As a follow-up to the lesson I posted yesterday (See: Diagnostic: Mode, Median & Mean) we gave this question to the students: The number of goals scored by a hockey team are as follows: Game 1: 4 Game 2: 2 … More Stay Tuned For “Mean” »
Reflection Questions How might using Big Ideas impact how I plan? How might we as educators help students see things from a proportional reasoning perspective? Do you have a full range of manipulatives appropriate to grade level curriculum in your classroom? Do your students have access to these manipulatives for … More Teaching to Big Ideas – Proportional Reasoning »
Recently I spent some time in a primary math class. We gave the following question adapted from Dr. Marian Small’s Open Question resource. I have 4 coins. What might they be? What are the possibilities? After the students spent some time coming up with several possibilities we consolidated by asking … More Four Coins Investigation »
Working one-on-one with students who are demonstrating a fragile sense of number are opportunities I greatly value. I always approach these times from an inquiry perspective, looking for clues to help me understand their struggles. Often they are demonstrating many strengths in some areas, but something is keeping them from … More Understanding Relationships Between Quantity and the Patterns Within Our Number System »
Recently I received the following question from a Kindergarten educator: Why do I get the feeling that natural materials are better than commercial ones for math? I do the exact same activity with materials we have in the classroom. Do the students actually learn more about math through the natural … More Natural vs Commercial Math Materials »
I love games that require very little preparation and materials but really focus on important math concepts and skills. Here is one that will allow students to identify different coins and understand their value. In addition they are developing an understanding of equal groups and unitizing … More Money Race Games »
Recently a primary teacher asked me for suggestions for hands-on activities for balance and equality. As I mentioned in a previous post we have a tendency to focus more on patterning and less on algebra, but here is a Grade 1 teacher understanding the importance of moving beyond. In … More Understanding Equality Using Pattern Blocks »
Observing people of all ages enthusiastically engaging in mathematical tasks is what fuels my passion for the work I do. I had such an experience recently at a K-8 elementary school on a PA Day. Last year I had been involved in a Ministry of Education Spatial Reasoning Inquiry and … More A Spatial Reasoning Task Using Pentominoes »
