I try to mix things up a bit in class to engage the students in lessons that involve more than just a worksheet of practicing skills. I want them to learn math but I also want them to learn to LOVE math. Worksheets are certainly necessary but not every day. Before we left for holiday break, the 4th grade math students were working on a unit on decimals. Adding and subtracting decimals is a necessary skill for 4th graders to master. So we decided to have some fun with that. Here's how... Question that is like a mini-game of Jeopardy. The teacher poses the answer, and the students pose the questions. In 4th grade, that meant kids were creating addition and subtraction with decimal problems after I gave them the answer (which for example, was 24.5.) Then we swapped sticky notes and students had to check each other's work. The errors that the "checkers" found, we put on the whiteboard and analyzed the problem. Students were challenged to share ways to fix the error to make it fit our answer. Another fun way we worked on this standard was to work with a partner, a calculator and a small whiteboard. Students had cards that presented a problem to solve. The whiteboard partner did it with their marker while the other partner solved it on the calculator. The whiteboard partner got a point if they solved it correctly (as checked by the calculator.) If not, the calculator partner got the point. Students took turns with the calculator and continued practicing. A little friendly competition is a great motivator! Math learning is certainly about repetition and practice, but who said it couldn't be done in a fun
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Tracey BeanWerner Elementary Archives
May 2018
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