The Happy Learning Den

We have all been there.  We've given an amazing lesson.  Students were engaged, correctly answered questions and explained their steps they took to solve it, were able to give alternative ways to solve problems... and you feel confident that you can now assign practice problems.

And then... BAM!  It happens.  You know what I am talking about!  It's that exact moment your students realize that there are *gasp* word problems for them to solve!  Before you even have a moment to take a sip of water or just gather your thoughts you hear something like...
In most classrooms, there are students who are below grade level in reading.  So they have difficulty determining what the problem is asking. Then there are other students who struggle with word problems because they do not understand which part of the text is relevant.  And of course, some students struggle with reading AND figuring out which information is needed to solve the problem.

I have a few strategies that I find useful.  Let me know what you think!

1.)  I read the math problem to the students.  Sometimes this is done whole group, while other times I do this in small group.  I  use this strategy every single day! I have students in my class who are English Language Learners and/or below grade level in reading.  By taking the "stress" out of reading the word problem, students can focus on the math piece.

2.)  Students are quite familiar with the concept of "Close Reading."  After all, they dig deeper to analyze the text daily during Reading, Science, and Social Studies.  So why not have students 'close read' their math problems? I have students rereading math problems a minimum of four times, and doing something different EACH time with the information.  By the last step, students have a better understanding of how to solve the problem.  Some of my students are able to memorize the steps and use it without me reminding them.
I have a blog post if you are interested in reading about it.  Just click here!

3.)  Whenever I introduce a new math concept I use a real world word problem or story.  For instance, in my class we are currently working on fractions.  I don't want students to think that they will only do this in math class!!!  So we discuss real world situations that involve math.

"It's your birthday and you and all 15 of your guests want a piece of birthday cake.  How many pieces do need to be cut?"  (Answer:16)
Or "before you pass out the pieces of cake, your mom puts birthday candles on half of your cake.  How much of your cake has candles?" (Answer 1/2, and then you can start developing the understanding that 8 pieces out of 16 is 1/2 of the whole.  Equivalent fractions!!!)

4.)  One of my favorite strategies to help my students become more successful with word problems doesn't involve me speaking a lot.  At least two times a week (when my schedule allows it), I have students take their homework up to my document camera and explain how they solved the problem.  This involves students rereading the problem, circling any numbers needed to solve, underlining key words, and then explaining the steps as well as doing the math.  During this time we discuss misconceptions, strategies, and new ways of thinking.  I love when students show me a new way to solve a problem!

I hope you are enjoyed reading this post.  Please leave a comment below to let me know if any of these strategies help you!
Happy Teaching!
:-) Sandra @The Happy Learning Den

Happy New Year everybody!  
This is going to be a fantastic year!  
This is the first Friday of 2017 and I am still on winter vacation. (I do go back to school Monday, but I am not thinking about that right now.)    

Most of this vacation I either spent in the gym, with family and friends, or lounging on the couch.  I did not bring home one single paper to correct, nor did I bring home any lesson plans!  I made sure to complete the first week back lesson plans before I walked out of school the last day of break.

However, I did complete a teensy tiny tidbit of work while on break, and I am so glad that I did.  

During the first week of winter vacation, I finished a major project.  A teacher friend/colleague and I have been working for over a year creating scales for the Florida math standards.  We were informed by our administration at the beginning of the last school year (August 2015) that all classrooms must have standards, scales, and activities posted. Easier said than done!


(FYI the school board does provide the standards, in teacher language, however they are not student friendly at all.  I don't know about you, but if students don't understand it, I'm not wasting valuable wall space.  Also, and I am sure we were not the only teachers who faced this, some of the standards are not teacher friendly either.  A few of the standards are difficult to figure out!)  

The first thing we did was turn to Teachers Pay Teachers, but all we could find during our searches were the standards written in fancy fonts and pretty colors.  So we worked together to write each standard on 8.5 x 11 inch posters and include the information that we knew our administration required.  All posters have the standard in teacher language (small print), student friendly language (large print), a 1-4 scale with level 3 always being the proficient scale and level 4 always being the "enrichment" level.  We struggled many times with levels 1 & 2, because breaking a standard down into smaller pieces while maintaining the integrity of the original standard is no easy feat.  But we did it!  Yes!  Sweet relief!  

MAFS.5.MD.1.1 Converting Standard Measurements

We also struggled with how to include the activities section.  After all, our classroom demographics are significantly different.  We had some heated discussions over what the activities should be, but after a few months we realized that not having the same activities in our classrooms was normal/typical/par for the course.  We left it blank.  After all, the students we have from one school year to the next are different too.  We decided to put each poster in a sheet protector and we will guide our math groups and help students create the activities for the levels.  Talk about taking ownership of their learning! 

Now those of you who know me know that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE clip art.  So we made sure to include student friendly clip art on each poster.  After all, we want our students to feel comfortable interacting with the standards.  If I am required to have it posted, then it MUST be student friendly.

If you are interested in checking out this major undertaking click here, if not, scroll down for my New Year Resolutions for 2017.

Resolutions for 2017

#1. I'll grade papers in a timely fashion - at least before the stack buries me. 

#2. I'll stop comparing my anchor charts and bulletin boards to the stuff I see on Pinterest - my colleagues' out-of-this-world creativity is enough for me to feel inferior.

#3. I will not bad mouth the copy machine when it jams - after all, I have plenty of time to come back later.  I don't need to eat my lunch!

#4. I will keep my hands, feet, objects, and unkind words to myself when non-teachers tell me how to run my classroom.  Yes.  Really.

#5. I will not pray for a hurricane day every Sunday night during Hurricane Season - even though it would be nice to sleep an extra hour or two.

It's not mandatory, but I, like many other teachers I know, enjoy giving my students a little gift right before the winter holidays.  This year I want to give my students something that they can keep forever, not roll under a classmate's desk or under their couch.  I especially want to create a keepsake for each of them because of how special they are- I had several of these students when I taught 3rd grade.

I know my students very well.  There is a level of trust and kindness in my classroom that can only be built up overtime.  However, the closer we get to the winter vacation... the more "squirrely" my students are becoming.  They have been short-tempered and sarcastic with one another, so I decided to pause academics and reteach kindness in a quick 45 minute lesson.  (A little foreshadowing: This activity is going to turn into their holiday presents!  Shhhhhhh!  It's a surprise!  Don't tell!)

I called all of my students to the carpet, and started with the opener "What makes a good friend?"  We brainstormed a list of about 30 words and then I asked students to think about their friends in the classroom.  I asked students to think about why people are friends with them.  Then we added more words to the list.  We ended up with around 50 words such as "funny, silly, unique, intelligent, friendly, respectful, etc.  Next, I asked students to share which words on the list described themselves.

Once everyone shared (that wanted to), I moved into the next phase of my lesson.  :-)  Students wrote 3 of the words from the list on a sheet of notebook paper and then we played "SCOOT."  I had students move one desk to the right and write down one to two words that described (complimented) each person.  After about 1 minute, students would "SCOOT" to the next desk and write down another one or two words that described their classmate.  (Of course I had to stop a few times and remind students that they are writing positive things about their classmates to reinforce kindness.  And, no, "crazy" is not a compliment and neither is "clumsy."  Oy!)  Students "scooted" from desk to desk about 15 times, and then I collected all the papers.  I have 23 students, but I did not want my students to see what others had written about them.  (More foreshadowing: Not yet!) So I collected all the papers before they were close to their own desks.

I am using the compliments that students wrote about one another and creating their holiday gifts with them.  I went to the website Tagul (I am not affiliated with Tagul in any way.), and it was so incredibly easy to use.  I wrote each student's name in capital letters and then chose seven words for each student to create speech bubble compliments.  I am going to print them onto colorful card stock and then laminate each one for a meaningful keepsake.

I believe I have created a holiday tradition for myself that I will keep for many years. The lesson reinforced kindness in my classroom ( a huge plus) and I now have a unique and inexpensive gift for each student. A few examples of the speech bubble compliments are below.  Enjoy!