Personal Learning Path

 Hi All, I recorded my first lesson and it was on multiplying a decimal number by a 2 digit whole number.  It went so much better than the last lesson I taught to the class!   The night before I gave the lesson I decided to make a slideshow and I am so glad I did.  It really helped me stay focused and remember what I wanted to say.  I used speaker notes on the slideshow which was very handy.   Here's a bit of my lesson: I started off by asking the students to raise their hands if they get money for doing chores each week.  I had up the smart board the first slide which had the following on it:  If Charlotte saves $ __.__  a week, how much will she have saved in  ___ weeks?   I told the kids that I will be picking someone at the end of the lesson that is on really good behavior to fill in the blanks and do the equation on the board.   I recalled their background knowledge by showing an example of multiplying ...

  Factor Game Grade: 3rd to 5th, 6th to 8th NCTM Standards and Expectations Number and Operations 3-5 Number and Operations 6-8 Practices Perseverance Reason abstractly and quantitatively You can make your own on a piece of paper using numbers in increasing order or you can find the game on NCTM.org ( Factor Game ).  The game on NCTM.org allows you to choose how many columns and rows you would like to have.  It also gives an option to play against the computer or with another opponent.   Player 1 chooses a number on the game board by clicking on it. The square will be colored blue, as shown for 12. Player 1 receives 12 points for this choice. Player 2 then clicks on all the proper factors of Player 1’s number. The proper factors of a number are all the factors of that number, except the number itself. For example, the proper factors of 12 are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6. Although 12 is also a factor of 12, it is not considered a proper factor. All of the proper factors that...

 Hi! Not every lesson is going to go as well as we want it to go.  I experienced this last Friday.  I taught a lesson on multiplying decimals by tens. Here’s my reflection:  - Not all lessons are going to go the way we plan or think they are going to go.  - I tried using the projector over a piece of paper that was projected onto the smart board.  I learned that I don’t enjoy doing a full lesson this way.  I like standing up in the classroom.  I also felt that by sitting I couldn’t see all the children in the class.    - I got distracted by one child who had a strategy different than the one in the teacher manual and spent too much time on that.  His method did not come up with the correct answer.   During the time I was trying to figure out his strategy, the rest of the class started to get disruptive. Things I need to do differently next time:  - I won’t be sitting for long and using the sheet and projector....

 Hi there! We are still working with decimal numbers.  Today my coordinating teacher taught division of decimal numbers and yesterday she taught multiplication of decimals.  Friday before the break I taught adding and subtracting of decimals.   Here's some info on the lesson my coordinating teacher did on multiplying decimals.  She had a plain piece of paper that she projected on the smart board.  Students had their math notebooks out and were told to write multiplying decimals at the top of a new page.   She started by showing an example or two of multiplying decimals.  She showed how multiplying decimals is the same as multiplying whole numbers and carefully showed how to move the decimal.  She noted how you need to count the number of decimal points to have in your final answer.   For example .1 x .13 = .013   The decimal is over 3 from the left based on counting three total places for .1 and .13.   ...

 Post 5 On Friday I taught a lesson on adding and subtracting decimals.  It was my first lesson where my coordinating teacher observed me.   I planned out the lesson the night before.   Standard 5.NBT.7 I had up on the board 1, .1, and .01 magnetic discs.  Students had their math notebooks and math textbooks.  Books were closed to start. I said to the students, "Yesterday you learned about rounding decimals and today you will learn how to add and subtract decimals." To draw on prior knowledge I then asked and pointed to the 1, .1 and .01 and asked them what they represent.  Then I asked,  "When do you think we may need to add and subtract decimals?" The discs I had on the board equaled 2.63.  I asked a student to tell me what number was made with the discs and explain how they came up with the answer.  I then asked for a volunteer to come up and use discs to represent 3.84 underneath the 2.63.  I asked, "If we add the them...

Post 4 We have started lessons on decimals this week.  I actually love decimals.  Today students were learning how to compare decimals.  The were told that decimals should be compared in the same way we compare whole numbers - by comparing the digits in the highest place value first and so on.   40.32 is smaller than 40.466 even though it has more digits because the tenths digit is smaller in 40.32 than 40.466. They were also shown a number scale.   A few students were called on to pick two decimals on the number line and compare them (ie. a is greater than b).  They were also asked to explain their answer.   Next, they were told to work independently on a page in their textbooks and the answers were reviewed with the whole class.   IXL is a website my coordinating teacher uses frequently.  She uses it mostly for practice but it can be used for much more.   It can be used for lessons, practice, assessments, profe...