Slowing Down for Some Factoring Fun

A huge chunk of the 3rd Nine Weeks for my fourth graders is dedicated to fractions.  We eased into this unit by using manipulatives and drawing to explain what a fraction is and then we practiced naming fractions.  Then we added and subtracted fractions with like denominators (which my kids said was so easy!).  Today it was time to dive into the more complex concepts- key scary music- simplest form!!! I know you are all hiding under your covers now much like I wanted to do this morning. 
    Every year my students have struggled with simplest form and I finally realized I was putting it all on them in one huge heap of math nonsense! Factoring, greatest common factor, dividing oh my! So today I tried a new approach- breaking it down into small pieces.  Today we talked about what a factor is and how we factor.  I showed them some examples and then we factored some numbers as a class.  Once my kids got the hang of it, we had a factor competition.  The kids loved it and it did not take a lot of time.  My kids already sit in groups so we had our teams.  I put a number on the board and they had to work together to find all the factors of said number.  When they thought they had them all, they would raise their hands.  I would come to them and tell them if they had them all or if they needed to find more.  The team that got all factors first was the winner of that round.  My kids were so into it they even forgot who won and to ask me about prizes.
 After factoring for a bit, I started putting two numbers on the board and we would factor both.  Then we would circle the factors they had in common.  Next step we added was finding the greatest common factor or gcf as we call it.  The last thing we did was talk about how we would use this with fractions.  They saw the pieces come together in the end! I am hopeful that by slowing down and taking the time to focus on the factoring my kids will be more successful with this skill this year.  Keep your fingers crossed!!

Simon Says Geometry

This week in math, my 4th graders are studying geometry.  We have learned the names of different polygons, how many angles they have, and how many sides they have.  We also talked about flips, slides, and turns.  A co-worker made up some motions to go with flips, slides, and turns a few years ago.  The kids stand up. For a slide they simply slide over.  For a turn, they leave one foot in place and turn their bodies about 90 degrees.  For a flip (no they don't do a flip but they would try if I would let them!), they turn 180 degrees.  After practicing these motions, we just had a spur of the moment game of Simon Says and the kids loved it!! When I play Simon Says if you talk then you are out.  I would say things such as "Simon Says slide to the right" or "Simon Says hold up the number of fingers a hexagon has."  This game was a fun way to review our polygons and practice our motions.  They keep begging me to play it again and of course, I gave in!
  There are some amazing geometry packets available on Teachers Pay Teachers from different sellers whose blogs I follow.  On Friday we are going to do the Geometric City created by Lesson Plan SOS.  And I love the activities in Ashleigh's Buggy About Geometry Unit. 
  I am giving my students their mystery case files tomorrow.  Check back for pictures!

Website for Whole Class Fun

I wanted to share a website I found in my first year of teaching that I have continued to use.  It is called Sheppard's Software (http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games_menu.htm).  The math games are great and my kids love to play them in centers or as a whole class on our Promethean Board.  The math games are also sorted by concept so they are easy to find.  This website also has some great science items.  My students love the food chain demo (they think it is so cool when the cartoon animals eat each other) and the animal classification game is great for teaching the differences between herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores.  In addition to math and science, there are some language arts games and geography games.  Hope you find this site as enjoyable as my class does!