmas

Some humor and a Christmas song.

For your listening pleasure...

Site of the Week

Found this resource while looking for a fraction chart. It has some worksheets and some interactive whiteboard pages.

Click here to go to site.

Friday Funny (11/29)

Friday Funny

A lot of truth sneaks in here.

Variables

Short Khan Academy Video introducing the idea of variables.



For a whole list of Khan Academy videos on a variety of topics that deal with different aspects of variables, click here.

Here is a video from Math Is Power for U that deals with like and unlike terms. It includes instruction about the distributive property and factoring like terms.



For more topics on variables from Math Is Power 4 U, click here and scroll down to the section on variables. It looks like this...

If you have any resources you would like to share, you can include them in the comments section.

Site of the Week

Sometimes the best sites are ones that are by teachers in the trenches. This site is from a 6th Grade Math teacher. If you look at what she is dealing with right now, a lot of it has to do with variables.

Here is the site: http://cindywhitebcms.blogspot.com/

Hope you find something useful!

I Can Statements (6th Grade)

Here is a site that has 6th grade "I Can..." statements. "I Can..." statements put the language of Common Core (which is sometimes challenging to understand) into a more student and teacher friendly language. It is helpful for understanding what the learning goal of the standard is and a great tool to post in the room. You can google "I Can Statements" to find other versions.

6th Grade "I Can..." statements.

Friday Funny

Problem Solving PD

Agenda and Problem Solving Sheets

PDF: Standards of Mathematical Practice

UPS-Check Video

Power Point File

Friday Funny - I know you've wanted to do this!

Site of the Week - Class Dojo

Check this one out. If you want more info on this site, get with Mr. Salyers, Mr. Malone, or Mrs. Stagman.

CLASSDOJO.COM

PS: It's free!

Formative Assessment

Neat idea for a formative assessment tool. Video is less than 60 seconds!

Problem Solving - UPS Style

Our 6th grade success time is working on Problem Solving. We are using a 4 point plan, teaching students to

1. Understand the Problem (restate in own words) 
2. Choose a Plan (What strategy will we use?)
3. Carry out the Plan
4. Look back at your answer (Does it make sense?)

In this video, they use also use a 4-step process, called the UPS process.

1. Understand
2. Plan
3. Solve
4. Check 

Sound familiar, or at least similar? Got 6 minutes? Check out the video.

"I believe that if you can think, you can work any problem!" --TeRaze Mickle

A new take on Vocabulary

Here is a video about teaching vocabulary. How do we normally teach vocabulary? We normally pre-teach vocabulary. But is this the most effective way, when very often students have no context in which to understand the meaning. In this video, the teacher uses an activity to "teach" vocabulary after the lesson has been taught. Now the students have a greater context to connect a word with its meaning. Interested in knowing more, check out the video of this 7th grade class in action.

Creating Mathematicians

Standards of Mathematical Practice (SMPs)

If you are not already familiar with the Common Core Standards of Mathematical Practice, you should be! They are 8 principals for that should be used to provide math instruction. They are as follows:

1.       Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them

2.       Reason abstractly and quantitatively

3.       Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others

4.       Model with mathematics

5.       Use appropriate tools strategically

6.       Attend to precision

7.       Look for and make use of structure

8.       Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

In other words, we don’t just want our students to be able to do math, we want them to be mathematicians! We don’t spend 6 years teaching students words and definitions, and then start teaching them to read. Neither should we just teach math skills independently and then suddenly expect students to problem solve. Context is just as important in math as it is in reading. That is why one of the ten principles of Thinking Math is “Base instruction on situational story problems” (#3).

Look at the verbs in the SMPs, Make sense, reason, construct, model, use, attend, make use of, express. These are the actions of a mathematician. These are the challenges that face our students.

 So what might this look like in a classroom? Glad you asked. Below is a video taken from a 3rd Grade classroom, but this type of teaching strategy can be applied in every grade.

Friday Funny

Math Genius!

Vocabulary Skills

Can't leave out the music department! They do an awesome job.

Site of the Week - Your Turn!

I usually get my ideas for a site of week from someone I have had a conversation with, or from another blog, etc. I know that there are many good sites out there.

So here is your turn to contribute. If you have a good site that you know of or frequent, please post a comment below giving the site and any pertinent information about that site. Then when I or others check in, we can see some of what else is out there.

In the mean time, let me start things off this week.

 

getinthefold.blogspot.com Even though the last time this blog was posted in was in 2012, it has some great ideas for teaching reading with foldables. And remember, foldables are not just for elementary students!

And don't forget to share one or more of the sites you use in the comment section below.

Friday Funny

If we could only inspire the desire to do the math to everyone. (And show their work!)

New Reading Level Correlation Chart

Here is another Reading Level Correlation Chart. This one is the OFFICIAL chart, and has been put together by Ryan Glaze (ACS Curriculum Director) and Laura Swain (ACS Reading Coach for 3rd - 5th Grades).

Click here for PDF.

Site of the Week - Share My Lesson (AFT)

This site covers all subject matter and all grades. You should have gotten information about this in your mailbox. This site is provided by the AFT. Great resources for lessons and Common Core information! Click here or on image below for link.

Friday Funny - Taylor Mali

PDS Info from Staff Meeting

Building Relationships with Students

I attended a conference yesterday put on the the Marzano folks. Here is one of the videos they shared about relationships.




"No significant learning can without significant relationship." (-James Comer) (1:07)

This is what Tom Forkner sent out recently. We don't always get appreciated for what we do, but we don't do for the appreciation, do we? (Not that some appreciation wouldn't be nice sometimes. )

 

So even though we don't do it for the appreciation, the appreciation is still a positive thing. Doesn't that apply to students as well?

Site of the Week - Math Is Power 4 U

This site was shared with me by Mrs. Freeman over at Edgewood (5th Grade). She said she uses it a lot. It covers topics from pre-algebra to calculus! So it should be a great tool for a Middle School!

Click here or on the pic to go to the site.

Here is a link to their blog.

Here is a link to their YouTube channel.

Friday Funny - I Choose C

As an added bonus, here is the link to the advertisement mentioned in Wednesday's 6th grade meeting. Yes, this is a real product, not a SNL skit.

ACUITY Reports

Looking for some good data from ACUITY? Then head over to the ACUITY site, sign in, and take a look at the "Item Analysis Report." Once you click on the Item Analysis report, then click on the "Classroom Matrix Report."

Once you have filled in all the info, select "Run Report." This will download an excel file onto your computer. This sheet has a lot of useful information. It not only tells pass/pass+/did not pass for each student, but also gives a breakdown of results by standard! Now you can focus instruction where the weaknesses are for your specific class by each specific standard tested.

The standards are written out above the column for you. Green is good, white needs work.

If you have any trouble getting to this report or understanding any of it, please see me!

Here is a link if you have your sign-in info and want to access ACUITY at home.

Site of the Week - Learn Zillion

You can find a lesson (or more) on any given standard, Math and Language Arts.. Once you sign up (and signing up is free) you can search by grade, domain, and standard. Or you can just type in a topic in the search bar. For instance, if you type in Absolute Value, you might find this video.

Once you have gotten to the page with the video, you can also view the slides the video was created from, comments from the video's creator, see some guided practice questions, and more.

These videos could be part of a Success Time lesson, viewed in the computer lab, set up for a sub.

Agile Mind Alignment with NEW 8-Step Calendar

Click here for a PDF of the Alignment

Click here for a PDF of the updated 8-Step Calendar for Math

Updated alignment to go with the updated calendar.

Friday Funny

How to do a Close Read

Here are some resources on How to do a Close Read.

• Here is a PDF of information found here. 

• Here is a 2 minute and 47 second video about Close Reading. Part 1 (found on the same site.) 

• Here is the 3 minute Part 2 video - Describes what a Close Read looks like in a classroom.

• Here is a video (4 minutes and 22 seconds) that has an example of a Close Read. 

• Another example (10 minute and 46 second) of a 6th Grade Social Studies Close Read.

Site of the Week

Inside Mathematics is a great resource for supplementing Agile Mind. It offers "Problems of the Month" for all grades. Not a "skill and drill" site, but a place where perseverance and precision are required. (CC SMP #'s 1 and 6)

Math Fun

 Try This...

1. Take the 1st 3 digits of your (any) phone number (not including the area code)
2.  Multiply by 80
3. Add 1
4. Multiply by 250
5. Add the last 4 digits of your phone number
6. Add the last 4 digits of your phone number (again)
7. Subtract 250
8. Divide the answer by 2

Did you come up with your phone number?

Try this with your students! Algebra Teachers: Have them show you why it works!

Answer: You took the original number and multiplied it by 80, then added 1 and multiplied the result by 250. In essence, you have multiplied the original number by 20,000 and added 250 to it. Then you add the last 4 digits twice. So your sum at this point is the first 3 numbers times 10,000 and doubled, the last 4 digits doubled, and an extra 250. all you need to do is take out the extra 250, then halve the number. Since the first 3 digits are still multiplied by 10,000, they end up in front, and the last 4 digits are in the final 4 place values.

Success Time - Ratios

More ideas for week 3 (Bar Models and Tables lessons) (Click here for PDF)

Keep in mind that our standard is 6.1.6, "Use models to represent ratios"

Fractions are another model that represents ratios. And clocks are a great way to represent fractions!

 

Reading and Benchmark Info

Click here for a WORD document about Guided Reading. (Courtesy of Laura Swain)

Click here for a PDF of a Guide to your Benchmark Toolkit Materials.

Friday Funny

Posts found on Facebook:

• Lazy people fact #61578246538: You were too lazy to read that number.

• People say that 60 is the new 40. The cop who pulled me over this morning disagreed!

• When food falls to the floor, all the little germs scream, "Let's get it!" while the Mama germ says, "No, we must wait 5 seconds."

• "I" before "E" except after "Old MacDonald had a farm."

• I used to wonder what it would be like to know what other people were thinking. Now that I have Facebook, I am over it!

• I have learned so much from my mistakes, I am thinking about making a few more.

• To whoever invented zero, thanks for nothing!

Lexile Conversion Chart

Link to PDF.

Here is a PDF copy of another Reading Level Correlation Chart from Laura Swain.

Site of the Week

ACS 3-5 Reading Coach has put together a "WIKI Space" with some good resources for reading teachers. I am sure that some of this instructional information applies beyond the 6th grade as well.

Here is a PDF with instructions on how to access the site!

Here is just some of the information you can access on this site.

Thinking Through Multiplication and Division

Here is a video from a 3rd grade class regarding the teaching of Multiplication and Division. One of the reasons I would include this on a site for Middle School is that many of our students are weak in in this area. While facts practice is important, so is an understanding of what multiplication and division is. Looking for patterns, developing strategies (such as decomposing), and building their mathematical sense and confidence are elements that are helpful to include when teaching math to any grade.

Just for Fun

Here is a puzzle I found on the internet. I showed it to my sixth-grade son, and he solved it faster than I did! So no peeking (or googling, or binging, etc.).

If you need a clue, check the first comment. And as it said on the site I found this, "Think openly!"

Friday Funny - Taylor Mali

Standards of Mathematical Practice - Posters

Thanks to Laura Swain for sharing.

Not only is this something that could be posted in the classroom, but little mini-lessons could be built around these principals as well. Both teachers and students need to be aware of these practices and put them into use as we move more and more to Common Core standards.

Click on the example below to link to a PDF of the entire set of posters.

 

 



 

Success Plans

Some of the teachers and paras who do not regularly teach math were asking for some more direction regarding instruction for Success Time. I have taken my lesson plans for the first week of Success Time and have added some additional instructional information to make them easier to follow.

Update 9/12/13: I have adjusted the PDF file to correct a couple of typos in the worksheet and also to lower the numbers used in the problems. In giving instruction, I felt that using the larger numbers interfered with the students ability to understand desired learning goal.

Standard 6.1.6: "Use Models to Represent Ratios"

Link to PDF of lesson plans for 1st week of Success Time. These could easily be used for week 2 plans for someone who has not covered the material in this manner.

Hope you find this helpful!