General Interest Archives - Page 5 of 8

Fractions General Interest Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning

An Important Teacher Decision: When and When Not to Give the Answer?

When should a teacher resolve a question for students and when is it OK, or even a better instructional decision, to let confusion ride? I recently was confronted with this situation with fourth graders. Read about what happened and what I did.

Marilyn BurnsMay 16, 2016

Algebra General Interest Problem Solving Videos

An Oldie Revisited: The Border Problem

Here's one of my favorite oldies. (No, not the photo—the border problem.) I was so pleased to see this math investigation included in Jo Boaler’s latest paper. This blog post presents a detailed lesson plan for using the border problem with students and also includes a five-minute video clip to give you a sense of how the instruction went with one class.

Marilyn BurnsApril 19, 2016

General Interest Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning Subtraction

Does Changing Subtraction to Addition Make It Easier?

Teachers have always told me that paper-and-pencil subtraction when problems call for regrouping is hard to teach and hard for students to learn. Much harder than addition. So why subtract when you can always add? That’s what my friend Nicholas thought, and he taught me how.

Marilyn BurnsApril 7, 2016

General Interest Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning Place Value

A Reponse to Joe Schwartz’s Blog about Algorithms

I was recently planning to teach my friend Ruth Cossey’s elementary math methods class at Mills College in Oakland, California. Digging through my collection of student work, I found a paper from a third grader I had interviewed. When doing interviews, I typically ask students to figure out answers in their heads, but I agreed when Nomar asked for paper and pencil for some of the problems.

Marilyn BurnsApril 4, 2016

Fractions General Interest Numerical Reasoning

Fractions on a Number Line

The fourth graders I’m working with on a regular basis are learning about fractions. During a class conversation, one student declared, “Fractions aren’t numbers.” Most of the others in the class agreed. I tried to help with the misunderstanding by teaching a lesson about placing fractions on a number line.

Marilyn BurnsMarch 16, 2016

Assessment General Interest Interviews One-on-One Number and Operations Place Value Videos

Place Value: How to Assess Students’ Understanding

Place value is one of the most important foundational concepts about our number system. Watch my assessment interviews of second graders and learn how you can find out what your students understand about place value.

Marilyn BurnsJanuary 18, 2016

Fractions Games General Interest Numerical Reasoning Problem Solving

Fix It: An Activity for Ordering Fractions

At a math workshop, the presenter suggested that students have opportunities to be producers as well as consumers of their learning in the classroom. I put this advice into action with fifth graders, using the activity of Fix It to provide students additional experience with comparing and ordering fractions.

Marilyn BurnsDecember 11, 2015

General Interest Math and Literature Numerical Reasoning Problem Solving

One Children’s Book . . . Different Grade Levels

In a previous blog, I described a lesson I taught to second graders using the wonderful children’s book One Is a Snail, Ten Is a Crab. At John Muir Elementary School in San Francisco, I observed two other lessons using the same book, one in Kindergarten and the other in fourth grade. The lessons were a joy to observe, and I feel that my own teaching repertoire has now been enhanced.

Marilyn BurnsDecember 8, 2015

General Interest Math and Literature Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning

The Equal Sign: What It Really Means

Students begin learning about the equal sign in the early grades, and Quack and Count by Keith Baker is a terrific children’s book for helping with this in kindergarten and grade 1. It’s one of my favorite children’s books for teaching math. (Yes, yes, I know I have lots of favorites.) Here I describe the lesson I taught and what occurred.

Marilyn BurnsNovember 13, 2015

Data General Interest Math and Literature Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning Problem Solving

Chrysanthemum—An Oldie but Goodie

Are you interested in a lesson that combines a wonderful children’s book with activities that engage students with organizing data and reasoning numerically? Read about how lessons using Chrysanthemum unfolded in two classes.

Marilyn BurnsNovember 10, 2015

General Interest