Skyscraper Templates A while ago I was introduced to Skyscraper Puzzles (I believe they were invented by BrainBashers). I’ll explain below about the specifics of how to play, but basically they are a great way to help our students think about perspective while thinking strategically through each puzzle. Plus, since they require us to consider a variety of vantage points of a small city block, the puzzles can be used to help our students develop their Spatial Reasoning! I’ve written before about how to help your students persevere more in math class and I still think that one of the best ways to do this involves physically and visually thinking about tasks that involve Spatial Reasoning. While I loved the idea of doing these puzzles the first time I saw them, I was less enthusiastic about having these puzzles as a paper-and-pencil or computer generated activity because it is difficult to help develop perspective without actually building the skyscrapers. How to play a 4 by 4 Skyscraper Puzzle:
Counting by Tens off the Decade on a 100 Chart I was planning with my Kinder team today, and the discussion turned to skip counting by tens off the decade. Traditionally, when skip counting by tens was taught, we asked students to count the multiples of ten–10, 20, 30, etc. Counting by tens off the decade involves counting by tens from a number other than a multiple of ten, for example 7, 17, 27, etc.
Splat! - Steve Wyborney's Blog: I'm on a Learning Mission. Welcome to Splat! You are only moments away from a VERY POWERFUL, highly interactive number sense strategy that can be used at any grade level! This post includes 50 (fifty!) free, downloadable PowerPoint math lessons! Watch the video, download some (or all) of the lessons, and experience what happens when you unleash this resource in your classroom! Symbol Additions Puzzles to Print Store About Us Printable Puzzles > Math Puzzles > Symbol Additions These math puzzles require you to figure out which number corresponds to each symbol.
3-Act Task: A kindergarten lesson captured Over the past few months I’ve been asked for videos that capture a 3-Act Task being taught in the elementary grades. I didn’t have any, or know of anyone that has captured an elementary 3-Act except for this Teaching Channel piece. Before moving forward, this post wouldn’t be possible without Dan’s trailblazing skills and introducing us all to 3-Act Tasks. You Down With WODB? Yeah You Know Me! “Which One Doesn’t Belong?” Sounds like a simple proposal, right? When presented with a group of four similar “things,” is it truly easy to answer that question? Thanks to the following people, my classes were able to face this challenge: All of my amazing PLN at #MTBoS, Christopher Danielson (@Trianglemancsd), Mary Bourassa (@MaryBourassa), Alex Overwijk (@AlexOverwijk), Andrew Gael (bkdidact) and @WODBMath, as well as these sites and blog posts: WODB Website, Steve Wyborney’s Blog Post, Alex Overwijk’s Blog Post Part 1 , Alex Overwijk’s Blog Post Part 2 , and Alex Overwijk’s Blog Post Part 3. WODB seemed like a great activity to finally implement on a day that was sandwiched between a test day, and the start of a week-long vacation.
Engaging Math: group sort cards If you want a quick activity that you can use to randomly put students into groups of four, look no further. This activity uses fractions with common denominators and then equivalent fractions to sort students into groups. This could be used with any class where students can add fractions and compare equivalent factions. Snap Cube Activities: Connecting Cube Manipulatives Exploring Snap Cubes Snap Cubes are a versatile collection of 3⁄4-inch interlocking cubes which come in ten colors and connect on all six sides. They are pleasant to handle, easy to manipulate and, although simple in concept, can be used to develop a wide variety of mathematical ideas at many different levels of complexity. Since Snap Cubes come in 10 different colors, the cubes are useful for developing patterns, both one- and two-dimensional, based on color. The cubes can be arranged in a single layer to naturally fit into a square grid pattern, or they can be used to cover positions on a printed grid or game board.
nctm This practical guide includes three 11" x 17" sheets to display the expectations across the four grade bands for each of the five Content Standards: Number and Operations, Algebra, Geometry, Data Analysis and Probability, and Measurement. (eBook) Connecting the NCTM Process Standards & the CCSSM Practices (PDF) Connecting the Standards, Improving Mathematical Instruction By connecting the CCSSM to previous standards and practices, the book serves as a valuable guide for teachers and administrators in implementing the CCSSM to make mathematics education the best and most effective for all students. Linking assessment to everday classroom instruction requires a shift in both thinking and practice. For many, the term assessment simply means grade.
Discerning Decomposition and computational disposition with Archelino: : A dialogue Steven Khan & Sally Rudakoff This article is presented as a research informed dialogue between the two authors. It represents a reconstruction of conversations that occurred over several weeks, in person and via email as we explored the affordances of a wooden puzzle game for scaffolding understanding of the process of decomposition as used in computational thinking (CT) frameworks and computational dispositions in the early years alongside academic readings. We have not identified either one of us as S1 or S2.