Student learning is no accident!
If teaching fifth and sixth graders has taught me anything, it’s that fractions and decimals can be ABSTRACT and TRICKY… and that kids have to be developmentally ready to perform operations on them. The good news is- the standards aren’t encouraging us to get kids to add, subtract, multiply and divide 5/32 and 16/71! We make equivalent fractions as a… Read More
Class Discussion Norms (In my class, these become our Community Norms and replace any “rules”) Equity of Voice: Monitor your airtime. As a group member you are responsible to be a speaker AND a listener. You are also responsible to invite others to speak. Equal(ish) airtime is the goal. Our community values all voices. Active Listening : Eye contact, nodding, being… Read More
Current Events. It’s been done to death. And I get that. What I’m going to share with you is not really about current events. The context just happens to be Current Events- but it could be anything… (so insert your own context!) It’s about academic discussions- conversation. Do kids really know what that is these days? Chances are they do… Read More
Using Sentence Stems and Explicit Instruction for Classroom Discussions Teaching discussion skills can be daunting! You know you want productive, positive discussions… but how do you get there? Here’s some of what works for me! Body Language & Politeness Matter Eye Contact: looking directly at the speaker lets them know they have your attention Inviting Posture: Facing your body toward… Read More
I used to cringe watching students stuff papers into their folders to be lost in the locker abyss… after I had spent so much time thoughtfully providing feedback on their work!! I spend so much time writing thoughtful questions about their math thinking and comments aimed at pushing their scientific curiosity… It was killing me to know that none of… Read More
We have moved on to subtraction with renaming (2.NBT.7). You might call this regrouping… but really- if we think literally about what’s happening- we’re also giving the values new names! 50+10 is a different name for 60. So, renaming, regrouping… you know what we’re doing! What’s Working I’ve been doing a lot of this work with students in small groups…. Read More
It’s DONE!!
The Differentiated Fraction Flashcard Games that I’ve been working on for weeks are finally posted in my TPT Store.
🤷🏼♀️If your students (by chance) are not all learning in the exact same way, on the exact same day- this is for you!
🤯If you are talking about common denominators (again!) and someone just added the denominators... this is for you.
💡Spend some time building conceptual understanding. Meet those kids where they are. John might need the cards with the visual models on them, and Dan might be cool with the bare number cards. Whatever!! They can still play ALL the fraction games. And John might not need the visuals in two weeks.
🤦🏼♀️But if we keep asking him to use that chart 🗃📉📖in his binder to make common denominators instead of building conceptual understanding (AKA addressing the fact that he has no idea WHY denominators matter), then we are not actually helping!
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So... 50% off for the first 24 hours- get ‘me while they’re HOT!!
Common denominators?? What?
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Just a little PSA: It’s not you!! It’s them! Well, not exactly. If you’re teaching fractions now, or will be teaching fractions for months, or are OVER teaching fractions... you might be a fifth grade teacher!😂🤣😂
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And it’s a LONG haul. If I’ve learned anything over the past 15 years of teaching fractions (Right? And a few months is rough??!) it’s that all kids WILL develop a stronger fraction sense... if you let them take their time building conceptual understanding. 🥰🌈
👍🏻(No one ever suddenly understood that multi step problem because I gave them a common denominators cheat sheet)👍🏻
💡Not everyone is going to subtract mixed numbers with different denominators while regrouping this year. They’re just not. And if no one else has told you this yet- THAT’S OKAY!!! 🎁It’s fine. If they aren’t ready, why force them to literally move digits around a page while developing a hatred for math and a negative self-concept?
Those same kids might actually compare fractions and justify their comparisons if we let them!! They *might* be able to explain WHY they made common denominators before adding fractions if we let them. 🥳🤩🌈🦄😍🖐🏻
Watch for a few new #differentiated #fraction posts and products in the next few days! Remember, they’ll be 50% off for the first 24 hours!
