While I am finishing up the Rocks and Minerals unit I thought I would semi-transition my Science Table into a new topic. The students love dinosaurs right now, so I thought we would do a couple weeks of a Dinosaur/Rock/Fossil table!
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Buddy Game: Dinosaur Place Value MatchOur Buddy Game this week was Dinosaur Place Value Match from Fun 2B in First's TPT Store. I can't believe this great product was free! The biggest problem were that there were so many cards to match that many of the kiddos improvised. They would turn the cards over and find matches with them facing up. Using Manipulatives/TechnologyThe students did a Roll/Build/Draw/Write activity this week. Unfortunately the video/pics I took of them (which were adorable!) got corrupted on the nearly antique camera I had on hand. Seriously... it has only 4 megapixels. Crazy, right? To sum it up, I gave them a place value mat, some base-ten blocks, a tens dice and a ones dice. They recorded their work on this template: Independent WorkThis week independent work was all about the tech. We used a Motion Math app called Zoom. Great for place value! Watch the video for more info on how it works: Learning About NumbersThis week we used my favourite Mystery Pictures from Cara Carroll. The children like them, I love them, and it familiarizes them with different number forms and the hundreds chart. Doing MathThe point of Doing Math is to bring the real world into the classroom. Sometimes it is tough to find an investigation that is within the students capabilities, but still challenging! This time I went with how many ways can one make $100? The students had to make at least 11 using the bills provided, and then write them down. Check back next week for a summary of this week's BUILD activities!I Changed! This is my first year teaching grade 3. I attempted to put in my MATH-WIN program that I used in upper elementary with limited success. The third graders couldn't remember their responsibilities at seven station... and so I brought it down to six. While BUILD has five letters, it doesn't include working with the teacher like MATH-WIN does. What is BUILD? Where does it come from? To be honest, I am not sure where BUILD comes from... I have heard that it was developed by the 2 Sisters as a Math response to Daily Five, but I am not sure if that is true. BUILD is a lot like Daily Five. Students choose which center to go to (although my kids have to go to each center at least once a week). Each center has a different task. As you can see above, the different centers are Buddy Math, Using Manipulatives, Independent Work, Learning About Numbers, Doing Math. I personally adapted Using Manipulatives to Using Manipulatives and Technology so I could have more flexibility. Buddy GamesBuddy Games are just like they sound, games that are does with a buddy (or two, or three!). These days there are so many great games you can make and buy for math and kids always learn more when they are having fun! My favourites are usually from Box Cars and One Eyed Jacks. Their games require usually only a paper template, and either dice, dominoes or cards. Using Manipulatives and TechnologyOne thing I love about primary math is that the concrete is still so directly applicable to the math they are doing. Why not bring in manipulatives whenever you can? It helps kids understand so much better! On my students math reflections they always refer back to the manipulatives center, even if it wasn't the most fun. I added in the technology component just in case I can't think of anything for the kiddos to do with manipulatives that is relevant. So far, it hasn't happened yet! Independent WorkThis is like the homework section (although sometimes I use technology here too!). Students work on something at their desks independently in order to continue building their skills. It would be a worksheet, a page from the textbook, an iPad app, or some kind of individual game. Learning About NumbersAnyone else feel like the could study number all year long, and the students would still need more? Our math curriculum is quite diverse and "Number" is just one component. I am excited to be able to study it all year long using BUILD without necessarily focusing on it all year. Here are a few ideas of what we do in Number: Doing MathI once went to a Guided Math workshop where the consultant stated that the number one most important center in Guided Math programs is a math investigation. It brings math back to the real world and allows students to use their problem-solving skills in real life situations. I hope to show you a couple of my math investigations in the next couple of weeks! SchedulingI use BUILD 3-4 days a week depending on attendance of the children. We always start with a mini-lesson that lasts between 8-15 minutes at our front carpet. Then the children head off to their centers for 15 minutes. Sometimes I just hang out at the centers with them, guiding and challenging them to do more. Other times I pull small groups to work on intervention or advancement. After the 15 minutes are up we do another (usually shorter) mini-lesson, and then back to another round. Check Back for what we did during our Place Value Unit! |