Do You Speak Math?

It's time for a guest post about the language of math.  Do you speak math?  More importantly, do your students speak math?  

Today’s guest post comes from Toni, an elementary school teacher with a  specialty in differentiated instruction and designing hands-on lessons that incorporate the multiple intelligences.  You can often find Toni writing for TeacherLingo.com, where teachers can buy and sell their original lesson plans, worksheets, and more.  She is married to a middle school math teacher and is a mom to a mystery loving 7 year old sweetie-girl and a quirky little light saber toting 3 year old. 

The Language of Mathematics

The vocabulary of mathematics is a foreign language for students. Words like fraction, division, and multiplication are rarely used outside of the classroom. The more opportunities we give children to talk about math, write about math and listen to math vocabulary in context the more they are empowered to become successful young mathematicians.

Math vocabulary must be taught systematically and with purpose. New math vocabulary should be presented in context. Math themed picture books can be a fun and extremely effective way to introduce new mathematics concepts and vocabulary, especially for your more visual and verbal students.

Often students fail to remember new math vocabulary because they are unable to connect it to their world. Engage your students in a discussion about how a new concept is used in the world around them and create a class poster they can reference. It’s much easier for students to remember what division means when they can connect it to sharing cookies or dividing up a pizza.

All students, and especially younger students, need opportunities to say their new math vocabulary words aloud. Math songs using familiar melodies can be used to help students properly pronounce and remember new math vocabulary. The following example is sung to the tune of “Row, Row, Row your Boat”.

Mode, mode, mode’s the most.

Average is the mean.

Median, median, median, median...always in-between.

Once new math vocabulary has been properly introduced, it can be displayed on a math word wall. When displaying math vocabulary the use of symbols and pictures can be very helpful. For example, writing the vocabulary word perimeter around a picture of a fence or the word area on top of a grid helps students see what the words mean. These visual clues can help jog students’ memories when they forget the meaning of a word. 

Effective math word walls are interactive and should be used to revisit math vocabulary daily. The length of the review is not as important as the consistency. Five to ten minutes a day is sufficient to review math vocabulary. Quick word walls using math games can be a fun way to review. You can use various clue games and have students try to guess the word. Once students are comfortable with new math vocabulary, allow them to make up their own clues. Traditional word wall games can easily be adapted for use with math vocabulary.  Here are just a few math word wall games to get you started.

1.         Mind Reader:  Challenge students to “read your mind” and guess what math vocabulary

word you are thinking of as you give them clues.

2.         Riddle Me Math: I have no vertices and no sides. What am I?

3.         I Spy: I spy a word that is the name for a shape with four sides.

4.         Analogies: Addition is to subtraction as multiplication is to ___________.

Student math journals can also be used to give students the opportunity to take ownership of new math vocabulary.  To effectively 'own' a word, students should be able to restate its meaning in their own words, give practical examples of its use, and construct their own visual representation of the term.  Using the area and perimeter as an example, students may draw a picture of their dream tree house and then discuss how area and perimeter are used when building a tree house.  Students may add to their math journal as they develop a deeper understanding of the word.

The key to helping students develop a firm understanding of math vocabulary is to introduce it in context, connect it to their lives and provide daily opportunities for students to revisit and use it. Consistent use of math vocabulary will help create students who are comfortable with the language of mathematics!

Thanks for the great post, Toni!

MLK, Jr. Craftivity

It's about time, teachers, to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

The dove is a symbol of both peace and hope. As such, it is a great symbol to honor Dr. King. Using the template that follows, have your students cut out a double copy of the dove. Glue the dove's body together, leaving the wings separated.  Gently fold the wings down on each side of the dove to simulate flight.  Color an eye on each side of the head.  Punch a hole and string yarn through it to allow the dove to be hung.  Hang the doves from the ceiling for a spectacular "peace rally."

 

You can find this craftivity, poems, teaching points, skill lessons, and other activities in my product, Poetry Possibilities for MLK, Jr. Day.  This template is available on Google Docs. 

Peace to all.

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HOTS for Hats

It's about time, teachers, ... for Hat HOTS.

While this volcano hat is very nice, it's not exactly what I had in mind for HOTS - Higher Order Thinking Skills.

It is so fun and rewarding to challenge your children to use HOTS when studying hats.  I'm referring, of course, to Bloom's Taxonomy. Following are a few of the ways I exercise their brain power.

Analysis

Using my hat cards, I challenge the students to sort them in various ways:

• men's hats/women's hats/unisex
• safety/decorative/job identification
• historic/modern day
• similarities
• baseball cap, baby's bonnet, & cowboy hat = protection from the sun
• wizard's hat, witch's hat, & magician's hat = magic makers
• Pilgrim's hat & Santa's hat = holiday head gear
• jester's hat, crown, & knight's helmet = medieval hat wear

My enrichment students are asked to create their own sorts.    Then I require them to write about their thinking.  I up the ante for G/T students by asking them to create 3 to 5 different sorts with descriptions of their sorting properties.

Evaluation

Again using the hat cards, I challenge my students to make lists of hat opposites. Examples:

• astronaut's helmet and diving helmet
• mortar board and dunce's cap
• bridal veil and top hat

Students pick 2 cards and tell why the hats may go together. Examples:

• Top hat and fancy lady's hat - they might go to the symphony together
• football hat and stocking cap - you could find them both at a football game in November

Creation

Make "Hat Words."  We start by generating a list of -at words.  Then we turn them into 'Hat Words" and write clues to their meaning.  Examples:

• Hatmosphere - What do you call the blanket of air surrounding a hat?
• Hatlas - What do you call a book of maps that show you where head coverings may be found?
• Hattack - What do you call it when a hat tackles you?
• Hattic - What is the room at the very top of a hat building?

As you can tell, my students and I really get into hats.  So throw your hat in the ring and join me in teaching a hats unit.  My unit, Hats!  Hats!  Hooray for Hats!, is available on TpT and TN.  There are 55 pages to this unit, which includes printables, manipulatives, centers, and activities.  It even contains my original poem.  Be sure to get it's companion product, Hat Idioms Book.  Check it out because it is FREE and is being used by upper elementary and even middle school teachers.

  

Until next time,...

Hat Day Math

It's time to wish everyone a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's also time to share more Hat Day ideas.

As promised, this post is focused on hat math.  Math topics in Hats!  Hats!  Hooray for Hats! include:

·  Counting                                

·  Computation

·  Graphing

·  Patterns

·  Venn Diagrams

·  Math Journal prompts

·  Sorting

·  Measurement

·  Money

This unit includes several printables that range from simple patterning

to higher order thinking skills.

This range in difficulty provides instant differentiation for your class.  Also included are math center activities and prompts for your students' math journals.

27 hat cards are included in both color and black & white.

The hat cards may be used in graphing and as the elements for Venn diagrams. 

Next time, I'll explore HOTS activities you could do with your class.  They are sure to put a feather in your cap with your students, parents, and administrators!

Hat Day Riddles

It's about time, teachers, for some Hat Day riddles.

No, the riddles are not about why the chicken crossed the road.  Rather, these riddles are about literary characters, historic figures, or occupations associated with hats.  Try these out:

          He may never grow up, but my, oh my,
          This boy in green can certainly fly!

          Who is he?

          His hat is striped in white and red.

          He put a pink stain on mother’s bed.

          Who is he?

          He  often wore a stovepipe hat.

          Do you know a president like that? 

          Who is he?

Were you able to solve them?  My students love the challenge!  I write 1 or 2 riddles on the board each morning of Hat Week.  As soon as my students arrive, they begin copying the couplets for handwriting practice.  While completing this anchor activity, they can ponder who is described in the riddle.  

At our morning meeting, volunteers read the riddles before we share the answers.  This affords me the opportunity to assess my students' ability to read fluently, with expression, and with regard for punctuation.  Mini-lessons on these topics are easy to slip in daily, giving valuable reinforcement for these critical reading skills.

Hat riddles are fun and motivating.  They can provide valuable information about your students' problem solving abilities.  Moreover, they provide the students with ample opportunities for making connections: text-to-world, text-to-text, and/or text-to-self.

These riddles are part of my thematic unit, Hats!  Hats!  Hooray for Hats!  There are 29 riddles in all.  If you have some gifted/talented students, challenge them to write more couplet riddles to share with the class.  Doing so causes them to employ higher order thinking skills.  I am always amazed at the riddles my kiddos compose.

The ELA components of this thematic unit include vocabulary work, comprehension, poetry, alphabetical order, writing center ideas, and a 14 page booklet for students to make about Hat Idioms. You can download the Hat Idioms Book for FREE on TpT or TN.  Following is a preview of the Hat Idioms Book:

Hold onto your hats!  

Next time, I'll share some math activities from Hats! Hats! Hooray for Hats!

The answers to the riddles above are:

Peter Pan

The Cat in the Hat

Abraham Lincoln

Hat Day -- Jan. 15

It's about time, teachers, for . . .

National Hat Day, while not officially a national holiday (that requires an act of Congress), is a day dedicated to hat lovers everywhere.  On this special day, hats come out of the mothballs to make a statement about the wearer.  What could be better for a little winter fun and learning?!?

In my classroom, we dedicate an entire week to hats, culminated by wearing hats on the last day.  Since Jan. 15 is National Hat Day, I like to make that the day when my students can wear a hat of their choice to school.  While there is a school rule that hats cannot be worn inside, my principal gladly suspends that rule for the day for my class.  I love to watch my kiddos walk down the hall, beaming under their headgear as students from other classes stare with obvious envy.

There are scores of children's books on the subject.  I like to read 1 or 2 aloud each day. Here are some of my favorites:

• The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss
• Abe Lincoln's Hat by Martha Brenner
• Aunt Flossie's Hats (and Crab Cakes Later) by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard
• Aunt Lucy Went to Buy a Hat by Alice Low
• Away Went the Farmer’s Hat by Jane Belk Moncure
• Benny’s Hat by Dirk Walbrecker
• Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
• The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
• The Cat in the Hat Comes Back by Dr. Seuss
• Do You Have a Hat? By Eileen Spinelli
• Don't Touch My Hat by James Rumford
• Hat by Paul Hoppe
• A Hat for Ivan by Max Lucado
• A Hat for Minerva Louise by Janet Morgan Stoeke
• Hats! by Kevin Luthardt
• Hats, Hats, Hats (Around the World Series) by Ann Morris
• The Hat by Jan Brett
• The Hat That Wore Clara B. by Melanie Turner-Denstaedt
• I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
• Jennie’s Hat by Ezra Jack Keats
• Little Red Cowboy Hat by Susan Lowell
• Madeline and the Bad Hat by Ludwig Bemelmans
• The Magic Baseball Cap by David A. Ham
• The Magic Hat by Mem Fox
• Magritte's Marvelous Hat by D.B. Johnson
• Milo's Hat Trick by Jon Agee
• Old Hat New Hat by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain
• Pinkalicious and the Pink Hat Parade by Victoria Kann
• The Scarecrow's Hat by Ken Brown
• That 17th Hat by Trevor Eissler
• A Three Hat Day by Laura Geringer 
• Tornado Slim and the Magic Cowboy Hat by Bryan Langdo
• Who Took the Farmer's Hat? by Joan L. Nodset
• Whose Hat Is This? A Look at Hats Workers Wear by Sharon Katz Cooper

Hats provide a perfect platform for a thematic unit.  Over the next several days, I will post ideas for using a hat theme in your classroom.  These ideas are found in my product, Hats!  Hats!  Hooray for Hats!  

It is available on TpT and TN.

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Winter Poem Freebie

                                                                                                 

It’s snow time in the Midwest!  

To celebrate, here’s a free poem and possibilities for using it in the classroom.

                                             

It’s snow secret that I love poetry.  Hopefully, you will have a ball with this snow poem.

If you like this poem and its possibilities, you may wish to check out my product, Poetry Possibilities for Winter.

It is available on both TpT and TN.

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