Multidigit Addition

Okay, so we learned different ways, or the names of ways, to answer multidigit addition problems.
-Direct Model is direct model. Haha
-10's is adding by tens. So like for 29+62, it would be 10, 20, 30... 90 + 1 = 91
-1's is adding by ones. So that would be adding through tally marks for example.
-Compensating is like rounding. So for today's problem (29+62) would be like 30+62=92-1=91.
-Incremental was a bit tough for my to understand, but after today I think I have it... Using today's problem (29+62) 62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,80,90,91 orrrrr 29,30,40,50,60,70,80,90,91. Seeing the kids on the video helped. I don't think I'm explaining it well, but its where you break down the number and kinda use a number line.

Manipulative performance assessment is Wednesday... Don't forget!

Thinking ... Thinking ...

So, I can see why fractions are hard to teach to students. Its so hard for me to think of other ways to teach it without teaching the rules. I keep reverting to them in class when we go over it.
Last class, I started understanding what the fractions consisted of. I hope that by the end of class today, I should have a better handle on it.
I'm having a bit of a tough time explaining conceptually in words, still. It is much easier for me to talk about it.
So, my question is how does a teacher go about teaching fractions to the kids who are ready without being confusing?

I R Slacker ... and Sick

So, I haven't posted in a week. Sorry sorry, I've been sick with a pretty bad cold, and it's totally kicking my butt.

Over the class break, we were given a problem to ponder: What is 2/3 divided by 1/4?

Okay, so in order for me to even think about this problem, I had to solve it first. It has been a while since I've done fractions, but I figured it out.

Another way I would have figured out this problem would have been to draw it out on paper. You would see that 1/4 goes into 2/3 evenly twice, but there is a small part that 1/4 can not fit into. However, it is close. You would have 2/3 of that 1/4.

I'm having a tough time conceptually explaining this answer. (That's probably the cold meds.) I' ll try angin .

Remainders

Last class, we learned about remainders last class and what we can do with them.

1. The remainder adds another group
1. For example, the problem we did in class was there is 24 students going on a field trip. Five children fit into a car. How many cars will be needed?
1. You would have four FULL cars, but you will still need an extra car for the other four students. So, the answer is five.
2. The remainder is dropped
1. For example, in the problem: Sarah has 23 cupcakes and seven friends. She wants all of her friends to receive the same amount of cupcakes equally. How many cupcakes will each of her friends receive?
1. You would "deal" a cupcake to each of her friends. Each friend will receive 3 cupcakes. Drop the remaining 2 because they are not needed.
3. The remainder is the answer
1. For example, let's take the previous problem: Sarah has 23 cupcake and seven friends.She wants all of her friends to receive the same amount of cupcakes equally. How many cupcakes will be left over for Sarah to eat?
1. You would "deal" a cupcake to each of her friends. Each friend will receive 3 cupcakes, for 21 cupcakes given away. She would have two left over.

I learned that you can use the remainders for different answers. I didn't know of the options! :)

Math Centers - What I Was Suppose To Learn

The centers that we did were hands on and could be easily adapted to any grade level. Sure, it might take kindergarteners a little bit more time or more of an explanation, but they could get the answer. Fifth graders could do these centers. Some might struggle because of the topic the centers cover (e.g., volume). But, they could easily be made to be a bit more of a challenge if the students find them easy.

But, I learned that centers need to be hands on in order for the students to grasp the concepts better. Also, the centers need to be engaging enough, which they were. We enjoyed ourselves and had fun finding out the answers.

Math Center

So, in class we practive the manipulative assessment practice thingy. That doesn't seem too bad. I'm worried about remembering all of the problem names though. Haha! But, I feel comfortable with modeling direct model and counting model in addition and subtraction. That shouldn't be too bad. I'm good with the extra practive though. Haha! I want to give a handful of my kindergarteners some blocks and a problem and see how they could answer it.

Also, in groups, we did math centers. The math center we did was about volume.Our group thought that this center could be easily given to any age group. The younger grades would probably have a bit of a tough time estimating volume, but they could definitely get the answer. The older grades wouldn't have as much of a tough time estimating.

:]

So, we had our quiz on Monday. I didn't feel so prepared prior to the quiz, but I must have fooled myself! I think I got all the questions right when we were going over them.

Anyways, we watched a couple videos with a couple students and the way they came about answering their questions was phenomenal! All of the derived facts and how to get the answer from there. It was crazy! Very impressive!

I was talking with one of the ladies at my table and she said that her school teaches math the way that we are learning it in class (What's the name??). Anywho, I would love to observe her class and see how it's run! I know that my kinder class isn't taught like that. We use Envision Math. I have yet to see a Math lesson, so I'm curious to see what they are working on. I will have to ask! :)