Not just the Ducks need to Kept in a Row!

My Students: The other day my mom added up the tip for our dinner bill. Her mistake was simple. She had not lined up her numbers correctly and forgot to carry the one to the tens place. ...

My Project: Third grade is the beginning of taking students from pictorial and concrete models to abstractly looking at numbers. My request for the place value dry erase boards is anothe... more»

My Students: The other day my mom added up the tip for our dinner bill. Her mistake was simple. She had not lined up her numbers correctly and forgot to carry the one to the tens place. Our waiter and my mother could not figure out their problem. It was obvious to me. This is a common error made by students.

My students are third graders in a title one school. Many of these children have not mastered their objectives for second grade and are being pushed into third grade with the intention of catching up. Many students receive little or no help from home. One of the challenges this group of students will face is working with 6 digit numbers - adding and subtracting. This is a difficult challenge for them because most of them can not create a mental picture of how large a 4 digit number is let alone a 6 digit number. In order to help children understand numbers they must have a concrete understanding of a numbers place and its value. When writing and working with numbers it is critical that children keep the numbers in alignment - ones, tens, hundreds etc. Once the children can organize their work, they have a better chance of understanding how the numbers go together. Manipulatives are used in helping children understand large numbers, paper and pencil alone are not enough.

My Project: Third grade is the beginning of taking students from pictorial and concrete models to abstractly looking at numbers. My request for the place value dry erase boards is another manipulative for the students to use when working with numbers. Most children do not keep their numbers neatly lined up when writing down a problem to solve. The pre-printed lines on the place value boards will assist them in practicing this skill. The boards also have the place value pre-printed at the top of each column. This will be a reminder to the child of the unit they are working with. The columns are only big enough for 1 number. Many times a child tries to write a two digit number in a particular place, thus creating a answer with too many digits. The pre-printed boards will help guide them to the proper placement of numbers. The boards will be used in conjunction with place value blocks and a variety of counters in order to reinforce proper grouping both concretely and abstractly.

Having taught both third and fourth grade, I have seen many students who could not grasp basic math concepts because their foundation of numbers was not solid. In order for our students to be successful in their future school years, their foundational years must be solidified. I want to teach concepts in ways that make the most sense to the child, resulting in mastery. This requires presenting the same problem different ways, with guided practice before you send a child to be independent. hide»