I love to read...

To myself, to students, to just about anybody who will listen!  I have started two book lists.  One of books for teachers that I have gotten a lot out of about the teaching of math.  And one of books that can be used as a springboard for math activities with children.  You can even put these books in a math center with some "I can..." activity cards and have a great center that will integrate reading and math.  On this list you will probably see some old standbys that you are familiar with, but I hope that there will be at least one that you haven't explored yet.  I hope to make this list an ongoing project, so check back to see if anything new has been added.  Also, if you have any favorites that would make great additions to either list, let me know.  I would love to share those, too.!

Justification in math discussions

Mathematical Practice #3, Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others, requires our students to do something that they may or may not be used to doing.  I found these great Sentence Frames for Justifying on Tpt for free!  Until our kiddos are used to the language of justifying their thinking or critiquing the thinking of others, these are great to hang up as reminders of doing these things in complete sentences and just how to start their jusifications/critiques.  Parents, these are great ways to get your students explaining the new things that they have learned in math and in using these at home, helping to get them ready for class.  The web address is:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Critical-Thinking-Language-Sentence-Frames-Say-What-Aligned-to-Common-Core
I hope that you will find these useful.

"Think Math"

This idea is not original to me, but I love it!  In my K-8 school we have such a range of learners that I thought it would be fun to post the following to all my teachers and outside my room in the hall:  The answer is 10 monkeys.  What is the question?  I thought that this would go right along with Mathematical Practice #2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively.  Also, I thought that it would provide plenty of differentiated opportunities for students to respond with "story problems" that related to their level of mathematical understanding, no matter what grade they were in.  The first ones I got were from the Kindergarten and they are great!

Here are some examples:

I can't wait to see more!

Is your student having trouble counting money? Try this...

A game that we use in the second grade to facilitate students counting money is called Race to $1.00.  If your child is still struggling with this life skill, try playing this game at home with him/her.
You need:  pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, one dollar, 1 or 2 dice and a partner that needs to practice counting money.
On your turn, roll the dice (1 or 2 according to the skill level of the child).  The number on the one dice or the sum of the two dice will tell you how many pennies to take.  As you play, make trades such as trading 5 pennies for a nickel, two nickels for a dime, etc.  Keep going until one of you reaches $1.00, always keeping the fewest coins that make the amount of money you have collected.

Just need practice in making a quarter?  Play the game with only one dice and stopping when one of you reaches a quarter.

Want to practice subtracting from a dollar?  Try this...  Start with a dollar and then subtract the number on one dice or the sum of the two dice, making trades to be able to do so.  When one of you reaches 0, you are the winner.  This will help to get your student ready for making change!
Great way to practice these all important skills and have fun while doing it!

Great Math Facts Practice

Just heard about a new free IPad/IPhone App called Sushi Monster.  It's a great game for addition and multiplication fact practice for just about any grade level 2-???  Even some more advanced K-1 students might be able to keep up with its fast pace.  I have heard great things about the progress students have made playing this game!

Links

I want part of this blog to be a repository of useful links for students, teachers, and parents.  These links are at the bottom of the page and will be added to as I find good ones.  If you have one that you think would be a great addition, leave a comment and I will check it out. 

In this Blog, I want to facilitate a successful change to the Common Core State Standards in Math at Corner School and be a "clearinghouse" for information to help teachers, students, and parents to this end.