Ms. Rogers' Math Blog: November 2011

I recently taught a Math lesson to my students (5th grade) that went great! It was a Secret Agent themed lesson and they had a Mission Possible and a Mission Impossible of math skills to carry out. After attempting the first mission, the students were trained in comparing and ordering large whole numbers in the millions place and sent on a final mission to use their newly acquired Math skills...

Confidential Envelope for Secret Agents!

As they were handed a CONFIDENTIAL envelope with their mission inside, the students bubbled about what to expect. They were given 7 minutes to complete the mission (a compare and order problem) and were also responsible for telling HOW they got their answer. After the time was up, they were asked to circle a number on a scale of 1-5 related to how they felt they did on the mission. 1 stood for "I have no clue" and 5 stood for "I understood and am ready for the next mission". After scoring them, most of the students felt like they were a 5 and turned out to be a 5.

Self Assessment graded

Only a few students felt like they were a 3 and turned out to be a 5. Early finishers were told to complete the BONUS CHALLENGE QUESTION that was also included in the envelope. It was a challenge for the students to create their own compare and order problem for another student to solve. They had to include the correct answer on the sheet. They were given a decoder and decoder sheet and shown how to record their answer on the sheet. When another student tried to solve the problem, they could check their work by using the decoder to view the correct answer.

Student using decoder to look for the hidden answer

The kids really loved this and they really wanted to create problems for other classes to solve! All of the students were given an opportunity at the end of the lesson to complete the Bonus Challenge Question and create a decoder message for the answer. The other classes have the opportunity to pull these and practice comparing and ordering. Since the 5th graders switch once a day, I taught the lesson twice. By the second lesson, I felt more comfortable teaching it, but my results were just as high in the first class. After reviewing the mission results, self-assessments, and an overall reflection of how the lessons went, I am confident in moving on to the next objective.

Mission packet and Bonus Challenge Question

Student work telling how they knew this number was the greatest

Click Here to view the lesson in Google Doc's.

Click This to view the power point that goes with the lesson.

Click Me to view my professional reflection.

These pictures represent my ability to teach using manipulatives (pattern blocks, number-line bars, fraction bars, base blocks/bars), using literature, and using technology.

I taught a weekly lesson covering equivalent fractions and introducing adding/subtracting fractions with unlike denominators. To begin, I read Hershey's Milk Chocolate by Jerry Polata, then I read Fraction Action by Loreen Leedy

6 different tables with about 4 kids at each

After reading these books to the students on each day of the week, I introduced the objective for each math lesson. The students would be learning about equivalent fractions and they would be learning about adding and subtracting fractions with like and unlike denominators.

Using different models to represent equivalent fractions, the students used pattern blocks, counters, tenth sticks, and a number line to model equivalent fractions and parts/pieces of a whole.

They also used paper cut outs of Hershey's Milk Chocolate bars (cut into 12ths) to compare equivalent fractions and to add/subt. fractions with like and unlike denominators.

This demonstrates my ability to teach math using technology, manipulatives, and literature: