More Number Talk Ideas – Part 2

by C. Elkins, OK Math & Reading Lady

As I mentioned in my last post (More Number Talk Ideas – Part 1), there are many ways to conduct Number Talks with your students. The last post focused on Picture Talks and Which One Doesn’t Belong (WODB). This week I am focusing on Estimation Mysteries and Data Talks.

Esti-Mysteries

Steve Wyborney has been super gracious to share his math estimation mysteries with educators via the nctm.org blog and through his website: https://stevewyborney.com/ 

What are they?  Each esti-mystery features a clear container with identical small objects (cubes, dice, marbles, manipulatives, etc.). Students estimate how many are in the container, then proceed through 4-5 clues revealed one at a time in a ppt format.  Clues give information dealing with number concepts such as even/odd, less than/greater than, place value, multiples, prime, composite, etc. With each clue, students can then revise their estimate to try to eventually match the actual amount revealed on the last slide. Different clear containers are used with each mystery to include ones with irregular shapes.

It’s really interesting for students to share how they arrived at their estimate, to list possible answers, then defend their choice.  And of course, the rejoicing when/if their estimate matches the revealed amount!

Data Talks

You may have heard of the youcubed website (https://www.youcubed.org) which is partially commanded by well-known Stanford mathemetician Jo Boaler and her co-hort Cathy Williams. You will be amazed at all of the math resources and task ideas for all grades at this site. I witnessed another webinar hosted by these scholars regarding the increased need for data science. While professionals surveyed rarely actually use the algebra, geometry, and calculus learned from high school or college courses, there is definitely an increase in the need for data science / statistics as noted in almost everything we do. So youcubed has made it their mission to ramp up data science resources. One already in the works is “Data Talks” which provides some real-world, interesting, thought-provoking data presentations ready for class discussion.  The link is right here:  https://www.youcubed.org/resource/data-talks/

You will find graphs and tables of all types (some very creative ones), with topics such as these:

  • Steph Curry’s shooting and scoring % shown on a basketball court diagram
  • Social media use
  • Paper towel hoard in 2020
  • Dice combinations

Before diving into the data presented, get students to notice first . . . “I noticed . . .”  and follow analysis with “I wonder . . .”  The “I wonder” questions promote ideas about trends and change in data.  Here’s a sample graph regarding possible outcomes when adding 2 dice (graphic from google, not youcubed.org):

Possible noticing and wondering:

  • I noticed the graph goes up and then down symmetrically.
  • I noticed there are 11 possible sums using 2 dice.
  • I noticed the bar for 7 is the highest.
  • I noticed numbers on the left side go up by .02 each increment.
  • I wonder why 7 is the highest? What are ways to roll a sum of 7?
  • I wonder what a graph would look like when actually rolling 2 dice numerous times? Will it be similar to this one?

I highly encourage you to check these out! I will add the sites to my resource list (top bar of my blog) for easy access.

Till next time . . .  Cindy

 

Daily Math Meeting Part 3: Days of the week, patterns, graphing

by Cindy Elkins, OK Math and Reading Lady

In Part 1, I focused on subitizing practice during your meeting time (for PreK-1st grade classes). This week I will focus on days of the week and graphing opportunities.

Days of the Week

  • Rather than posting the whole month at once, post the current date piece each day. Show different ways to write the date (in words, with numbers).
  • Discuss the day before and the day after.
  • Find the day (Monday, Tuesday, etc.). Sing a song or watch a video about the days of the week and months. See list below.
  • Use the number as a focus for the day: If today is the 5th, let’s look at dot cards with 5, ten frames with 5, dice with 5, count to 5, count backward from 5, tally of 5, spelled form, and number bonds of 5.
  • Consider making patterns with your calendar pieces. For example, September could be red apple, green apple, red apple, green apple . . . for an AB pattern. October could be pumpkin, pumpkin, ghost for an AAB pattern. Or use different colors or shapes (circle, square  . . .). Or make patterns based on odd / even numbers, counting by 3’s, 4’s . . . the possibilities are endless.
  • Discuss the pattern, predict what will be next once the pattern is established. Introduce clap patterns which match your chosen calendar pattern. If you are working on AB, then do clap, snap . . . If you are working on ABC patterns, do clap, snap, touch  your knees . . . Have children make up patterns to follow.
  • If you have an upcoming activity, predict what the date will be. Example: We are going to the library in 3 days. Today is Monday, so when is our library day?
  • After the calendar is mostly complete for the month, you can emphasize ordinal numbers. Model how to find the first Friday, the second Tuesday, the third Wednesday, etc. Then have students practice.
  • Consider having a student in charge of the calendar each week as one of the class jobs. This student would post the new calendar piece and then get to lead the class in saying the date and other features of the daily calendar.

Days of the week / months songs (Click on link to go there fast!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tx0rvuXIRg (Learning Station)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIvQOab00OQ (To Adams Family tune)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5enDRrWyXaw (Months)

Graphing Ideas:  The calendar board is a great place to introduce graphing or review it on a regular basis.  You can make graphs or charts using bars, tallies, yes/no, or Venn diagrams. Continue reading

First Day Math & Literature Activity K- 5

by C. Elkins, OK Math and Reading Lady

The book, Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes is one my my all time favorite first-day-of-school stories to share with my students – no matter what grade level. The main character is Chrysanthemum, who is all excited about her first day of school until the other students start making fun of her name because it is soooo long. This makes her reluctant to go to school until everyone finds out their favorite music teacher has a long name (Delphinium) and is planning to name her new baby Chrysanthemum. A poignant story to help children develop a sense of empathy and compassion and realize that everyone’s name is special – no matter what it is or how long or short it is!

Math Connection Grades K-2

  • Letter and name recognition
  • Counting letters in names
  • Name graph with a variety of methods (paper graph, color tile or unifix cube graph, etc.)
  • Name grid art activity (see below)
  • Comparing name lengths

Math Connection Grades 3-5

  • Name graph – can use first, middle, and/or last names. To start, just have students write their name on a post-it-note and stick it on the board. Then rearrange into columns or rows according to how you are collecting your data. Or make a frequency table, line plot, percentage pie chart, etc.
  • Name grid art activity (see below). Review terms: row, column, grid, array.
  • Use some type of strategy to determine total number of letters in first names in the class (repeated addition, multiplication). Using the example graph, students could add 3 + (4 x 5) + (5 x 8), and so on. Let students think of the strategy though!
  • Determine most often and least often used letters.
  • Determine the mean, median, mode, and range using length of names.

Name grid art activity Continue reading