Week 4 Math Reflection

©Breakey, D. 2015. Jessica's Presentation. 

Week 4 was filled with more student presentations. This week our topic was fractions and decimals. I am still really enjoying learning from my fellow classmates and I am learning a lot about what makes an effective lesson. My presentation isn't for a few weeks but seeing the different strategies my classmates are using is certainly helping me decide what I want to include in mine. The smart board seems to be an essential tool. There are so many ways you can use this tool to further the lesson. At first, I felt some hesitation in using the smart board because it seemed like using technology just for the sake of it. What can I do on a smart board that I can not do on a white board? This week I was shown exactly that when my classmate did her lesson on adding fractions.  

The photo above is blurry but I managed to snap it with my iPhone during the presentation. Jessica (the presenter) used images of lego blocks to demonstrate how to add fractions. Different sized lego blocks represented different fractions and she was able to layer the lego pieces on top of one another simulating what students would do with lego in real life. She took into account students potential interests, used a visual they could relate to and used it to explain a unit in math while making it entertaining for her students. I could not draw this on a white board but the smart board added was the perfect too to add an entertainment factor that kids need to stay engaged.

Another presenter this week used manipulatives to demonstrate the subtracting of decimals. She used base 10 blocks for her example but I realized that teachers can be more creative. The virtual lego blocks got me thinking that lego would be a great manipulative to actually bring into the classroom to tie into what was being taught and shown on the smart board. Having students solve certain problems by showing their work through lego would be a great way to get students excited about math and a good way to see if students are understanding the concepts being taught. One suggestion by our textbook was to use money as the manipulative. Money is something that students already have some understanding of and so it would be applicable in teaching a unit such as decimals. Students are able to understand cents in the decimal place and use this concept when adding or subtracting decimal places. 

More and more I am realizing that teaching math is really about being creative and finding ways to engage students in their learning. The more ways we get students interested in what their learning the more successful we will be as teachers! Using real world examples is another great strategy for teaching. Students are more likely to build on information they already have. Odds are students haven't made the connection between money and decimals but once that connection is made the understanding will be that much better. If you want some creative ideas to use on the smart board check out this Pinterest account.