Thursday 30 October 2014

Design a Running Course - Metric

Introducing a new pack called -  Running Course is in metric units

 

There is a three week planner that will engage students in the task of measuring a running course that they design. 

They will brainstorm ways to make sure that the course is 1km.

Discuss and model how to step out a metre, check with trundle wheels or measuring tape
Skills needed are measuring length, scale/ratio, time, weight, mass and compass skills for direction.

There will be a large amount of class time needed for stepping out the course and checking measurements.

There are three weeks of planners and depending on how your grade move through the tasks they may take less or more time

Explicit teaching components are….
Why do we use scale – ruler interactive notebook (INB) page
Length, time, mass, capacity INB page
Ratio INB pig, girl page
Scale in our world
House plan for scale
Capacity INB page
Mass or weight INB page






Monday 27 October 2014

Sunday - Monday game task

 Number Busting.....

This is where you can use beads on a large string to show 200. 

Or have 20 beads only for 0-20.

Ask the kids to show a certain number and then you 'bust it'

So 20 can be 12 and 8, 13 and 7, 19 and 1, 10 and 10

Have beads in groups of 10 in different colors.

Once the kids have got small numbers under control they can do use much bigger numbers. 





Wednesday 22 October 2014

Four Processes - Addition

Australian Curriculum
Level (Year) Four

This week we are adding (no pun intended!) a Level Four Addition unit to our iSURF collection.

The focus on addition at AusVELS Level Four is on equivalent number sentences, which also links in with Booker’s concepts of estimation, adding numbers mentally and calculator use.


This unit includes:
• On overview of the concepts and strategies relevant to the development of addition
• Key teaching points
• A Student Progress Record sheet
• Tasks to support the teaching of addition
• Resources to support the teaching of addition
• Identified assessment tasks to support a differentiated teaching approach

There is also room to include your favourite addition tasks and activities that are relevant to the strategies being taught or to practice the addition concept.

Strategies, Tasks and Problem Solving included:
• Review the strategies of adding 2 and 3 digit numbers
• Review the strategies of adding more than 2 numbers
• Understanding equivalent number sentences
• Using Thinkboards
• Understanding Estimation, Mental Computation and Calculator Use
• Problem solving using Estimation, Mental Computation and Calculator Use

  

We hope you enjoy our latest addition (pun intended this time!) and if there are any topics you would like to see us cover - please don't hesitate to let us know!

Sunday 19 October 2014

Sunday Night Games

Chess

It seems that board games and puzzles go in cycles as they gain favour with kids and are all they want to play and talk about.
Chess is really big with the students I work with at the moment. The problem solving and lateral thinking skills required (not to mention the interpersonal skills and patience required) are amazing!
Students need to show persistence to learn the rules and how the peices move, as well as develop basic strategies to allow the game to progress.
 
 
Reources to teach students how to play Chess can be found at:
 
This page has links to:
 
 Below are some online Chess games with varying levels of difficulty...
 
 
 
 But for my liking - you can't beat the real thing.. sitting with a board and the peices in front of you and playing with another person is great!
If you have any favourite board games that you would like to share, please feel free to email us at kpisurf@mail.com
 

Wednesday 15 October 2014

Delightful Data - now for Aus & USA Curriculum

This week we add another resource to our collection that is designed for both Australian and USA curriculums. We are re-posting a unit on collecting and graphing data that is aimed at Level 1 & 2 in Australia and Grade 2 in the USA.


Delightful Data allows students to develop the skills of asking questions, identifying possible answers, collecting data (including the skill of tallying) and graphing the results.

     


Students love to be in charge of their own learning and conduct their own surveys.
This is a great way for students to learn about collecting real life data from their peers and then show off the results!


Sunday 12 October 2014

Sunday Night Games

Sudoku

The popular game of Sudoku (a grid based number game) is fantastic for developing student's problem solving skills and persistence. It requires students to use a strategic and logical approach to figuring out which numbers (typically 0 - 9) fit in each box - so there are no numbers doubled up either horizontally or vertically.
 
There are many versions available (both online and paper) for children and adults alike. Below are some websites where students can play a variety of engaging Sudoku games - suitable for different age groups and abilities.
 
 


 
 

 
These types of puzzles are a fantastic resource to have available as a Maths warm up activity or as an extension/early finisher's challenge.  
If you have any other great online or paper games for students - please let us know at
 

Wednesday 8 October 2014

Welcome back to Term 4

We are halfway though Week 1 of our last term here in Australia, before our summer break.
We are working on a Year 2 Place Value set that is growing and not quite ready to post.
 The pack will cover 


Understandings 

There are patterns in the way we write whole numbers that help us to remember their order

The Key Understandings are
1.The order of the digits make a difference so that the value of the 7 in 72 and 17 are different
2.The place of the digit tells the quantity – in 230, the 2 is 200 or 2 hundreds and the 3 is 30 or 3 tens
3.The zero is a place holder
4.There is multiplicative relationship  to the power of ten and from right to left
5.The value of the digit is multiplied by the value of the place ie 230 – the 2 is 200 and the 3 is 30
There will be a weekly lesson plan, ideas for engaging kids before the lesson starts and assessment ideas.

There are a host of Interactive Notebook pages and tasks to do to help your grade understand place value to 1000