A Brief Update

Yesterday I introduced two new math puzzles to the fourth graders. They are pictured below. Both puzzles came from Greg Tang (www.gregtangmath.com and tangmath.com). They are fun ways for the students to practice problem solving and basic facts at the same time. They seem to really enjoy doing these math puzzles! Ask your favorite fourth grader to tell you about them.

 We have begun making our Christmas ornaments in my homeroom. To say that the fourth graders are excited to make their ornaments would be an understatement! :)

Simple Things

The school year ended last spring and I didn't get a garden planted like I had wanted. The weather didn't cooperate and I was too busy with end of the year things and home projects. But, at the end of June I was able to prepare my garden for some planting. Pumpkins and squash occupied most of the garden, along with the large rhubarb plants for which I am so thankful.

I planted the mini pumpkins for my future students. The ones that I didn't know yet, but share my classroom with now. I was so excited to watch the pumpkins grow and hoped that they'd be ready just in time for my new fourth graders.

In late September I began harvesting the mini pumpkins and some larger ones too. I ended up with plenty of pumpkins to share. Little did I know, giving a mini pumpkin to each of my homeroom kids would be such a big deal to them. They saw the basket full of pumpkins sitting in our classroom and waited for the day I would let them pick one out to keep. Last Friday was the day and they were so excited! Such a simple thing...

https://photopeach.com/album/cr2v62

 

The Amazing Race

 We did a fun activity last Friday as a warm-up in Math. The activity is called "The Amazing Race". I found it on the website MrElementaryMath. It's a great way to build number sense. The fourth graders worked in groups and had to come up with equations for the number that they were given.

" 

We made a list on the board of all of the equations that they came up with. This was just a practice round, as we didn't really play it as a race. Now that they know how to do the activity, next time we might try it as a race!

First in Math

The 4th graders are very excited about "First in Math". They have their log-in information on their Student Planners and are welcome to access it from home to get extra math practice.

The Py Game

Today I introduced the 4th graders to the "Py" game. Py (rhymes with my and by) is short for pyramid. This game is a great way for students to practice basic math facts. I am lucky enough to have quite a few of these games in my classroom for the kids to use. Ask your favorite 4th grader to tell you about the Py game. 

A Great Start

We're off to a great start in 4th grade! The new 4th graders have adjusted well to switching classes and teachers throughout the day and we're getting to know each other. What an awesome bunch of kids! I'm so excited to spend this school year with them!

The 4th graders will learn lots of new math skills this year, and we will build upon skills they have already learned in previous years. I have been reading and researching about the best ways to teach math. Of course, when you can make learning and practicing skills fun that always helps. One way to do that is by using puzzles and games. Greg Tang is a math guru that has created some math picture books, games and puzzles. He has a website that you might want to check out: gregtangmath.com. 

We have been spending a few minutes at the beginning of each math class period doing a Greg Tang puzzle or game. Some of them require mental math, an important real-world skill. The one below is NumTanga. Ask your favorite 4th grader to tell you about it.

Here are some other ways we warm-up our brains at the beginning of math class. The 4th graders love these challenge picture equations!

They also love figuring out these "24 cards". You have to use all the numbers on the card to make the number 24. You can add, subtract, multiply and divide. Can you figure this one out?

Scrumptiously Simplified Fractions

The fourth graders have been busy learning about fractions. We've talked about equivalent fractions and simplifying fractions. To get some extra practice with these skills we did an activity on Friday with M & M's and Skittles. They had fun counting their candy, recording the fractions and reducing them to simplest form. Of course, the best part was eating the candy! :)