Measuring surface area continues to be a challenge for many students in the junior grades. Recently someone was asking me about this, so here are a few thoughts. EQAO Problem: The container of popcorn shown is in the shape of a rectangular prism. What is the smallest amount of paper … More Understanding Surface Area »
Recently, I planned and implemented this probability lesson in both a Grade 5 and a Grade 3 classroom respectively. This is a example of a lesson that could be used in any Primary/Junior classroom and would also be an easy game to send home for students to play with family … More Probability – Lucky Numbers »
Here is a different “best deal” problem! In my daughter’s Grade 5 classroom we adapted a Patterning & Algebra problem that was shared on Twitter thanks to Michael Sloan. For your birthday, you have decided to take your friends to play Laser Tag. You have two choices. Super Laser offers … More Birthday Party Best Deal »
I was not planning on writing a post on Easter Sunday, but some real-life math occurred while preparing for dinner. I am sharing here what I posted on my Math Motivator Facebook page. My ham is 5.49 kilograms. The instructions say to cook it 12-15 minutes per pound or … More Easter Math »
Recently I was in a Grade 6 classroom and the teacher gave this problem to her students to solve. Mrs. M is planning on cooking a turkey. She read online that it takes 20 minutes to cook 500 grams of turkey. The turkey weighs 9.75 kilograms. About how long will … More Proportional Reasoning – Time For Turkey »
Recently in a Gr 3, 4, 5 classroom we gave the students this question: Students are learning about insects. They discover that an ant has 1 body, 2 antennae and 6 legs. They each make a model. How many bodies, antennae and legs will they need for 5, 10 and … More Ants! Ants! Ants! »
Recently I had the opportunity to work in a Grade 6 classroom as they began a unit on division and multiplication. The teacher gave the students the following problem from the Ministry support guide (division) to begin. The purpose for that day was to see what the … More Proportional Reasoning – Division »
When it comes to math, I have mixed feelings about success criteria at times. Yes, I believe that it is important for students to know what they need to do in order to be successful, but if we want students to solve problems in a way that makes sense to … More Success Criteria – Timing is Everything! »
I love problems that provide authentic opportunities to cluster several big ideas. Recently, I was in a classroom where the teacher gave the following problem to his students. Tia is filling a bucket with water. She knows that 500 ml of water comes out of the hose every 10 seconds. … More Proportional Reasoning – Measurement »
With our focus on proportional reasoning many educators are discovering that it is everywhere in our math curriculum. Once we become aware of this we know what to look for and listen for so that we can impact students’ fluency and flexibility with numbers. Recently, I gave the following problem … More Proportional Reasoning and Area »
