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 »
Another exciting day of job-embedded learning with students and educators in a primary class. The teacher had just introduced her students to perimeter the day before. – “estimate, measure, and record the distance around objects, using non-standard units”. The students were organized into pairs and given a shape and snap … More Perimeter and Multiplicative Thinking »
A teacher friend told me a story that I thought I would share with you because of the way she capitalized on a mathematical opportunity. Her Grade 1 class was responsible for leading a prayer service. Because of their theme “We are children of light!”, the principal let them purchase … More Capitalizing On Math Opportunities »
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 »
There are 10 Easter baskets lined up in a row. The Easter bunny puts 1 egg in the first one, 2 in the second, 3 in the third, 4 in the fourth. The bunny continues to fill all of the baskets like this. How many eggs were used to fill … More The Easter Bunny Needs Your Help! »
When engaging students in problem solving and I hope you are doing so often, it is important to think about the types of tasks you give them. Which of the following two will give you the most information about your students? Example 1: (closed) Nathan finds 6 pink eggs, 1 … More Easter Egg Tasks »
Some of you who were involved in the EQAO Primary Assessment last year may remember this question. There are 24 students in Mrs. Lowe’s class. She divides the class into 4 equal groups. Make a drawing to show the 24 students divided into 4 equal groups. One of these groups … More The Library Problem – Fractions »
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 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 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 »
