Virtual manipulatives/Hands-on

Here is a 5 minute clip of myself using the virtual manipulative cd and manipulatives in my classroom. I'm sorry, it's so long! We were just learning how to regroup with ones and tens. So, it took some extra time for them to understand. If you can't hear the clip, I'm not sure what to do. I was having trouble with the volume when I opened it up on my PC, but another teacher didn't have trouble. If you can't hear it, you can still get the idea of the way I used the cd and how I had kids using their place value mats and manipulatives at their seats.

Anyway...
If you haven't gotten out your virtual cd...please do so! It's an awesome tool to use while you're teaching. Especially when you can have the kids doing the same thing at their seats with the same manipulatives! It really clicks much faster! When you use the cd, there are many options. I loved that there's way away for me to show three digit addition with regrouping on the board that also had the pictures. I loved clicking the word regroup, and it virtually regrouped the ones to the tens. The kids thought that was neat too!
You're meeting so many different learning styles! It doesn't take long to use or much preparation. I would love to see how other teachers are using their virtual manipulatives or organizing their manipulatives.

Algebra on the iPad, a full-year course

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has introduced a full-year Algebra course design for complete delivery on Apple's iPad.  The application is designed to eliminate use of the course textbook.  Read the full story.

Working for a smooth transition

Twenty of our elementary colleagues came together on September 22 and 23 to find ways to bridge the curriculum gaps the are inevitable with a new textbook adoption.  This balanced team of representatives weighed  the pressures of ISTEP, Acuity, Indiana curriculum maps, and Common Core Standards against the scope and sequencing of Math in Focus.  As grade-levels advanced, the gaps became more apparent.  Differences of philosophy and opinion were also weighed and considered within the framework of student success.

A plan was developed.  Each grade-level text was thoroughly examined.  Gaps were filled with the content of other Math in Focus texts and the new vocabulary was added to the master curriculum map.  The teams then produced grade-level documents to share with their colleagues.  These documents identify the big ideas of each chapter, the necessary vocabulary, and the location of necessary content needed to fill the gaps.

The primary focus was to produce documents that would provide students with the content they need to have the greatest opportunity for ISTEP success.  Many teachers will have to go outside of their grade level materials to get what is needed.  Those areas are identified.  Teachers will also have to quicken the pace of their lessons in order for their students to be ready for the Spring ISTEP tests.  It is recommended that teachers simply press on.  Supplement the lessons as needed while understanding that as the Math in Focus curriculum becomes a part of our culture, the gaps will vanish within the next two years.  Building confidence and giving our best efforts for our students is and always has been our students' best opportunity for academic success.

Each building was represented at this two-day workshop.  They are known to each of you.  Please have a conversation with them and continue to work together through this time of transition.

Welcome to KENKEN®!

Welcome to KENKEN®!

"The world's most addictive puzzle."

Matt Kuntz, my good friend and math teacher at Lincoln School in Oak Park, Illinois, has added a new post to his Lincoln Tech Club Blog about KENKEN®.  Visit his blog and you will learn about the inventor,  Tetsuya Miyamoto, and how you can teach your students to design their own puzzles.

Blow up your math book

Seriously, blow it up.
That way everyone in your class can see it on your white board.  Login to the Math In Focus eLearning site, Think Central, and click on your student or teacher eBook.  Project the lesson for all to see.  Use the screen capture function of your Mimio tools and you or a student can interact with the problems you display.

A Teacher Appreciation Story that Inspires

Relax. Everything will be okay.

We have nearly made it through the first nine weeks of our Math in Focus curriculum adoption.  It has certainly not been without its headaches and frustrations.  Nothing new ever is.  There is new vocabulary, new manipulatives, new sequencing, and new pacing.  Parents don't "get it," so a few students milk that with their assignments and increase the headaches and frustrations at home.

That being said, relax, everything will be okay.  It will take a year or two for the gaps to be filled, allowing the sequencing and pacing to take full effect.  We will have to do significant supplemental work during the process, but we are good at that.  We do it every day.

To help the parents, there is a Math in Focus resource available if they have a computer with internet access at home.  We have it linked on our Parents tab at Harrison.  If it is not linked on your school site, ask you webmaster to do so.