Sunday, June 30, 2013

Sizzle Math Problem Solving



Why?!  In my experience, students are being taught the how to solve a problem using the standard algorithms, but not the why and a variety of methods for arriving to a solution.  For many math concepts there are many ways to arrive at the correct answer.  As a student myself, I feel that teachers are reluctant to teach different methods because they were not taught that way and might feel nervous teaching something they are not familiar with. 

Math is a thinking process not just memorization.  Students look at math as a bunch of formulas to memorize instead of making sense of it.  Students should be allowed the freedom to solve problems in their own ways as long as it will work consistently.  Allowing students to share their thinking and methods could be beneficial to other students and even yourself as a teacher.  I myself have walked away from lessons with students being amazed by their thinking and variety of approaches they take to solve the same problem.    
Students are lacking the ability to think through and problem solve.  They are also lacking confidence in their abilities in math and thinking process.  Students look at math as meaningless and they are not seeing how it relates to them and life.  Teachers should guide students through the process of becoming thinkers, make math interesting, and relate it to everyday life.  There is so much out there!




It is always fun to hook students in by incorporating fun songs, chants, raps, and riddles to get the whole brain engaged.  Here is an entertaining rap to introduce steps for math problem solving. 

Sizzle (For Math Problem Solving)

Hey 5th graders, (Hey What)
Hey 5th graders, (Hey What)
Let me show you, show you,
How to Sizzle, Sizzle
How to Sizzle Sizzle

First you read it read it
(First you read it read it)

Then you plan it plan it
(Then you plan it plan it)

Then you solve it solve it
(Then you solve it solve it)

Then you Sizzle, Sizzle
Then you Sizzle, Sizzle

Ssssssssssssssssssssss! 

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Math Masters

I have enjoyed being a fifth grade math masters coach for the past two years.  The eagerness of my students has been contagious!  I have spent time researching fun activities that I can incorporate into our team practice sessions.  

The areas that I focus on with my teams are fact drills, order of operations, fractions, problem solving, and team work.  Here are a few things that I have created or found online from others.  

This is one of the hands on activities I made for my order of operation lesson plan. The students' start with no clips on the circle and once they work out the problem they clip on the correct answer. I then had them take a picture of them once they were done so I could correct them later.

These circles that I made let my Math Masters students inform me that they were still working or done with an assigned math problem. One of my students liked to yell several times that she was done with the assigned problem. I found this to be distracting to the other students that were still working and even to myself. The circles provided a way for my students' to tell that they are done with the problem but in a way that was not distracting to the other students and myself.
My students loved warming up for practice by playing I Have Who Has.  I passed out the cards evenly to all the students and let them play.  This game kept them on their toes by making them pay attention to what was being said and made them quick with their fact recall.    

Friday, June 28, 2013

Estimation Counts


Estimation is a great math skill that teachers need to make aware to their students.  Estimation is part of our everyday lives.  An estimation article from My Learning SpringBoard states the importance of estimating skills:
 1. “We want students to be able to determine the reasonableness of their answer.”
 2.  “We want students to be able to use mental math to more quickly arrive at a reasonable ballpark solution.”
 3. “We want students to use estimation beyond adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing.  We also want students to be able to reasonably estimate time and distances.”
As a future educator, I am always on the search to make learning math fun and relatable to everyday life.  One activity that I would like to incorporate into my estimation unit is estimation jars.  These estimation jars would be filled with various items and students would have the chance to estimate how many items are in each jar.  This would be used as a fun attention getter to start out an estimation unit. 

When possible tying in literature into a math unit is beneficial.  I found a few estimation books at various levels each with their own focus that would be a good edition to an estimation unit.  Further digging or research may be helpful for making additions to this list.   

Rounding is an important skill that students need to be taught first before moving onto estimation.  Here is a fun rap to introduce rounding! 



Helpful Resources



Technology has opened doors for teachers to share ideas with others.  There is so much out there!  So many teachers do amazing things and they are willing to share.  Technology is an important part of our teaching and our students’ futures.  Using technology in your classroom can transform your teaching and also make learning fun and exciting for your students.  There are so many educational videos for your students to watch and interacting sites for your students to be involved with.   Here is a list of a few online recourses that I currently use as a student and will continue to use as a teacher.      
Pinterest
Pinterest is a very fun and exciting site for everyone. It is great for current and future teachers. Pinterest provides great educational activities, websites, and videos. It also provides great ways to decorate and organize classrooms. This site is very fun and addicting!
Ixl
Ixl is an interactive math website for elementary and middle school students. It provides question that follow the state standards. Teachers are also able to track student's progress over time. 
Teachers Pay Teachers
Teachers Pay Teachers is a great site where teachers can share, buy, and sell their creations.  The materials are created by teachers who are actually in the classroom, which ensures that the materials relevant.  This site also allows teachers to be a part of a larger community of educators outside of their school district. 
YouTube or TeacherTube
YouTube has matured into a great resource for teachers.  Teachers can find a vast amount of videos to show to their class or use as a tool for themselves.  Using videos in your classroom can keep your classroom engaging and new.   
Minnesota Department of Education
This is the Minnesota Department of Education site.  It offers information on Minnesota state standards, testing, curriculum, sample items for state testing, and much more.  Teachers should keep this site on hand for easy access to current state information and recourses. 
Fun Brain 
Fun Brain is a great site for teachers to use.  It provides free interactive educational games and online books for students in preschool through eighth grade.  These games and activates help develop strong math and reading skills.