Think Through Math Benchmark

Today we took the Think Through Math benchmark.

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Khan Academy: Dividing Unit Fractions and Whole Numbers

Lesson Frame:

• We will divide AND represent division of a unit fraction by a whole number, and the division of a whole number by a unit fraction.
• I will divide AND use models to represent division of a unit fraction by a whole number and a whole number by a unit fraction.

Khan Academy

Well, apparently the break didn't do much for my brain either! I assigned the Khan Academy activities through Classroom as a link. Sounds innocuous enough, unless students do not sign in to Khan Academy... then their work does not count for them! So, we logged in to Khan and THEN we completed the activities that I "recommended" through Khan. Much better!

Fifth Grade Builder

We have a wacky few weeks coming up, so I want to be sure and keep my kids' constantly reviewing previously taught concepts, so we completed Fifth Grade Builder #36.

Think Through Math/Khan

Once students had completed the Fifth Grade Builder, it was time to get back into the world of Think Through Math.

Back from Thanksgiving! Let's ease back into math!

Lesson Frame:

• We will divide AND represent division of a unit fraction by a whole number, and the division of a whole number by a unit fraction.
• I will divide AND use models to represent division of a unit fraction by a whole number and a whole number by a unit fraction.

Khan Academy

So, we have been out of school for a week. Probably not a good idea to give a quiz over dividing unit fractions and whole numbers what with a week of too much food, too much play, and absolutely no thought of math!!!

Therefore, I decided to ease my kiddos back into school by having them practice dividing unit fractions and whole numbers on Khan Academy. I reminded them that they had notes they could refer to on page 12 of their journal, I reminded them that they could watch any video suggestions given on Khan. Then, I gave them 20 minutes to have at it. Most did not complete the five sessions, so we will continue tomorrow.

Number Sense

Our UIL competition is next week, so my Number Sense group began by working through a Number Sense test. When finished, they delved into the Khan assignments.

Fifth Grade Builder

We have a wacky few weeks coming up, so I want to be sure and keep my kids' constantly reviewing previously taught concepts, so we completed Fifth Grade Builder #35. I don't typically assign math for homework on a Monday, so I made sure there was ample class time to complete the assignment.

Think Through Math/Khan

Once students had completed the Fifth Grade Builder, it was time to get back into the world of Think Through Math. However, I have students who have completed the 5th grade pathway on Think Through Math. So, these kids will now be dividing their time between the 6th Grade pathway on Think Through Math, and passing lessons and earning points on Khan Academy. Today, it was Khan Academy.

The Friday Before Thanksgiving Break

What to do the Friday before Thanksgiving...  Do I begin a new set of rotations and have a week long break between?   Do I give a short assessment on our new learning, knowing that most of my students are still struggling with the concept?   I decided "no" to the previous two questions and decided to just have as close to a normal day as possible.  

So, we began with what can best be described as our Spelling time.  I have multiple groups working on multiple things all at the same time:

• The largest group is working on LEXIA in order to build their spelling, ELA, and reading comprehension.
• My second group has completed LEXIA through 5th grade and is working on spelling on Spelling City.
• My third group has completed LEXIA and are my UIL Spelling and Dictionary teams.  These groups practice either the UIL Spelling or UIL Dictionary "tests" each day.

Next, we went ahead and completed our next Fifth Grade Builder (#34).  We had some new learning yesterday, so I wanted to reinforce the new knowledge before too much turkey and too many computer games took their toll!

Finally, we spent the remainder of time working on Think Through Math.  My students are really doing a terrific job of passing lessons and attaining the goals we have set.  So, I wanted to keep that momentum going, knowing full well, that the aforementioned computer games will probably NOT include TTM!  We did spend the final 10 minutes redeeming TTM points and designing TTM avatars.

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Think Through Math

So, today was a little different schedule for us.  Our school system is a little unique in that all three of our campuses are on the same block.  Today all of the campuses were asked to attend a high school girls' basketball game to lend support.   This meant that we had to have shorter classes.

Today, we just completed a Fifth Grade Builder (#33) which had some new information on it, so we spent time going over the new concepts, then they finished the page on their own.

Once they finished the assignment, we spent the remaining time on Think Through Math.

Dividing a Unit Fraction by a Whole Number and a Whole Number by a Unit Fraction: Day B Rotations

Lesson Frame:

• We will divide AND represent division of a unit fraction by a whole number, and the division of a whole number by a unit fraction.
• I will divide AND use models to represent division of a unit fraction by a whole number and a whole number by a unit fraction.

Group 1 and 4: Collaborative

Yesterday we used the resource "Math Tri-Folds" to work problems that required us to divide unit fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions in a small group with me. Today, these groups worked on completing #2 and began working on #3.

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I like this resource because it requires the students to write expressions and/or equations.  It also requires them to check their work which reinforces their use of multiplication of fractions and whole numbers.

Group 2:  Teacher Time

Yesterday, this group was given a Level 2 math sheet to work on together from the resource, "Common Core Differentaited Math Skill Sheets."  Today we checked their work from yesterday, and then I worked with this group on the fraction tri-fold #2 from the above resource.

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Group 3:  Teacher Time

This group was given a Level 2 math sheet to work on together from the resource, "Common Core Differentiated Math Skill Sheets." (see above)  I wanted the opportunity to watch how they solved these problems to address any misconceptions they may have.  Once we completed these problems, the remaining time was working with the math cube from yesterday.

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I chose 6 of the 8 choices from the "Math Choice Board" resource and recreated them to fit in the cubes.  Now, students will roll the cube to find out the activity to work on, instead of reading through the choice board to decide what activity to choose.

Assignment

Fifth Grade Builder #31

Dividing a Unit Fraction by a Whole Number and a Whole Number by a Unit Fraction: Rotation Day A

Lesson Frame:

• We will divide AND represent division of a unit fraction by a whole number, and the division of a whole number by a unit fraction.
• I will divide AND use models to represent division of a unit fraction by a whole number and a whole number by a unit fraction.

Group 1 and 4: Teacher Time

I felt like my classes would be more successful if we worked with the same type of format that we used yesterday. Yesterday we used the resource "Math Tri-Folds" to work problems that required us to divide unit fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions.

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I like this resource because it requires the students to write expressions and/or equations.  It also requires them to check their work which reinforces their use of multiplication of fractions and whole numbers.

Group 2:  Collaborative

This group was given a Level 2 math sheet to work on together from the resource, "Common Core Differentaited Math Skill Sheets."

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This activity required them to draw a model, answer word problems, and check their work using multiplication.  The other differentiated activities included a Level 1 math sheet which gave students the model to work with, the Level 3 math sheet allowed students to create word problems to match the expression.

Group 3:  Number Sense or MATH Choice Cube

This group has two groups within it, the first set of kids are my UIL Number Sense team, so they will spend most of their time taking a UIL Number Sense test.  When they finish, they will begin what the rest of their group was working on.  The MATH Choice cube is a joining of the resource, "5th Grade Math Choice Boards," and  "Differentiated Instruction Cubes."  

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I chose 6 of the 8 choices from the "Math Choice Board" resource and recreated them to fit in the cubes.  Now, students will roll the cube to find out the activity to work on, instead of reading through the choice board to decide what activity to choose.

Assignment

Fifth Grade Builder #30

Dividing a Unit Fraction by a Whole Number and a Whole Number by a Unit Fraction: Note Taking

Lesson Frame

• We will divide AND represent division of a unit fraction by a whole number, and the division of a whole number by a unit fraction.
• I will divide AND use models to represent division of a unit fraction by a whole number and a whole number by a unit fraction.

Note Taking

We began by defining a unit fraction as being a fraction with "1" as the numerator. Next, I reminded my classes that division is just "putting into equal groups". We walked through an example of each type of division problem.

Now that we had the basics written down, we used the resource "Math Tri-Folds" to work problems that required us to divide unit fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions.

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I like this resource because it requires the students to write expressions and/or equations.  It also requires them to check their work which reinforces their use of multiplication of fractions and whole numbers.

Exit Ticket

For the exit ticket, I used two different resources.  First, I wanted them to write about their learning today, so I found a prompt from the resource, "5th Grade Math Journal Prompts."

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Secondly, I wanted to see if they could find the error in someone's work and solve the problem correctly. For this I used the resource, "Error Analysis Math Tasks."

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Multiplying a Fraction and a Whole Number: Assessment

Lesson Frame:

• We will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.
• I will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.

Assessment

Today we took our multiplication of a fraction and a whole number assessment. I used the resource

I used screenshot on the 10 questions I wanted to use and imported them into a Google Form.  I also used screencastify to record the questions for my students with the 504 accommodation for having items read aloud.  I imported both the Google Form and Screencastify into my Google Classroom for students to have at their disposal.

Think Through Math

Once finished with their assessment, students spent their remaining class time on TTM.  The last 10 minutes of class they were able to redeem their points and modify their avatar.

Multiply a Fraction and Whole Number: Let's Kahoot

Lesson Frame:

• We will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.
• I will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.

Let's Kahoot

The kids enjoyed the Kahoot today! Don't get me wrong, they all enjoy a Kahoot, however, today everyone felt as though they all had a fighting chance. No one was already defeated if they know they take time to solve a problem and others just seem to know it! To top it all off, I did reward the top five with chocolate, but everyone else got a Jolly Rancher!

Assignment

Once we finished the Kahoot, I had them solve Fifth Grade Builder #29. There was plenty of time to ensure that no one left with homework today.

Think Through Math

Once the assignment was turned in, students got onto Think Through Math. They are really feeling empowered as they continue to pass lessons!

Multiply a Fraction and a Whole Number: Let's Get Ready to Kahoot

Lesson Frame:

• We will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.
• I will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.

Group 1 - 4:

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I placed the 16 problems from this resource onto Classroom and asked my students to complete the problems independently that remained from their rotation time with me.  We now will have an answer document to use on the Kahoot tomorrow and everyone will feel prepared!

Think Through Math

Once they were ready for tomorrow's Kahoot, they spent time working on passing a lesson on TTM.

Assignment

We completed Fifth Grade Builder #28 today.  It occurred to me that I really wanted them to work any of the operation problems on grid paper.  Up until now, I had allowed them to just solve the problem, but I started noticing that errors in basic arithmetic and subtraction were happening more frequently.  Ergo, it was time to bring out the grid paper and require students to show their work on it with beautifully lined up digit.  Ahhhh... organization in math.... that makes me happy!

Multiply a Fraction and a Whole Number: Rotation Day B

Lesson Frame:

• We will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.
• I will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.

Group 1 & 4: Khan Academy

These two groups focused on solving multiplication of a whole number and fraction online using lessons and practice session from Khan Academy.  

Group 2 & 3: Teacher Time

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I had these two groups solve the same problems as my students yesterday, however, I asked them to solve the problems independently while I observed their work.  Most groups got about 1/2 way finished, so I will post the problems to Classroom for them to complete tomorrow during rotations.

Assignment

We completed Fifth Grade Builder #27 today.

Multiplying a Fraction and a Whole Number: Rotation Day A

Lesson Frame:

• We will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.
• I will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.

Last week, we spent days learning about the different ways you can represent the multiplication of a fraction and a whole number, as well as, learning how to solve these types of problems using an equation. This week we need to practice.

Group 1 & 4: Teacher Time

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Beginning with these two groups, I asked the students to solve problems using both models and the standard algorithm.  There are a total of 16 problems in this resource.  I am having students solve the problems, record their answers, and keep up with their answer sheet until Thursday.  I have made this resource into a Kahoot.  By solving the problems first, this should allow all of my kids a fighting chance when playing the game.  I decided to do it this way after seeing the frustration of some of my students when the same handful of students "win" every time.

Group 3 & 4:  Khan Academy

These two groups focused on solving multiplication of a whole number and fraction online using lessons and practice session from Khan Academy.  

Think Through Math

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Typically Mondays are used to teach a new concept, however, since today was a continuation from last week, we had about 20 minutes left to our math class.  I asked my students to get back on Think Through Math to give us a little more precious time working on completing lessons.  Let me just say, the best thing I have ever done is to allow my students to have a piece of candy after every lesson passed.  I use Jolly Ranches and I am on my 3rd HUGE bag this year!  If you are having any issues getting your students to actively pursue passing lessons on TTM.... buy some Jolly Ranchers and watch out!

November 4

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Multiplying a Whole Number and a Fraction (continued)

Lesson Frame

• We will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.
• I will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.

Activity

Today we finished our Halloween Fractions Riddle (original upper level). This is my version:

Mummy Riddle

Think Through Math

Any remaining time we had, students spent on TTM.  We have not had any class time this week to spend on TTM, so we needed a little make up time!

Multiplying A Whole Number and a Fraction

Lesson Frame

• We will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.
• I will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.

Activity

Today we began working with multiplying a fraction and a whole number using the algorithm. I am always looking to make this a little fun, so I found a riddle on Teachers Pay Teachers that was actually a free download called Halloween Fractions Riddle:

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I found that, while I loved the activity, it was actually too high level for my students.  We do not multiply fractions by fractions, so I modified it to fit our needs:

Mummy Riddle

The first problem was 1/4 x 8.  

• We wrote the problem on notebook paper, then we rewrote 8 as 8/1.
• Then we multiplied across:
• 1 x 8 = 8
• 4 x 1 = 4
• Then we changed our improper fraction into a mixed number.
• 8 divided by 4 = 2

We continued the process through the first 7 or so problems, then I allowed them to start working on their own.  I did allow for them to work together with the provision that working together does not mean waiting for someone else to complete the problem and then copying their work.

We did not get this completely finished, so we will continue working on it tomorrow.

Assignment

Students did complete a Fifth Grade Builder.

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Multiplying a Fraction and a Whole Number: Models

Lesson Frame

• We will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.
• I will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.

Lesson

Yesterday we began working with multiplication of a fraction and a whole number by finding fractional parts of a whole. Today, I wanted my kids to be exposed to models that will be coming their way as they work with multiplying fractions:

• Fraction Strips
• Area Models
• Circle Graphs

I also decided that we would solve problems that had a Halloween feel this week to make things a little more interesting. Here are some examples of problems we solved:

This model uses the idea of fractions strips.  Basically, you place two "wholes" together.  Then you have to divide the two wholes into four parts based on the denominator.  I had to be careful with this step, because my kids looked at the model at saw it at 2 wholes and four-fourths.  I had to block the second whole from view and ask my kids how many pieces each whole had.  It was at this point they understood that each section actually represented 1/2.  Finally, we colored in three sections and were able to see that the answer was 1 1/2.

As we worked through this models, it was important to remind students as we worked with each of the 3 "containers" that we were coloring in 1/2 of each of them, one at a time.  The black "x" represents our moving that 1/2 to the first containers to visually see the answer 1 1/2 

My students were most comfortable with this representation.  They have worked with it in many different ways.  Again, the black "x" show us moving pieces to fill in each circle to demonstrated 1 1/8.

Our last type of representation was based on our learning yesterday.  I wanted to remind students of the process and the fact that this is also a model of multiplying a fraction and a whole number.

I explained that this week we are spending the majority of our time taking notes of the multiple ways to show multiplication of a fraction and a whole number.  I also explained that we will be using our notes next week during our rotations in order to become more comfortable with the processes.

Assignment

We spent the final 20 minutes of class working on a Fifth Grade Builder.

Multiplying a Fraction and a Whole Number: Fractional Parts of a Whole

Lesson Frame:

• We will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.
• I will represent and solve problems involving multiplication of a whole number and a fraction.

Lesson

This week we will not be completing rotations. I decided that, since we need some time reading and developing models for multiplication of a fraction and a whole number, we would work in small groups this week.

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It was also fun that today was Halloween because it allowed me to use Skittles for modeling fractional parts of a whole!

Our first problem was:

I asked my students how many Skittles they would need to help with this representation (20).  Next, I asked how many groups we would need to split the Skittles into (5) and how they determined their number of groups (denominator).  Once we had our 5 groups, I asked how many were in each group (4).  I asked them to explain how they determined 4 were in each group.  I got one of two answers (1) when you divide the candy piece by piece you ended up with 4 in a group and (2) 20 divided by 5 = 4.

Now that we had our groups, I asked how many groups we were going to use (4) and where they determined that number (numerator).  If we used four groups of the Skittles, how many total? (16)  So how many were black cat stamps?  (16).

Before moving any of the model, I had students add this representation to their math journal.  We continued this process with a few more problems before working in a small group on their exit ticket.