Homeschool Teacher Workshops!

I'm offering two new classes for homeschool teachers in April. If you live in the Portland/Salem area and are interested in being added to the email list, please contact me (see email under "About Me" on right sidebar). I will update information here as it becomes available. (If you've already contacted me about this class, expect to receive information this week!)

Multiplication & Division
...with Visual Models, Manipulatives, Games and "Real" Books
TWO Workshops for Homeschool Teachers

Description:

Interested in learning some fun new ways to teach math? Join other homeschool teachers as we explore visual models, play games, and use “real books” to inspire learning. Appropriate for adults who are interested in adding to (multiplying?) their math teaching toolboxes.

New Class: Two and Three Dimensional Geometry

Class: Two and Three Dimensional Geometry

Age/Grade: appropriate for grades 3-6, ages 8-11(approximately).

Course Description: Students will "develop more precise ways to describe, classify, and make generalizations about 2- and 3-dimensional shapes. They'll identify properties of shapes and then link those properties to specialized geometric vocabulary like angles, sides, faces, edges, and so on. They will construct and sketch shapes, compare and discuss their attributes, classify them, and develop definitions for these new ideas.

Students will communicate their geometric conjectures and arguments in the context of problem solving. They'll fold and cut a square piece of paper to make a set of tangrams and then use spatial reasoning to investigate the relationships among the tangram shapes, using combinations of pieces to create familiar polygons.

[As time allows] students will use also use geoboards, geoblocks, and polygons formed with toothpicks to build understanding of congruence, similarity, and symmetry." (The curriculum and course description are taken from Bridges in Mathematics.)

Here are class examples from last year. (This is not the same content as the geometry class I taught last year.)

When:
5 sessions, 2 hrs. each
October 18, 25, November 1, 8, 15
10am - noon
Oregon's Willamette Valley area

If you have interest in participating, please drop me an email for more information. :)
love 2 teach 2 day @ gmail dot com

Place Value Structures, Class #2

We're continuing our exploration of Base 5, along with several other mathematical concepts. We covered a lot today...
While waiting for students to arrive, we enjoyed the book Easy Math Puzzles by David Adler. This is a fun book that I've used with several classes. Each puzzle is short but takes a significant amount of thought.

We opened the regular session with Moja Means One; Swahili Counting Book by Muriel Feelings. I chose this book after reading this idea connecting it to base 5:

"People have been counting on their hands for centuries. In some languages, the word "hand" means "five." If you ask a farmer how many goats he had and the farmer answered, "hand," how many goats would that be? (Five.) Suppose you have not yet thought to use two hands but just use one hand for counting. You can use toothpicks for this, and put down one I, then another 11, and another III, and one more IIII, until you have five IIIII. Now, how do you represent six if you can't count on your other hand? (Maybe you could just use the same hand over again, or cross the picks.). Lead children to discover the following:
6 is 5 and one more
7 is 5 and 2 more
8 is 5 and 3 more
9 is 5 and 4 more
10 is two 5s"

We discussed ways that larger numbers could be represented if hand = five. How could we represent 25? 50? I asked them to consider how this idea related to the exploration we did last week with our place value mats and cubes.

We continued with a very brief review of the Base 5/place value mat/cube counting. I asked them to give me a "thumbs-up" as long as I counted correctly and a "thumbs-down" if I made a mistake. They were all quick to catch my errors!

We used lessons from Bridges (Math Learning Center) looking at collections of Base 5 pieces. How many strips and units does it take to make a given number? Then we traded our strips for more and more pieces until we used only units.

We defined "minimal collection" and built more examples of base 5 collections. We recorded our work and looked for patterns.

 After learning to build minimal collections, we played "Up to the Mat and Back," racing to build and dismantle (add/subtract) Base 5 collections.

Along with all the Base 5 work we looked at odd/even numbers and played a subtraction/probability game, concluding with an enjoyable reading of Math Curse by Jon Scieszka (which does have some base work in it!)

Busy day! Thanks for all your hard work!

Place Value Structures, Class #1

Yesterday I began a series of 4 homeschool classes (2 hours each), focusing on "Place Value Structures." Sadly, I was so excited thinking about the class that I forgot to take photos. So a few posed photos will have to suffice...

As children arrived, they settled in to explore polydrons as they took turns completing a chart of information about themselves. After everyone had a chance to fill in their information, we talked through the chart, both to introduce ourselves and to consider what characteristics in our class came up the most/least often, comparing #s of family members, pets, etc.

We then set off to explore a "Foreign Counting System" using materials from Bridges (produced by The Math Learning Center.) I counted centimeter cubes onto a place value mat and asked students to try to figure out what rule or pattern I was using to count.

As students caught on, I gave them their own manipulatives and mats and they continued to count with me until we had 4 in each column. (Base 5)

Children discussed what they noticed about this counting system as I took notes on a class chart. One child immediately noticed that it was like counting money using pennies, nickels, and quarters.

I handed out base 5 pieces and challenged students to make observations with a partner. We then recorded the information on a class chart. Children worked together to figure out what the next piece in the sequence would look like. We finished up by drawing base 5 arrangements on graph paper.

Extra activity: In the middle of class we looked at a hundreds board and counted by 5s from 46 to 81. This was quite a change from the usual counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s. (Also from Bridges/Number Corner materials.)

Children's Math Books: No class could be complete without a few good books. We read Earth Day-Hooray! (place value) and Once Upon a Dime (money).

I have a delightful class of students. I'm looking forward to seeing you all again next week. (With a camera!) ;)

New Children's Class for September

For those who are local, I will be offering a new class in September, appropriate for ages 8-10 (approximately). We will be studying "Place Value Structures." The curriculum and course description are taken from Bridges in Mathematics.

Course Description: Most [8-10 year old] students "have already become familiar with the numbers, models, and words used in our base ten number system. As a result, students are often able to mask their lack of comprehension by using the correct labels without understanding their meaning. For instance, a student may know that the number 143 is read as "one hundred forty-three" without necessarily comprehending that in our base ten system, 143 means 1 group of one hundred, 4 groups of ten, and 3 ones.

By using [base 5], we level the playing field so that students with varying levels of place value understanding can learn together. Covering the same place value concepts in the familiar language of base ten would not challenge or engage a highly capable child in the way a different counting system does. In this new arena, all students can deepen their conceptual and procedural knowledge of number systems." (from Bridges in Mathematics)

We will also do some calendar grid workouts that set the foundation for multiplication using array models.

Class sessions use hands-on manipulatives, visual models, and games.

When:
September 9,16, 23, 30.
9-11 am

Where:
If you are local and have interest in participating, please drop me an email for more information. :)

Linking Math and Literature Class-update

Great class! So excited about the possibilities for using literature in the context of math. We considered the myriad of reasons (& ways!) to link the two, explored many lessons linking literature & math (not to mention poetry, drama, art...), and evaluated books for their quality/usability. It was rather fascinating to ponder the immense difference in the quality of books. Some are so incredibly dydactic...textual and/or mathematical drivel, really...or, worse, mathematically inaccurate. (Does that realization make me a book snob?) Others...AHHHH, the OTHERS...  They excite, ignite and spur the reader on to higher levels of mathematical thinking and learning.

Sigh.

Post-class high.

Accompanied by lower back pain.

I counted. 251 books were used in this class.

251 books!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My back proves it. ;)

Millions of Math Books to Measure...

I set up the books for my class. Here are photos of *some* (seriously!) of the books. (A master list is here, btw.)

Several people asked me where they all came from. Uh,...my shelves. (About 80%, that is.) How did you end up with so many? Uh,...I'm obsessed!!??!!

I could be obsessed with far worse things, right??? :)

I did run into a problem.

Where do I put the STUDENTS?????






Maybe they can just stand for class??

Bustin' With Excitement! (Math and Literature Class)

This is the week I've been waiting for all summer! I finally get to teach my new class, "Linking Math and Literature." It's hard to contain the enthusiasm! (Although I'm a little concerned about what it will mean to haul 100-200+ books...pretty much everything on my "Living Books Math List," plus some. Thankfully, my 14yo is going along to help.)

While this class is being offered to classroom teachers, it would also be wonderful for homeschooling teachers. Anyone interested? I'm contemplating setting up an on-line class. Please email me at love 2 teach 2 day @ gmail dot com (remove spaces and put the dot in) if you're interested. I won't spam you, but I'm interested in getting some feedback on class interest. Also, if you can recommend an on-line class venue, I'm all ears...

Thanks, much! Off to haul tubs of books... ;)

Linking Math and Literature Class

Just a reminder for teachers in the Portland/Metro/Salem area. Linking Mathematics and Literature is coming up, first week in August. We will explore a myriad of books and activities. And have tremendous fun! Download the pdf on this page. Optional credit (1 quarter-hour graduate) is available through Western Oregon University.