I'm a little late this morning with my post...life happens.
There are two versions of each unit test in our math curriculum. I use one as a pretest and one as a post test. My students didn't know very much about statistics at the beginning of this unit. I received a lot of question marks, "I don't know", and "I don't know yet." (Thank you Growth Mindset.)
One student circled the words statistical question on the first page of the test and wrote, "Why is this a thing?"
And then there was the response shown above (edited so you can read it):
"Mountains have gaps and peaks. More out = outlier. A cluster of donuts. (Hey, I haven't the faintest idea. :)"
I hope he doesn't answer this way on the SBA this month.
This year I am teaching sixth grade math to a group of fifth grade gifted students. One of the units in our curriculum taught basic operations of fractions and decimals. It was a cumbersome unit, so I took it apart by skill and made sure my students knew their strengths and weaknesses.
I created this document for students to keep track of their progress throughout the unit. I would give a pretest, reteach small groups using whiteboards, and then retest to ensure mastery.
To download Basic Operations of Fractions and Decimals Self-Assessment, please click here.
Right now I am teaching a sixth grade algebra unit to my fifth grade gifted students. I am creating several sets of exit tickets for quick formative assessment. Today I want to share with you my set of exit tickets for combining like terms.
I call them exit tickets, but they could be used at the beginning of a lesson to assess what students already know or as small group work for struggling students.
To download Combine Like Terms Exit Tickets with answer key from my Google Drive, click here.
Think of this as a different version of the Dot Game, where players take turns drawing lines between dots trying to complete as many squares as possible.
In this version, players claim dots by calling out the coordinates for a particular point.
When a player claims the fourth point of the square, they color in the square. The player who colors in the most squares wins.
(Note: when we played this in class, one of the students asked if they could create any sized square and claim the area inside the square. After experimenting a little, we decided that you had to claim the smaller squares on the board.)
I have printed out half a class set of this board, put it in a plastic cover, and we use dry erase markers for reusable game boards.
Claim is a free game available in Artistry of Education @Teachers Pay Teachers.
One of the key math concepts in fourth grade is placing fractions and decimals on a number line. It helps to have a strong visual model the students can manipulate. I realized that I already had a class set of number lines I could use for the activity: meter sticks.
Meter sticks are a way of representing tenths, hundredths and thousandths. One meter stick is the whole. Each decimeter is a tenth, each centimeter is a hundredth, and each millimeter is a thousandth.
(You can purchase 12 meter sticks by clicking the affiliate link below.)
I started with modeling half. Students could visually see that I had marked half way across the stick. Fourth graders know that 50 is half of 100 so the clothespin marked the 50 cm point.
Next, I marked the tenths. On one side of the clothespins I have tenths in fraction form. On the other side I marked the equivalent decimal.
I made additional clothespins with fifths, fourths, and eighths. On the other side of each I marked the equivalent fractions. I am using this tool as an independent station for some students and an intervention for others.
Last Friday, I shared an Odd One Out freebie with support for ELLs. Today's freebie for Friday is Odd One Out Place Value.
To download Odd One Out Place Value, click here.
Odd One Out is a small group activity where students discuss which number of a set of four doesn't belong. They must justify it with mathematical reasons. I designed the activity for students to practice their math vocabulary, first orally and then in writing on a group chart.
For this lesson, I would make sure that students have access to base ten blocks to see relative amounts. For ELL students, I would make sure they know the words: tens, ones, and hundreds place.
Odd One Out Measurement is available in my Teachers Pay Teachers and my Teacher's Notebook stores. There are six activities for the metric system and six for conventional measurement. I included a bonus scavenger hunt activity to use as an in class station or homework page.
Happy Friday!
Earlier this year I covered a maternity leave for an English Language Learner teacher. A few years ago, I had learned G.L.A.D. strategies for helping students acquire language. Recently I finished the S.I.O.P. training to get even more tools to teach this population. As a result, I have been reviewing many of my products in my Teachers Pay Teachers and my Teachers Notebook stores and creating new resources.
English Language Learners need as much practice as possible reading, writing, speaking, and listening in English. When I design small group activities, students have more opportunities for interaction.
Odd One Out is an activity I developed for students to practice their math vocabulary. A group of three or four students gets a half sheet like the one shown above and students discuss which number does not belong. They record their answers on a sheet of notebook paper--one per group.
How I would adapt this lesson for ELLs is to make sure they know what vocabulary words they need to use. For the sheet above in a fourth grade classroom, I would have them work on factor, multiple, prime and composite. This ensures they practice the academic language used in Common Core.
To download a freebie with four activities like the one shown above, please click here.
My full Odd One Out product is available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store and my Teacher's Notebook store.
This 22-page packet has 16 geometry sets, 22 number sets, and 6 money sets.
Happy Friday!
Yesterday, Artistry of Education reached its thousandth post. To celebrate I am offering a week of digital swag. Each day will be an activity designed for upper elementary students with the theme of 1000.
Today I wrote a series of math story problems that require a factor pair of 1000 for the answer. To download these problems from my Google Drive, please click here.
See you tomorrow for more digital swag.
Here is an activity that I use with students who have learned how to work with fractions, but need practice. I allow them to use any strategy they need to in order to compare, add, and subtract two fractions.
Students receive the half sheet shown above and find equivalent fractions with like denominators. Next, they show which fraction is greater, then add, and then subtract the two fractions. The finished paper would look something like the figure shown below.
To download four "Compare, Add, and Subtract Fractions" activities, please click here. I have included an answer key to save you time.
To purchase my expanded version of "Compare, Add, and Subtract Fractions," please visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store or my Teacher's Notebook store.
Happy Friday!
Most upper elementary students enjoy collecting data from their classmates and displaying that information in a graph or chart. Here is a data collection activity where students survey their classmates about their favorite lunch and then create a bar graph with that information.
Students could use these forms to collect data in other classrooms and compare results.
To download the free printable forms for this activity, please visit my Google Drive here.
Happy Friday!
