Number and Operations Archives - Page 2 of 5

Estimation General Interest Interviews One-on-One Listening to Learn Mental Math Multiplication Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning

Two Students . . . Two Different Ways of Reasoning

On Wednesday, May 5, 2021, I posted the sixth in my Wednesday Twitter series of video clips from Listening to Learn math interviews. The response to this Tweet amazed me―it received over 100,000 impressions! I was appreciative of the many supportive and insightful replies. Read more.

Marilyn BurnsMay 11, 2021

Division General Interest Interviews One-on-One Mental Math Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning

What is 100 ÷ 3? Why We Ask and What We Learn

Asking students to solve problems mentally, without paper and pencil, is always revealing and often surprising. I thought that asking students to solve 100 ÷ 3 would be sort of a slam dunk. My, was I wrong!

Marilyn BurnsApril 8, 2021

Games General Interest Multiplication Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning

What’s the Longest Number String Possible?

I just learned about Factors and Multiples, a shelter-at-home game that’s engaging as solitaire and can be played as a two-person game either cooperatively or competitively. (I’ve played it both ways.) It’s intriguing for both adults and kids (as long as players know about factors and multiples of numbers up to 100). It’s a keeper.

Marilyn BurnsApril 3, 2020

General Interest Mental Math Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning

What Are Good Math Questions to Ask Students?

Good Questions for Math Teaching is a Math Solutions book that has long been one of my favorites. It’s a resource that I dip into when I feel the need for something fresh. And it speaks directly to our current shelter-in-place coronavirus crisis as many of us look for ways to mathematically engage students online, children at home, or both. Here are samples to get you started. I’ll continue to post more ideas on Twitter (@mburnsmath).

Marilyn BurnsMarch 17, 2020

Games General Interest Math Menus Number and Operations Probability

One of My All Time Favorite Games

I’m a huge fan of math games, especially when they involve both strategic thinking and luck. And I’m always on the search for games that work with a span of grade levels. The Two-Dice Sums Game fits both. Learn about the game and read the letters of advice that 7th graders wrote to 2nd graders.

Marilyn BurnsDecember 9, 2019

Algorithms Decimals General Interest Interviews One-on-One Mental Math Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning Tutoring

Algorithms Are Not Enough!

Last year, I agreed to meet with a friend’s sixth-grade son. Oscar’s math teacher had raised an alarm for my friend and her husband about Oscar’s math progress. They were shocked. Oscar did his homework and was proficient with paper-and-pencil math. What was the problem?

Marilyn BurnsFebruary 19, 2019

Decimals General Interest Multiplication Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning Real-World Problems Videos Word Problems

When You Multiply by 10, Just Add a Zero? Horrors!?!

Have you ever asked students to solve 12.6 x 10, and they respond that the answer is 12.60? I have, many times. Students who do this apply a pattern that works when they multiply whole numbers by 10—they tack on a zero to the end of the number they’re multiplying. But then they apply the same pattern when working with decimals. What can we do?

Marilyn BurnsOctober 1, 2018

Decimals Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning Problem Solving

Teaching Adding Decimals: What If You Give the Answer First?

When teaching students to add decimals, I wind up reminding students to “line up the decimal points.” This makes sense to some students while others follow the rule without understanding. How can we teach adding decimals to develop understanding and skill? Here’s a possible suggestion: Give the correct answer up front.

Marilyn BurnsJanuary 14, 2018

Division General Interest Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning Real-World Problems Silent Math Word Problems

One Lesson, Two Pedagogical Mistakes

I believe strongly that mistakes are learning opportunities. At least that’s what I regularly tell students. But it sometimes feels different when the mistakes are mine . . . and especially when they are pedagogical mistakes that I make while teaching. That happened to me recently when teaching a lesson to fourth graders.

Marilyn BurnsJanuary 1, 2018

Decimals Number and Operations Numerical Reasoning

A Decimal Lesson . . . about 13/20 and More

I love Twitter. On November 3, 2017, I saw this image in a Tweet posted by @MarkChubb3. The image stuck with me for several days. After talking about it over dinner with a teacher friend, and then again over lunch with another, I became curious to find out what students might think. I made arrangements to “borrow” three fifth-grade classes and made plans to teach the same lesson in each class.

Marilyn BurnsDecember 19, 2017

Number and Operations