I love baking, and had three brothers growing up, so that meant a lot of doubling or tripling of recipes! But I always added the fractions in my mind.. I didn't multiply them! ... or did I? 1/3 x 3 is 1/3 and 3/1... right... Okay, so I guess I did multiply them. OK I can do this!
My favourite activity covered during our class was building the fraction squares.
I love puzzles! I thought this was a creative and exciting way to teach students about the concept of "parts of a whole" and to make fractions fun! I know this won't appeal to every student, but there was also a chance to create different designs and shapes from the fraction pieces.
I still am in love with how much we collaborate as a class. I can't do this on my own, so why should I expect students to? Why shouldn't they be able to work on assignments in groups and share their ideas and algorithms? I do think we learn best when we work together. I love that Pat is trying to teach us what makes an effective and valuable math problem. I do want to get there! I don't' want to make students discouraged like I was when I was younger. All are welcome to learn in a math class, and everyone can do it!
Hello Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post as it strongly resonates with me. I could not stop laughing after reading your comment about “Elevate my Math…more like elevate my blood pressure am I right?” I feel the same way when it comes to fractions, there is something about the topic that just terrifies me. Unfortunately, many of us did not have an instructor like Pat teaching us the easiest and most logical way of learning math. Instead we were learning to preform procedures that never made any sense. But that is the past and we are all moving forward! Your presentation on music and fractions is still mind blowing for me and it is proof that math can be fun.
Great job!
Hello Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post! I particularly liked your last point about the value of collaboration in class. I agree that collaborative learning builds a deeper understanding as students share and discuss their knowledge and their strategies and learn from one another.
One valuable collaborative strategy that I saw in a Grade 3 classroom last year was a gallery walk. Students worked on a math problem in pairs or small groups and wrote or drew out their reasoning and their answers on a large piece of chart paper. Once they were finished, each group posted their chart paper throughout the classroom. The students then took a gallery walk where they had the opportunity to observe, question, and comment on their fellow peers' work. The teacher then led a full group discussion with the class where students could share their ideas and observations. It was a really great lesson filled with lots of collaboration and math talk!