Karyn's Blog

PomPom Fractions – A CCSS Activity for Third, Fourth and Fifth Graders

September 2, 2012 Karyn Comments 0 Comment

Recent research points to a students’ early understanding of fractions as critical for later success in mathematics. We need to give our students plenty of hands-on experiences with fraction concepts along with meaningful dialogue about what they are learning. The photo above is an example of developing the idea that fractional parts of a whole unit need to be equal in size. If you feel the colors of the pom poms will get in the way of learning, supply students…

Teaching Fractions Using Money

August 23, 2012 Karyn Comments 0 Comment

Learning about fractions, parts of a whole, can be tough for a lot of kids. Finding a variety of ways to teach fractions will give them opportunities to think about and make sense of fractions. Using coins as fractional values of a dollar can be fun way to reinforce fraction concepts. I included the front and back faces (obverse and reverse) of each coin. If showing two faces for each coin confuses your child/student, just remove one of them. At…

Measuring and Estimating with the Summer Olympics 2012

August 8, 2012 Karyn Comments 0 Comment

Have your kids been watching the summer Olympics? Are they itching to see how far they can jump or throw objects? In honor of the 2012 Summer Olympics, we’re going to give our kids a chance to compete in their own track and field events…and sneak in a little math while we’re at it! For each of the events below, use masking tape to indicate the starting line. Give kids an opportunity to practice each of the events before the…

Multiplication of Fractions. What Does it Mean?

May 24, 2012 Karyn Comments 0 Comment

So that’s what it means to multiply fractions! Visual representations make all the difference! I acutally have students first do this using a geoboard. Then we transfer to grid paper (see above photo). After collecting a number of samples, students look for patterns and discover that multiplying across gives them the same answer. But now it makes sense! CCSS: 5.NF.4; 5.NF.5

Using Number Sense to Solve Problems

May 19, 2012 Karyn Comments 0 Comment

Kids who have a strong number sense can compose and decompose numbers, make reasonable estimates, and use numbers in flexible ways. Here’s a great example. (Aligns to the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics: Mathematical Practices – Look for and make use of structures.)