General Interest Archives - Page 7 of 9

General Interest Math and Literature Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning

Using Children’s Literature to Teach Math

In my early years of teaching, children’s books weren’t typically where I looked for help when planning math lessons. But that has changed. I now rely on children’s books regularly for engaging students with math. Here’s an example.

Marilyn BurnsSeptember 9, 2015

General Interest Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning Problem Solving

Helping Students Open Their Minds

Bring an open mind is #1 on a poster of Sara Liebert’s expectations for her fourth grade class. Lynne Zolli used that expectation when introducing a math activity to the students.

Marilyn BurnsAugust 26, 2015

Games General Interest Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning

Four Strikes and You’re Out

Using games has long been standard in my teaching, and for several reasons. Games capture students’ interest and engages them in learning math. They’re ideal when students have extra time. And they’re effective options for the paper-and-pencil practice. Here’s one of my favorites.

Marilyn BurnsAugust 17, 2015

General Interest Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning Problem Solving

A Number Line Exploration

Here’s an idea that I was first introduced to about ten years ago by Nicholas Branca, a math educator who contributed profoundly to my thinking about math and teaching. I’ve tried presenting it as a math-in-three-acts investigation.

Marilyn BurnsAugust 13, 2015

General Interest Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning

A Mental Math Lesson, Part 2

In my June 2 post, I described how students solved 99 + 17. Actually I described only part of the lesson. Now, in response to a tweet, I explain how I also had students think about one of the important mathematical practices.

Marilyn BurnsAugust 11, 2015

General Interest Numerical Reasoning Problem Solving Videos

Goldilocks, the Three Bears, and Teaching Math

I began a back-to-school session for elementary teachers by asking everyone to write an opening sentence for Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The teachers were surprised by the request—the session was supposed to focus on teaching math. What was the connection?

Marilyn BurnsAugust 3, 2015

General Interest Technology

Why I Tweet

I’ve been tweeting since September of 2014, and I’m hooked. I never would have predicted that I’d join Twitter, much less enjoy it and benefit from it professionally. In this post, I describe my initiation into Twitter and what I’ve learned.

Marilyn BurnsJuly 27, 2015

General Interest Problem Solving Videos

The 1–10 Card Investigation

The 1-10 Card Investigation has a big payoff with students. It engages their interest, involves them with making sense of a problem and persevering to solve it, and gives them experience with evaluating their progress and changing course as necessary. Plus it has a playful aspect that too often is lost in math class.

Marilyn BurnsJune 29, 2015

Assessment General Interest Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning Videos

A Mental Math Lesson

I asked a class of fourth graders to figure out the answer to 99 + 17 in their heads. In this post, I describe why I chose that problem, include a video of how the lesson unfolded, describe a teaching error I made in a subsequent lesson, and more.

Marilyn BurnsJune 2, 2015

General Interest Number and Operations Problem Solving Real-World Problems Word Problems

Where’s the Math?

Students’ ideas often amaze me, and Lydia’s is one of the most suprising examples. She used 7 x 3 = 21 to figure out that 8 x 4 = 32. She reasoned that since the factors in 7 x 3 were each 1 less than the factors in 8 x 4, she’d just increase each digit in the answer, changing 21 to 32. She was correct! Read about Lydia's discovery, what I did, and what I learned.

Marilyn BurnsMay 11, 2015

General Interest