Fractions can be a struggle for many students, but it really comes down to understanding them visually. Before we ever teach students the numerals or symbols, we try to show them the meaning of fractions visually in a variety of ways so they can truly understand parts, sets, and wholes. If you’ve ever struggled to teach fractions to your students, this is probably the post for you. Come try these fraction strategies that are usually simple enough for all students to master.
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9 Things To Do During the First Month of School
As a student, I never appreciated the first month of school. It always seemed like we didn’t get too deep into the content and spent a lot of time playing games and doing art projects. It wasn’t until I became a teacher that I recognized how much work teachers do during the first month of school. While we created a list with nine of the most important, there really are so many more that could be added.
[Read more…] about 9 Things To Do During the First Month of SchoolHow to Make Teaching Patterns Painless
For younger grades, teaching patterns seems easier because the use of pattern blocks and colour makes it more fun and interesting. But older grades benefit from finding patterns, too. How do patterns help build math brains? They help teach number sense, develop numerical thinking, and help students make predictions based on what they know. Come learn some of the activities we use to make teaching patterns painless.
[Read more…] about How to Make Teaching Patterns PainlessAmazing Measurement Activities to Stretch Math
Measurement is one of those math strands that requires lots of hands-on activities and practice. While students can learn about the different measurements and units through learning about them, it essentially takes a lot of practice measuring to really understand how all the measurements work together.
We have found that a combination of book learning and reference materials supports students while they use units to measure different items. Read on to learn about some of the different measurement activities we use to help students master the metric system (and other units of measurement).
[Read more…] about Amazing Measurement Activities to Stretch MathHow to Teach Students to Tell Time
Teaching students to tell time is a necessary and difficult challenge, but time lessons are a life skill.
Some people argue that reading analog clocks is a skill that is slowly disappearing. Perhaps one day, digital clocks will completely take over, but for now, they are still around, causing grief for teachers and students around the world during time lessons in math class.
Come learn some of the activities we use to help our students learn to read the time with these time lessons that will save you time.
[Read more…] about How to Teach Students to Tell TimeSpring Classroom Activities To Make You Bloom
Spring is a great time in upper elementary classrooms. By this point in the school year, students understand the routines and things tend to start running smoothly. Of course, there is also the spring fever that tends to creep in and make students a little squirrely as the weather changes. Nothing says spring like the smell of damp socks and slushy halls after recess breaks.
We put together some of our favourite spring classroom activities that we use to keep students learning and moving forward. Come see which of these would work in your upper elementary classroom.
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