Sunday, January 23, 2011

Simple Strategy to use for Common Mistake: Counting by Tens and Ones

My kids sometimes continue counting by tens even when the unit has changed to ones. For example, there are six dimes and seven pennies. My students begin counting correctly, "10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60..." but then instead of adding the additional ONES, they continue counting "70, 80, 90, ...." giving them the incorrect answer. I tried the simplest strategy that has really worked for my kids. They clap when the unit changes! So, now, they pay more attention to when the unit changes so they can loudly clap. I can't believe it works but it has really helped some of my students that were doing this frequently.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Science Center

I have a hard time fitting science in with everything else! Next week we are working on adjectives in language arts so I thought I would try to integrate properties of solids (matter).

Stock your science center with a variety of objects, magnifying glasses, and these recording sheets. Students closely examine the object and record how the object feels and looks under the texture, size, and color categories.