Personal Learning Path

 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...

We finished area and are moving on to ratio tomorrow or Thursday.  After area of rectangles, we moved on to  area of triangles.  It was interesting to see how the child with ADHD that I support in the classroom had such an easier time with area versus fractions.  I am thinking it could be that the fractions equations and problems had multiple steps.     My cooperating teacher shared with me today something that I thought I would share with you!   It's called Counting Pockets.  It was piloted in a younger grade ( I believe 2nd) and will be drawn out to all elementary grades.  It provides children with an exciting experiences while learning math.    Below is an example of a way students will gather data.   When we start this with our class I will share more.