Hi everyone, I'm Josie from iWorksheets at Teachers Pay Teachers. I'm a primary teacher with a heart for art! I don't have a blog of my own, but thought I'd try out the blog scene here on Who's Who. To try out great resources for your little learners, check out this Free Sampler Pack. There are seven (7), full size worksheets, with answer keys included, for you to use with your kids. Hey! Can't pass up free worksheets!
In my next post, I will show some of my resources in action. I wanted to give you a heads up so you could benefit now. Have a great week!
Hi everyone, It is Jane Feener back again to share some of my ideas on how to teach fractions. When I first started teaching I found my students always seemed to struggle with fractions so I went looking for ways to help them master this skill. In this post I hope to share some of the fun ways I have taught fractions over the years and include a few freebies to help you and your students.
The first thing I always try to do is give students lots of hands on experiences with fraction pieces and examples found in their everyday life. I talk about chocolate bars, cakes and of course pizza. I also think it is very important to teach students the vocabulary associated with fractions. Words like numerator and denominator need to be taught early.
I am a very visual learner and I always like to show my students lots of pictures of fractions. One way I do this is by displaying anchor charts and posters in my class. Here are some great anchor charts I found on Pinterest. I am not sure who made them so if you did email me so I can give you credit. My students say thank you!
I display fraction posters on the math focus wall for the whole time I am teaching fractions to provide my students with a variety of representations.
A few years ago, I was introduced to interactive math notebooks and I love them. If you haven't given them a try you should. What I like about them the most is that students find them engaging. They love making them their own and they don't seem to consider solving fraction problems in this format work! I love that students have their very own fraction reference guide that they can to refer to when they get stuck on something they are working on. If you decide to give them a try make sure you teach them about how to use white bottle glue correctly.
And finally, I try to make learning fractions fun. I like to have students make craftivities to represent various fractions and complete solve the room type activities to practice using what they have learned in class.
I have even made assessing my students knowledge of fractions fun by using fraction assessment sticks. You can get them here if you would like to give them a try.
I hope some of these ideas help you when teaching your fraction unit.
Hi, I'm Jessica from What I Have Learned. It's great to be back here on Who's Who! Since I've posted here, I've gotten a whole new blog design.
At about this time last year, I wrote a blog post for Who's Who all about how I use sentence frames in Math. Click on the link or the photo to read all the reasons behind why I use specific sentence frames in my classroom.
In the previous blog post, I gave you examples using sentence frames in multiplication. Today, I want to give you a some more examples, but this time using fractions. Here is how we have used vocabulary and sentence frames in our classroom to learn about fractions.
Become Familiar with the Vocabulary
The first day in working with fractions, we made fraction strips. This activity helped students become familiar with the language of fractions though hands on cutting.
We also played a game called Cover Up, where students had to cover up their whole piece with the fractional amount rolled on a piece of dice. While playing, one of the "rules" was that students had to say the name of the fraction, which helped them practice the correct language.
With older students, I have them write their turns to see how like fractions can be put together and how, when it's all added up, it equals one. For my second graders, my main objective was for them to practice accurate fraction vocabulary.
Sentence Frames
After students were familiar with the fractional terms, I introduced the sentence frames.
We practiced saying the sentence frames though choral responses.
Application
After students had a decent grasp of the sentence frames, we practiced partitioning shapes into equal amounts.
We started with precut shapes and folding. As we folded the shape and labeled it, we also use the sentence frames to describe it. Since we were working on two skills here, partitioning and using the sentence frames, I didn't have students take it to writing yet. I really wanted them to get the idea of partitioning fractions and describing them.
The next day, students partitioned their own shapes. We started all together on chart paper. Again, using the chart paper with the sentence frames, we discussed how I was partitioning and shading in the shapes.
Students went back to their desks and, using their math notebooks, drew a large shape, partitioned it, and described it using the sentence frames. I gave students the sentence fames so that they wouldn't get bogged down with the writing.
Students had to draw one circle and one rectangle, although they were able to choose how they partitioned the shape (within halves, thirds or fourths) and choose how to shade in the shape. This last student needed a little bit of help describing her shape, but you can see where the drawing along side the sentence frames helped her understand the concept.
One other game that my students have been playing a lot lately to practice the fraction terminology is Fraction Go Fish. This has been a beloved game in my classroom. Who doesn't love a good game of Go Fish?
Do you use sentence frames in your classroom? How do you use them to help your students understand and use academic language?
For more great ideas on how to teach difficult math concepts and scaffolding learning for students, come visit me at What I Have Learned.
Have you ever tried using lapbooks as a way to help your students learn new material? Last year was my first time giving them a try and I am sold on the benefits of lapbooks.
As you can see I love making them and one of my coworkers even refers to me as the "Lapbook Lady".
What are some of the benefits?
1. One of the main benefits I have found from using lapbooks is that they easily allow for differentiated instruction. So many of the fold-its are open ended activities that allow students to show what they know and work to the best of their ability. You may have one student who will write only a few words or sentences on a topic, while another student will write many sentences and even include diagrams. What I really like is that all students can work on the same fold-it and no one stands out.
2. Another benefit of lapbooks is that they keep all materials together in one place. Before using lapbooks I often had many handouts and booklets that I would copy for my students to use. I found that many of my students would lose their sheets and then spent time looking for them which would often delay the start of our class. The lapbooks because they are bigger are much easier for students to find. I always make them on legal size file folders so that are longer than most other materials in their desks. I usually collect in the lapbooks and store them at the front of the class in a plastic container so they are even quicker to pass out. For me using lapbooks has been a real instructional time saver.
3. In addition, lapbooks are a great reference tool for students. In my math class, I like to use a math workshop model and I have found that in order for students to be able to complete work independently at their desks while I am working with a small group they benefit from having some sort of reference tool. This is where having access to their lapbook on a particular topic saves the day. I find that instead of students approaching me to ask a question they can look for the answer in their lapbook.
4. Lapbooks are very parent friendly. This was an added benefit I discovered from using lapbooks in my classroom. Parents found them helpful when studying with their children. They felt that all important concepts and definitions were easily located in one place. At parent teacher conferences I had many parents say how it helped them to know exactly what their child was learning about in school. Not only have lapbooks helped my students prepare for upcoming unit assessments but I have also been able to use them as a piece of assessment for my own records. Also, many parents commented on how great they thought the lapbooks were as a keepsake for their child. I know on curriculum night my students were so proud of their finished lapbooks and parents loved that they got to take them home.
5. The final benefit would have to be that lapbooks make learning fun. I find my students are so much more engaged in their learning since I started using lapbooks. Making the lapbooks is a hands on activity that is great for the kinesthetic learner.
Why not give give them a try! You can find some of the ones I created here. I would love to hear about your experiences with using lapbooks.
Hi everyone,
