Beat the Winter blahs with Math Games!

Math games are a great way to have students practice a math skill or concept without really seeming to! Kids love to play games and math games are no exception. We play a lot of math games in the small group and I have seen students make connections during play time and become more confident math students because of the games we play. Games are easy to play at home as well. You do not need to go out any buy any materials - all you need are a pair of dice, a deck of cards and perhaps some counters, such as dried beans or coins, to play many math games as well as for fact practice. I sent home to many of my younger students a game/activity to play from the Marilyn Burns, Do the Math, program at the beginning of January. From time to time, I will be sending home math games to play and at the end of the year, I plan to send home a math game packet with ideas for you to play with your child over the summer so that their math skills can continue to be worked on.

I have also added a new website to my blog that I recently discovered called gregtangmath. Greg Tang writes math books that are a lot of fun and that reinforce the concepts. On his website, there are games that can be played that really emphasize number sense and are not just straight math fact practice. Many of the students went on the site and really enjoyed the games!

Hope you have fun beating those winter blahs!!!

Learning Math is like learning a new language.

All languages have their own vocabulary and 

Mathematics is no exception. 

I read this and could not agree more! Math is so much more than just being able to compute numbers. We need to understand what is happening with the numbers and why we add/subtract/multiply or divide them. I read a professional book over the summer called Number Talks by Sherry Parrish. After reading this book, I am now even more conscious of having students talk about their math thinking. This is not only beneficial to them but also to the others in the group that hear their great thinking! I have posted the following in my room:

A Mathematician:

* talks about math

* shares ideas

* explains their answers

* looks for patterns and solves problems

and most importantly...a mathematician makes mistakes!

I tell the students over and over again that it is ok to make mistakes. That we are all learning and that is what is most important!!

It has been so nice meeting many of you these past few weeks. If I did not get to meet you and you would like to call me or schedule a conference, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for the opportunity to work with your children. I learn from them every day!

Summer time math!!

Classroom teachers always encourage their students to keep up their reading over the summer but it is also important for children to keep up their math skills as well. The good thing is that there are so many ways to do this, and it doesn't involve sitting down with a textbook or worksheets. The following are some ideas and activities that you can try. There is really no right or wrong way for any of these activities. The key is to have fun and just keeping thinking about and working with numbers!

Grocery store math - with all those prices and numbers the opportunities are endless. Kids love looking through the fliers! Great way to practice addition, subtraction, decimals and rounding numbers. 

Road trip math - Turn road trips into math lessons. Calculate distances between cities. A good way to practice elapsed time.

Turn children's collections into math lessons - What does 100 look like? Group objects into tens.

Outdoor scavenger hunt - Sort and count items found.

Cook up a math game - How many carrots would you need if you double the recipe?

If there are five people in a family and 35 strawberries to divide equally, how many strawberries will each person get for dessert?

Use take out menus  - What is least/most expensive item on menu? Find all the items that cost between $5 and $10.

2,4,6,8, now it's time to estimate - Estimation is one way to increase number sense. Estimate how many shirts will fit in a drawer or how many games will fit on a shelf? Ask if their answer is reasonable?

Money/coin trade - Give child an assortment of coins. Put a piece of fruit on table and tell child it costs .45 cents. Have them fin 5 coin combinations that equal .45 cents.

Fraction sundaes - Introduce benchmark fractions and have them make a sundae that is 1/2 vanilla and 1/2 chocolate. Or 1/3 vanilla, 1/3 strawberry and 1/3 chocolate.

The following are some Apps that you can check out as well:

Operation Math

Sushi Monster

Quick Math - Arithmetic + Times Tables

Pet Bingo by Duck Duck Moose

Meerkat Math

Math Flash Cards

10Monkeys Multiplication

Math Monsters

Math vs. Zombies

YodelOh Math Mountain

Have a wonderful fun-filled and relaxing summer!!

Math and Reading

"Both reading and math have the same goal -
bringing meaning to black marks on pages" 

(Marilyn Burns)

Recently I was reading Marilyn Burns' (math guru extraordinaire) blog and she was talking about how she incorporated literature into her math lessons when she was a math instructor. I have done this myself and have found it to be a wonderful way to help students understand the math concept. I do not tell the students what the book is about, but rather, have them come up with what math concept is being explored in the book themselves. They always get so excited when they figure this out! Most recently, I used the book The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins to introduce the concept of division to third graders. This year I also used Odd Todd, Even Steven by Kathryn Cristaldi with second graders and Mouse Counts by Ellen Stoll Walsh with first graders. I love using literature because I can refer back to it time and time again with the students and they ALWAYS remember the book! 

Here are just a few books that can be used to help with various math concepts:

One is a snail, ten is a crab by April Pulley Sayre and Jeff Sayre (early numeracy and place value).

Ten Friends by Bruce Goldstone (ways to make 10).

How Big is a Foot by Rolf Myller (using standard units when measuring lengths).

Spaghetti and Meatballs For All by Marilyn Burns (area and perimeter).

Thank you for all you do at home and I look forward to working with the new students that have just started in our small groups this month!

Welcome to my Math Blog!

I love teaching because each year we get to start anew! This past week I started seeing students in their small groups. I really enjoyed catching up with some of my friends from last year and meeting new friends! I look forward to having the opportunity to meet with some parents over the next couple of weeks during your child's teacher conference. If I don't get to meet you, please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or to set up a time if you want to meet.

I am so happy to have the opportunity to work with students in grades 1-5 this year! It is exciting to see and watch students grow as math learners. If you happen to pass my room, you will notice that I have posted Math Myths outside my door. I read a wonderful article over the summer that talked about pre-conceived notions students have about themselves (and others) as math students. I wanted to list these myths for you, in case you don't get to see them:

Myth #1: You are either good at math or you are not.

Truth: Everyone has the potential to be good at math. We can all grow our math brains!

Myth #2: Being good at math means being fast at math.

Truth: Persistence and not giving up are more important than being fast.

Myth #3: Math is all about following a certain set of rules and procedures.

Truth: There are a variety of ways that problems can be solved. What is more important is finding the way that works and makes sense to you.

I believe in the truths behind these myths and will be reinforcing these with my students throughout the year. I look forward to a wonderful year of math and learning together!

THE END OF THE YEAR AND SUMMER FACT PRACTICE!

The year is winding down and the weather has finally been glorious! I have really enjoyed my year with your children. Each and every one of them has worked hard and grown this year! The students often ask me if they will be coming for math again next year. I always tell them I do not know as it depends, which is the reality. Many things are considered when deciding who will get extra math support. The students were benchmarked at the end of this school year and will be again at the beginning of the school year in the fall. Also, if your child was in grades 3-5 this year - how they did on the NYS math test will also play a part in the decision. Keeping up their skills over the summer will help ensure that they are ready for the fall!

If it's a rainy day or you looking for your child to get in some fact practice, go to any of the sites listed here on my blog. If there are particular facts that you are working on with your child to help them master, you can go on APlusMath and go to flashcard creator and create your own flashcards (this might be fun for your child to do!). There are worksheets you could print off and you could go to the game room and click on addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. 

The following is a list of Apps that Marilyn Burns, a former math teacher and expert in the field has recommended. Some of the Apps are free or are available for a nominal price. These Apps are designed to help build fluency. The more fluent (how quickly and accurately they know their facts) will help them as they will not get bogged down by not knowing a fact when trying to solve a problem. And students love using technology!

Operation Math

Sushi Monster

Quick Math - Arithmetic + Times Tables

Pet Bingo by Duck Duck Moose

Meerkat Math

Math Flash Cards

10Monkeys Multiplication

Math Monsters

Math vs. Zombies

YodelOh Math Mountain

Thank you again for allowing me to work with your children this year! Wishing you a safe and wonderful summer!!!

Some facts about math facts...

One of the biggest stumbling blocks for many of the students that I see is learning their math facts. There are two things that we talk about when it comes to math facts. Speed (how quickly they know the fact) and Accuracy (how accurate they are). Did you know that a student is considered to have mastered a fact if they can give the correct response within 3 seconds? This is ideal and what we strive for…but I am particularly concerned about a student's accuracy. I would rather the student take more time, but get the fact correct then to blurt out an incorrect fact quickly. As you know, each year students are expected to build upon their fact knowledge. The following is the expectation at the end of each grade level:

Kindergarten: addition/subtraction of all 0-5 facts

1st grade: addition/subtraction of all 0-10 facts

2nd grade: addition/subtraction of all 0-20 facts

3rd grade: multiplication/division of all 0-10 facts

4th grade: multiplication/division of all 0-12 facts

During our group time, we typically spend the majority of our time working on a math concept and then end the session working on facts. I try to give them different strategies for figuring out their facts and to help them internalize the facts. We also play games like "I have..who has…" or "Around the world".  These are fun ways for the students to work on facts that are troubling them. It is key that your child practice at home. Every student that I work with has been set up on xtramath.org either by their classroom teacher or by myself. This is a great way to practice at home using the computer and working at their level. It is also an alternative way to practice than the traditional flash card way. Whether your child is in the primary grades working on addition and subtraction facts or an intermediate student working on multiplication and division, it is best for students to learn and associate the fact as it fits within its fact family or number bond. For example: 

7+6=13      6+7=13
13-7=6     13-6=7

It is best not to overload your child with too many facts at one time. It is better to have them focus and work on 1-2 facts that are giving them difficulty and then to move on to a new fact once they seem to have grasped the first ones.

Even though it can be frustrating for everyone, staying positive and celebrating your child's success are so important!!!

This week I will be progress monitoring the students. You will be receiving progress reports from me regarding how your child has been doing at the end of January. 

Wishing all of you a wonderful holiday season and thank you for all you do at home!!!