Solve It! Friday- Task #23

Here's how Solve It! Friday works:
1. Each Friday morning (at 12:00 AM Central Time), I will post one problem-solving task. Note: In some cases, I may post more than one version of the task to reach a wider variety of grades. 
2. Before the next Friday, use the task with your students. 
3. Have students solve the problems individually or with a group. 
4. Individual students or student groups create posters using numbers, pictures, and words to illustrate the solutions. Note: The blank backs of old book covers make great poster paper! 
5. Either via a math talk session or a gallery walk, be sure to have students share their responses with other students. 

I would love to see your students' responses and showcase them on social media. Please post your students' responses to Twitter using the hashtag #RMTSolveIt(week number). For privacy, please be sure that students' names and other identifying information is located on the back of the poster. Be sure to check out other classes' solutions using the same hashtag to filter the Twitter results. 

I look forward to seeing your students' work! Thanks for sharing! 

Solution: The real beauty of this task is in the process. Please emphasize that with your students. It may take some time to solve this problem. Validate their efforts and ask questions to move them in a different direction if needed. For your convenience, I have provided the solution below:

#RMTSolveItWeek23: Amelia's treats weigh 12 ounces. The treat box weighs 2 ounces.

Thursday Tool School: iPad Apps for Kids- Chicken Coop Fraction Game by Lumpty Learning

Title: Chicken Coop Fractions

Description: The Chicken Coop Fractions app is a series of fun and interactive games designed to help reinforce a variety of fraction skills. While there are several packs available, only the estimation pack is free; therefore, I will base my review on this pack. Each activity is similar to the one below. Students are presented with a problem, in this case an estimation problem, and are asked to select a location on a number line in order to estimate the solution. Students click "sensible estimates" on the number line and one of the chickens, Henriette or Gudhen, "fires" an egg towards the correct answer. If the estimate is good, the egg will land in the nest. If the estimate is not accurate, the egg splatters on the ground. (Note: Because I only played the games available in the free pack, I am unable to review the other packs. Based on their descriptions, each pack appears to be in a different context.)

This picture illustrates a game of estimating easy proper fractions. 

Advantages: The app has a fun interface. The idea of two hens shooting eggs from their rears will certainly amuse most students. For a free pack, there are a lot of games that are included (see the picture at the bottom). This provides students with multiple opportunities to review; the app labels the games so that students can choose one that is most appropriate for them. Because the first pack is about estimation, students only need to get a ballpark answer to be successful; they do not need to be specific. 

This picture illustrates a game of estimating easy proper fractions of numbers. 

Disadvantages: The only really disadvantage is that there is no opportunity to learn from mistakes made. If an incorrect answer is made, the egg misses the nest and the next question is populated. While the correct answer is shown on the number line when the egg is laid, there are no learning tutorials. 

One final note: When I first started using the game, I wondered if the facial expressions of the hens while they were laying eggs would be offensive to some, but that may just be my heightened sense of teacher awareness toward creating potential sticky situations with parents; I would encourage you to preview the game before use. 

This picture illustrates the games available in the free fraction pack. 

Cost: Currently, the free pack is the estimation game pack. There are 7 games within this pack. At the time of this post, there is one additional fraction pack available. It is $8.99 and includes 4 game packs: adding fractions, simplifying fractions, equivalent fractions, and comparing fractions. 

Check out the app here!

Transformation Tuesday: Math Picture Books to Love- A Place for Zero

A Place for Zero by Angeline Sparagna LoPresti

Target Skill(s): Properties of Addition and Multiplication; Place Value

Book Synopsis: In a land of "positive" numbers (digits really), called Digitaria, Zero felt all alone because he could not play "Addemup" with the other numbers. He simply had nothing to add. Zero felt alone because King Multiplus declared that no more zeros would be made until they found a purpose for Zero. This made Zero sad and he longed to find his place in the world. One day, after a visit to Count Infinity, the King's trusty advisor, Count discovered that if he placed Zero and One in the "Numberator," a machine that added ones together to make the other numbers, he was able to make a baby one, something he had not yet been able to do. The additive identity property was born! Zero was excited about this new discovery and wondered what would happen if he was multiplied by another number, so he ran off to see the King. Sure enough, when Zero and a one were placed in the "Multi-tube," a baby zero popped out. The King tried again with another number and another zero was born. After finding two great purposes, Zero still didn't feel that he had found his "place" and goes on to discover that when he stood to the right of another number, a whole new group of numbers resulted, tens. This new discovery lead to many new numbers being created. Finally, Zero had found his place!

Math Involved: The book is a fun way to introduce the additive identity property and the zero property of multiplication. 
Note: The book can also be used to introduce zero as a placeholder in numbers like tens and hundreds; although, I felt the book did not justify this connection very well. 

Questions to Ponder:

1. What is a digit?
2. What did the count mean when he said "Zero meant nothing?"
3. What was Count Infinity's role? Why was it important?
4. What did the Numberator do? 
5. Count Infinity used the term "additive identity," what does this term mean?
6. What special powers did zero have?
7. What did the Multi-tube machine do?
8. How did zero find his place?

Activity Ideas:

This book is a great springboard into discussing properties of numbers but can also be used at a lower level to introduce what happens when we add or multiply with zero. 

Book Link on Amazon: http://bit.ly/APlaceforZero

Solve It! Friday- Task #22

Here's how Solve It! Friday works:
1. Each Friday morning (at 12:00 AM Central Time), I will post one problem-solving task. Note: In some cases, I may post more than one version of the task to reach a wider variety of grades. 
2. Before the next Friday, use the task with your students. 
3. Have students solve the problems individually or with a group. 
4. Individual students or student groups create posters using numbers, pictures, and words to illustrate the solutions. Note: The blank backs of old book covers make great poster paper! 
5. Either via a math talk session or a gallery walk, be sure to have students share their responses with other students. 

I would love to see your students' responses and showcase them on social media. Please post your students' responses to Twitter using the hashtag #RMTSolveIt(week number). For privacy, please be sure that students' names and other identifying information is located on the back of the poster. Be sure to check out other classes' solutions using the same hashtag to filter the Twitter results. 

I look forward to seeing your students' work! Thanks for sharing! 

Solution: The real beauty of this task is in the process. Please emphasize that with your students. It may take some time to solve this problem. Validate their efforts and ask questions to move them in a different direction if needed. For your convenience, I have provided the solution below:

#RMTSolveItWeek22: The pink polka-dotted egg is 3 units and the striped egg is 2 units. 

Like this activity? Check out my Valentine's Day Freebie!

Click the picture to see the pack in my store!

Thursday Tool School: iPad Apps for Kids- VersaMate by Hand2Mind

Thursday Tool School is back this week with a super exciting 6-week series highlighting iPad apps for kids. While I understand that many classrooms are not outfitted with a set of iPads, these apps make great intervention, tutoring, and summer practice tools for all students, inside or outside of the classroom setting.

During my research on the best math apps for kids, I discovered that while many apps are initially free, in order to progress through the various levels, you generally have to buy something in order to take full advantage of the app's features. While my goal here is to focus on free apps for kids, I will provide a disclaimer if the featured app falls into this category. 

This week's app is one of my personal favorites. I've used it endlessly with the students with whom I tutor. They love the opportunity to use the iPad during our sessions and it's a great way to infuse practice with essential fraction concepts and provides a brain break from our intensive work. 

Screenshot from "Identify Fractions"

Title: VersaMate Fractions

Description: The VersaMate app is created by the creators of VersaTiles, a series of self-checking activities reinforcing a variety of grade level content and skills. At the the time of this post, only two packs are available, the sampler freebie pack and the fractions pack. Each activity is similar to the one above. Students are presented with a solution, in this case a fraction, and are asked to choose the matching response from four choices. As a game, students match solutions and responses and uncover squares trying to collect more squares than his/ her opponent, the computer or another player. 

Advantages: This app is very engaging and students enjoy the colorful and interactive interface. In the fractions pack, there are a  variety of skills (games) from which to choose that not only provide variety but endless opportunities to reinforce grade level content and skills. As with many other games, players are provided with opportunities to play in bonus rounds when certain actions are taken or point levels obtained. Additionally, when students answer questions incorrectly, a tutorial provides support to help students understand their mistakes and redirects their path to one of success. 

Game in Action!

Disadvantages: The problems presented are mostly procedural in nature making the app very linear without much depth or complexity. In addition, the tutorials students receive when they answer incorrectly illustrate traditional methods for finding solutions to fraction algorithms with no accompanying written explanations. For example, the picture below shows a tutorial for understanding how to name a fractional part with a number line. If students are unable to name the fractional part comparing the shaded parts to the unshaded parts, they are not likely to be able to understand the connection to the number line. Note: While this is true of this game, the other tutorials seem to be more informative. 

Tutorial for an Incorrect Answer

One final note: At times, the computer opponent can seem quite aggressive and wins quickly preventing the human player from getting to fully engage in the game. Again, it does not happen all of the time, but my students have experienced this on occasion.   

Cost: Currently, the freebie sampler pack has two fraction activities. The full, 23-game Fraction pack is $4.99. 

Check out the app here!

Transformation Tuesday: Math Picture Books to Love- One Hundred Hungry Ants

One Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor J. Pinczes

Target Skill(s): Multiplication and Arrays

Book Synopsis: The story begins with one hundred ants marching in a line toward a picnic spot when the smallest ant stops the line to say that they are moving way too slow. He suggests that a different arrangement is the way to go. Again and again, the littlest ant stops the line to change the arrangement, but by the time they arrive at the picnic spot, the food is all gone. All of the ants turn on the littlest ant and blame him for them moving way too slow and missing out on all of the yummies to fill their tummies.

Math Involved: The format of the book illustrates the concept of arrays and allows students to determine all of the arrays that can be made with the factors for 100.

Questions to Ponder:

1. What were the ants trying to accomplish? Why?

2. Which arrangement best helped them accomplish their goal? How do you know?

3. Were there any other arrangements that they could have tried? How do you know?

Activity Ideas:

This book is a great introduction to the concept of arrays. Some of the activities that can be used to support the understanding of arrays and connect with the story include:

a. Recreate the arrays in the story and label them with a number sentence.

b. Give student groups different products and ask them to find the arrays that represent the number.

Additional activities that can be used to extend the concepts of the book include:

a. Give students different products (both prime and composite) and ask them to find the arrays that represent the number and create an illustrative poster. Then, use the posters to develop the concept of prime and composite numbers.

b. Use arrays as a method for creating lists of factors for a product.

c. Make conjectures about the "squareness" of the illustrated arrays and discuss the term "square number." Be sure to discuss what a square number is (a number multiplied by itself) and how it is constructed (s equal rows of s).

d. Develop or reiterate the concept of area and perimeter. Determine the perimeter of the arrays and discuss how the shapes change when the perimeters are larger or smaller. 

Book Link on Amazon: http://bit.ly/OneHundredHungryAnts

Solve It! Friday- Task #21

Here's how Solve It! Friday works:
1. Each Friday morning (at 12:00 AM Central Time), I will post one problem-solving task. Note: In some cases, I may post more than one version of the task to reach a wider variety of grades. 
2. Before the next Friday, use the task with your students. 
3. Have students solve the problems individually or with a group. 
4. Individual students or student groups create posters using numbers, pictures, and words to illustrate the solutions. Note: The blank backs of old book covers make great poster paper! 
5. Either via a math talk session or a gallery walk, be sure to have students share their responses with other students. 

I would love to see your students' responses and showcase them on social media. Please post your students' responses to Twitter using the hashtag #RMTSolveIt(week number). For privacy, please be sure that students' names and other identifying information is located on the back of the poster. Be sure to check out other classes' solutions using the same hashtag to filter the Twitter results. 

I look forward to seeing your students' work! Thanks for sharing! 

Solution: The real beauty of this task is in the process. Please emphasize that with your students. It may take some time to solve this problem. Validate their efforts and ask questions to move them in a different direction if needed. For your convenience, I have provided the solution below:

#RMTSolveItWeek21: The values of each symbol are as follows: Heart = 3, Caterpillar = 4, Love Birds = 10; Owl = 6, and Tree = 5

BloomBoard: A Place for Educators to Learn and Share

As teachers, we are always on the hunt for really great resources. When we don't have exactly what we need at our fingertips, we usually take to the web and search for what we need using a search engine like Google. While it certainly can be an effective process, it is not always the most efficient one. If, like me, the web has become your professional library, I have a special treat to share with you today. 

Recently, I became acquainted with an amazing website called BloomBoard. It is a search tool, but the results are collections, resources grouped together based on the recommendations of educators, like you and me. That means you can find multiple relevant resources for a topic in one convenient location. Can we say timesaver!

Throughout the month of February, over 20 education bloggers, me included, will be sharing our collections of learning resources with the world on our blogs and writing about how the collection powers our practice. The collections will either be ones we have curated ourselves around a topic of interest or expertise or just a favorite of ours from the new BloomBoard. You can check the BloomBoard Blog every Monday in February for the week's schedule of bloggers and follow along daily on BloomBoard's Facebook and Twitter pages.

My BloomBoard Collection

You may remember that last year I wrote a guest blog post for Rachel Lynette's Minds in Bloom about getting started with math talk in the classroom. (Missed it? See it here!) Encouraging teachers to use math talk in the classroom has become a mission for The Routty Math Teacher and I speak of it often. I am a firm believer that when our students communicate about mathematics, their critical thinking skills grow exponentially! However, as both a teacher and a math coach, I do understand that it is a challenge to implement something with which you are unfamiliar, so I wrote the article to help teachers who were ready to take the plunge.

Now, with the help of BloomBoard, I have been able to create a collection of resources that will also support teachers with this endeavor. With this collection, teachers all over the world will be able to access a host of resources, websites, print materials, and recommended books to get their students talking about math. Explore the collection! While you're there, be sure to sign-up, it's FREE, recommend resources for others using the "thumbs up" button, and save things for later using the plus sign. Happy Exploring!

Getting Students Started with Math Talk

After you've had a chance to explore BloomBoard, hop on over to meet the next featured blogger, Aaron, from Core Task Project. Here's a little bit about him: 

I am a 4th grade teacher at Huffaker Elementary in Reno, Nevada. Before returning to the classroom, I helped develop the Core Task Project that has been featured by National Public Radio, the Gates Foundation, American Radio Works, Eduwonk, the Fordham Institute, Vox, and the Center for American Progress. In 2014, I received the Leader to Learn From Award for my teacher-centered initiative and work to bring college, career, and civics ready outcomes into Northern Nevada classrooms.

I started working with elementary students as part of the Montana Reads program and AmeriCorps. In 2001, after graduating from the University of Montana and moving to Reno, Nevada, I student taught at Rita Cannan Elementary before receiving a 6th grade position at Veterans Elementary. I moved out of the classroom to be a Literacy Coordinator, then an Instructional Coach, and finally a School Improvement Program Coordinator. In 2011, I began working on the Nevada Academic Content Standards in the district’s Curriculum & Instruction Department.

I believe strongly that teaching content is teaching reading and I make sure my students have ample opportunities to work with social studies, history, science and art outcomes. I do what I can to blend the learning for my students and this blog is part of that effort. You can contact me at agrossman@washoeschools.net.

Sound off! Tell us about a great collection you found on BloomBoard.

Transformation Tuesday: Math Picture Books to Love- The Hershey's Fractions Book

The Hershey's Fractions Book by Jerry Pallotta

Target Skill(s): Introduction to Fractions

Book Synopsis: The candy-filled pages use the Hershey's candy bar to model fractional amounts. Each page highlights a different fraction and provides some additional information about Hershey's candy, reinforces important fraction terms, and introduces fraction addition, subtraction, and division.

Math Involved: This book introduces fractions and is a springboard for other fraction skills.

Questions to Ponder:

1. What is a fraction?

2. What is a numerator?

3. What is a denominator?

4. What are equivalent fractions?

5. How do you simplify a fraction to its lowest terms?

6. What is an improper fraction?

7. What do we call a whole number paired with a fraction?

Activity Ideas:

a. Use the book to introduce the idea of using a same-size whole and equal parts when comparing or computing with fractions.

b. Introduce equivalent fractions. Students will notice that one-third is equal to two-sixths, and four-twelfths. 

c. Review important vocabulary. The book uses a variety of terms when discussing the fractional parts that can be illustrated by a Hershey's candy bar. 

o   d. Model fraction addition and subtraction. When combined with the equivalent fractions activity above, the book makes a great springboard for developing fraction addition and subtraction skills. 

Book Link on Amazon: http://bit.ly/HersheysFractionsBook

Solve It! Friday- Task #20

Here's how Solve It! Friday works:
1. Each Friday morning (at 12:00 AM Central Time), I will post one problem-solving task. Note: In some cases, I may post more than one version of the task to reach a wider variety of grades. 
2. Before the next Friday, use the task with your students. 
3. Have students solve the problems individually or with a group. 
4. Individual students or student groups create posters using numbers, pictures, and words to illustrate the solutions. Note: The blank backs of old book covers make great poster paper! 
5. Either via a math talk session or a gallery walk, be sure to have students share their responses with other students. 

I would love to see your students' responses and showcase them on social media. Please post your students' responses to Twitter using the hashtag #RMTSolveIt(week number). For privacy, please be sure that students' names and other identifying information is located on the back of the poster. Be sure to check out other classes' solutions using the same hashtag to filter the Twitter results. 

I look forward to seeing your students' work! Thanks for sharing! 

Solution: The real beauty of this task is in the process. Please emphasize that with your students. It may take some time to solve this problem. Validate their efforts and ask questions to move them in a different direction if needed. For your convenience, I have provided the solution below:

#RMTSolveItWeek20: Denise makes 6 dozen chocolate cupcakes. 

Transformation Tuesday- Math Picture Books to Love

Did you know there are many picture books centered around math content and skills? For the month of February, Transformation Tuesday will be all about math picture books and how to use them in the classroom. Using picture books in the math classroom is an excellent way to engage students and to teach or reinforce grade level content and skills through literature. 

Picture books can be used to enhance the mathematics you teach in a variety of ways. I have included a few ways and an example of each below: 

• Lesson Launch- Picture books can be great lesson openers. Choosing a picture book that is related to the content you are about to teach gives students a context for their learning, helps activate prior knowledge, illustrates another way to connect the learning, and develops curiosity about the skill. Examples- If You Hopped Like a Frog and The Greedy Triangle
• Explore a Concept- Picture books can be a great way to explore a concept too. Often times, picture books are designed so that students can work through the problem of the story with the characters of the book. For this type of learning experience, a well-crafted activity sheet can be used to give students an opportunity to experience the skill with the characters. Examples- Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland, A Remainder of One, and Spaghetti and Meatballs for All
• Explain- Picture books can also support student understanding of a skill after an initial learning experience. Many books actually explain how or why to use a skill or procedure and then gives students an opportunity to apply it through the context of the story. Examples- A Fly on the Ceiling, Cut Down to Size at High Noon, and What's Your Angle, Pythagoras?
• Station Work- Picture books make great tasks for math stations. Series such as the Pig books by Amy Axelrod and books by Stuart Murphy can be used with an accompanying activity sheet. Read an example of how to do this here. 

Amazon has a fabulous selection of math picture books-- many of which you can peruse via their website. Below, you will find a list of the books that I wrote about in last year's Math Picture Books to Love Series. This month, I will add a few more titles to this list. Click the book title to read more about the book and how it can be used to enhance your students' learning. 

A Fly on the Ceiling

A Remainder of One

Cut Down to Size at High Noon

If You Hopped Like a Frog

How Much is a Million

Math Curse

Multiplying Menace- The Revenge of Rumpelstiltskin

Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland

Spaghetti and Meatballs for All

The Greedy Triangle

What's Your Angle, Pythagoras?

Sound Off! What's your favorite math picture book?

Want more? My month newsletter, Teaching Tidbits, includes a regular feature article highlighting a math picture book and ways to use it in the classroom. In addition, I often include an activity sheet to accompany the reading. 
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