Math Tubbing

This six weeks I introduced Math Tubbing to the students. Math Tubbing is like Literacy Stations but with math content. Instead of going to a station, the students get a container filled with content-specific materials (games, books, manipulatives, etc.) that they can work on independently or in small groups. While the students are working on previously taught concepts, I work with small groups in Guided Math. In Guided Math we focus on the specific areas that individual students struggle in. The Math Tubs that the students are using right now include Number Recognition, Place Value, Graphing, Addition/Subtraction Operations, Shapes, Fractions, and Patterns. Students also have the opportunity to use our online computer program, First In Math. Below are some pictures of the students working with Math Tubs.

Place Value

In math we have been learning about two digit numbers and their values. We have been using Base Ten Blocks to count by tens and then ones. To help practice this at home, visit Shark Numbers game where the students count the tens and ones to identify the number. Once they count they number, they click on the bubble and check their answer. One trick we use in class to help with counting is that after we count the tens we clap to break the skip counting pattern and then we start counting by ones. For example we say: "ten, twenty, thirty, -clap-, thirty-one, thirty-two." Clapping helps them recognize the when to switch number patterns. Below are a few pictures of the students practicing Place Value in class:

What's a Name Worth?

To practice comparing and ordering larger numbers, the students used Base Ten Blocks to create the first letter of their name and later the first letter of their last name. After creating their name's letter, they counted how much it was worth. We recorded the answers as a class and found which letter was worth the most and which was worth the least.

Play the Game: Place Value

As we continue our study of larger numbers, we have been playing many math games to help us practice comparing the numbers. One of the class favorites is a game in which the students roll two dice and then decide what is the greatest possible number. They then build the number using Base Ten Blocks. Once each player has rolled and built their number, they compare them to see who had the greatest number. To practice building larger numbers at home in the Base Ten Block format, you can use items such as toothpicks, straws, pretzel sticks, or pencils as the "tens" and items such as buttons, pennies, or marshmallows as the "ones." To see a glimpse of the game in action, enjoy the short slideshow of pictures below:

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Pennies for Pasta

Our school is currently participating in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Pasta for Pennies fundraising program. To learn more about the program and ways you can help, visit The Moseley News page. You can also visit the school's online donation page if you would like to make a contribution. As of today, our class has raised approximately $73 dollars in just two days! What a great way for the students to learn the character traits of caring and generosity.

Shark Numbers: Place Value

During the third six weeks we have been working on furthering our number sense and Place Value through the use of Base Ten Blocks. Students have been building numbers with various objects, including the Base Ten Blocks, drawing reprentations of the numbers with sticks (ten longs) and dots (one units), and comparing numbers. In comparing numbers, students have been taught to look at the tens place first. Whichever number has the largest number in the tens place has to be the greatest number. If the numbers in the tens place are the same, then the students compare the ones place to see which is the greatest. To help your child identify numbers based on the Base Ten Block system, visit the Shark Pool Place Value game to have them identify the represented number. During the upcoming six weeks, we will be looking at numbers to 99.

Place Value: Numbers to 60

As we continue our study of place value, we are increasing our numbers to 60. The students rotated through various stations to build numbers ranging from 40 to 60. From buttons to macaroni to marbles, the students had hands on experience in building, drawing, and writing numbers using tens and ones. This helps students have a more concrete number recognition.

Make a Smilebox collage

Pumpkin Patch Counting

Make a Smilebox greeting

Place Value: Tens and Ones

This week we are working on place value by using tens and ones blocks. The students have been using linking cubes to help them represent numbers in terms of tens and ones. For example, 24 could be represented as 2 tens and 4 ones. We have also been working on comparing their created numbers using the vocabulary of greater than/less than. 40 is greater than 32 because 40 has 4 tens and 32 only has 3 tens. A great way to help your child practice this concept at home is by visiting The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives. On this particular place value activity, your child will be presented various two digit numbers to create by clicking on the tens and ones pictures. Note, on the right side of the screen, set the template to two columns so your child is only practicing two digit numbers. If you have time, explore the rest of the website for additional interactive math manipulatives.