Funny: Who says we don't need algebraic thinking?

iPad Apps for the Classroom

Here is a list of iPad applications for the classroom.  Virtual Manipulatives and Math Squared are my favorites for the primary grades.  Enjoy, and "Keep Calm and Do the Math!"
iPad Links for the Classroom 

Uh Oh...She's Drinking the Kool-Aid Too!

Shout out to Ms. Tiffany Jackson!  She is a 2nd grade teacher at my school.  I caught her drinking the "Math Kool-Aid" in big gulps!  Her students are studying Native Americans in their social studies unit.  So, she decided to integrate what they were learning about the Creek and Cherokee into her math centers.  She created some great problems for students to solve.

Notice how she listed names of actual crops planted and utilized by these Georgia Natives?  So actually, these problems are actually similar to real-life scenarios these people would have had many years ago.  This is really rich instruction.  With her permission, I am sharing them below.  Thanks, Tiffany for giving our students quality learning experiences!  

The Celebration

A Native American family of  16 need to plan for a celebration.  They need enough corn, potatoes, and melon to feed everyone.  There should be one ear of corn for each person, 1 potato for each person, and 3 people can share a melon.  How much food should be prepared?

On the Hunt!

Cherokee Native Americans hunt and fish to get many of the things they need.  They trade some of the things from their hunt to get other things they need.  During one week, 5 hunting mates traded 65 deer, 8 elk, and 137 salmon and trout.  What information do you not need to solve this problem?  How many non-fish items did they trade?  How many items did they trade in all?  

*Challenge:  If each hunting mate had the same number of things to trade from this list, what could each person have individually to trade?   

Instructional Tip:  To help students to really make sense of the math, provide manipulatives for them to use as they reach a solution.  Encourage them to solve using pictures, numbers, and words.  

Here's a picture of Mrs. Jackson's Mathematicians!

Fake Fact Fluency, Time with Daddy, & Timed Tests...

I grew up taking timed tests. As a child, my Daddy would sit at the kitchen table every Thursday night and quiz me on my multiplication facts in preparation for "Fact Fluency Friday." Decades later, I cringe at the thought. Was "Fact Fluency Friday" REALLY about fact fluency? Nope.

As a matter of fact, it could have been renamed, "Fake Fact Fluency Friday," or "Memorization Madness." You see, I had my facts memorized, and I made good grades on my timed tests. However, practices such as this came with a cost. In exchange for lots of memorized "times tables," and good grades, this is what I paid...

1. Wasted time! I spent hours doing rote recall when I could have been doing something else more worthwhile. The only time benefit I got from it was time with my Daddy.
2. Stress! There was a looming 5-minute test to answer 50 questions the next day.
3. Deficiency! I had complete memorization, but no strategy. Honestly, I did not develop true and usable strategies until later in my matriculation.
4. Counterproductivity! I had lots of "times tables" memorized, but I was unable to quickly and accurately apply a variety of strategies to solve problems in multiple ways.
5. Quality! In this case, as in many other situations, quantity trumped quality.

Teachers, parents, loved ones...please help our children to develop authentic number sense. They will thank you for it. Check out this article!  Article: Timed Tests and Anxiety

This "New" Math & Teaching the Parents

"We need math books."
"I didn't learn math this way."
"I don't get this new math."

How many times have you heard a parent say one of these statements?  In my heart, while statements such as these sound like criticisms, I like to consider them cries for help.  Most parents truly want their children to be as successful as they can.  So, if we are not teaching with textbooks, worksheets, and flashcards, why give them to parents as they work to help their children?

On that note, I would like to send a "shout out" to a 2nd grade teacher at my school, Mrs. Valarie Amerson.  It all started with a homework assignment.  One of her students refused to solve a problem using the standard algorithm at the request of his parent.  So, Mrs. Amerson decided use part of her parent-teacher conferences to engage parents in authentic, standards-based minilessons!  This is what she had to say...
"During my parent teacher conferences, I have been teaching parents how to do math. I have been teaching them how to use the empty number line and modeling using base ten. I also tell them that students have to be able to explain their thinking. We also talk about how the students are expected to use mental math to solve problems and I show what that looks like. Many of them are shocked at how much math has changed."

 

Wouldn't it be more powerful to engage parents in experiences like this that give them what they need to truly understand the math and help their children to be truly successful with Common Core Mathematics?  There are several sites and resources that would give parents exposure to meaningful math.  Some are included as links on the right side of this page.  Here are just a few more:

• www.georgiastandards.org/Common-Core/Pages/Math-K-5.aspx - an all inclusive bank of Common Core standards, lessons, activities, tasks, assessments...(Hey!  It's what we teachers use!)
• www.khanacademy.com - FREE tutorials, lessons, and activities
• www.teachingchannel.org - videos and explanations
• www.k-5mathteachingresources.com - grade-appropriate activities, problems, tasks by standard
• www.mathpickle.com - videos, demonstrations, activities

I believe that knowledge is power.  As we educators work to build solid mathematical foundations with our students, let's give our parents a taste of the "Math Kool-Aid!"  Trust me, the parents and your students will eventually thank you for it.

P.S. I have decided to start doing Number Talks with the parents who come to my lunch and learn session!  ;)

2nd Grade Teacher Drinks the "Kool-Aid"...and LOVES It!

A 2nd grade teacher at my school began to slowly accept "The Math Movement." She took baby sips of the "Math Kool-Aid" at first. Now, she's gulping it in large quantities! Boy, do I feel like a proud Mama! Kudos to you, Melanie Henderson! Stay thirsty! Here is one of her "lightbulb moments" below!

Standard Algorithm Lightbulb Moment!

"Today, after my class finished math corner and we moved on to the number talk, I brought up how it's important for us to use different strategies to make math problems easier to solve. It was interesting because after I said that, one of my kids said, "Mrs. Henderson, I know why you don't teach us to solve problems with the standard algorithm. If you did, that's the only way we would solve problems instead of using all of these different strategies that we know!" So cool that a seven year old was able to recognize that!! :)"

Need a Laugh?

A fellow math coach sent this to me.  Thanks for the laugh, Mike W!

So...how much was the tip?