Ninja Notes

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Engaging Lessons

Plotting on the Cartesian Plane During Math Class

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If you are looking for ways to teach the Cartesian plane, ordered pairs or coordinates in your elementary math class, come check out this post full of practical ideas.

The Cartesian plane was named after the mathematician René Descartes. This is now an outcome in the Alberta Mathematics Curriculum and somehow we made it through all our university math classes without needing that information.

The plane is a fundamental tool that can represent relationships between two variables. Most of that goes right over the heads of elementary students, but if you talk to them about the game Battleship, most realize they’ve already been using the Cartesian plane. Come learn how we teach the quadrants and coordinates.

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How to Teach Human Body Systems to Young Scientists

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If you are teaching human body systems to your elementary science students, we've got everything you need to get your unit planned in record time. Come check out these activities, lessons, books, videos and so much more. It's perfect for the new Alberta science curriculum outcomes.

Everyone needs to understand the basic systems that help keep humans alive. The Alberta science curriculum focuses on four main systems: circulatory (cardiovascular), musculoskeletal (bones and muscles), respiratory and digestive. There are many more systems, but this post will focus on teaching these four to your Grade 5 students. Come learn how we teach this unit from beginning to end.

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How to Teach Students About the Earth’s Spheres

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Are you looking for resources to teach students about the Earth's spheres? We wrote some lessons, found some books and videos and put it all together for you in one post. Come have a read and inspire your scientists.

The new Alberta science curriculum asks students in Grade 4 to learn about the Earth’s spheres and how they interact with each other. That meant we got the opportunity to learn about them, too. We pulled together some of the best resources we’ve used to learn about the spheres and the resources we’ve written to help our students.

When we talk about the Earth’s spheres, we refer to the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. We know there are more spheres, but these are the ones focused on in our science curriculum. Learning about the Earth’s spheres helps students understand how our planet survives and thrives.

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How to Teach Integers With Positive and Negative Numbers

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Are you looking for ways to teach positive and negative numbers as part of your integers lessons? We spent time finding activities that can be used to teach, reinforce, practice, review and assess integers in your upper elementary classroom.

In upper elementary, we’re asked to teach positive and negative numbers. This is when we start to refer to numbers as integers, which means reframing math vocabulary for our students. Come learn how we teach integers in our upper elementary math class.

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Ways to Teach Classifying Triangles

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Are you looking for some innovative ways to help students understand classifying triangles? We've put together lessons to teach, review, practice and assess triangles in your upper elementary math class. Come check it out!

Triangles are fundamental shapes in your geometry lessons. Understanding their properties lays a strong foundation for further mathematical learning. Students need to understand measurements of side lengths and angles to classify triangles. Come learn some of the ways to teach classifying triangles in your upper elementary classroom.

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How to Teach Rounding Numbers

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Are your students needing help rounding numbers? We pulled together our best strategies so you can master rounding with your elementary students and get your math class back on track.

Rounding numbers is an important mathematical skill for everyday life. Understanding how to round whole numbers and decimals not only strengthens numeracy skills but empowers students to make informed estimations and calculations. Gone are the days of teachers being able to use the “you won’t have a calculator with your every way you go” as the excuse for learning to round numbers. Instead, students need to understand all the different uses for rounding and how it relates to estimating. Learn how we teach rounding numbers in our upper elementary classroom.

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