Teaching Decimals

I have been asked time and time again about math journals… How do you use them? What is the most effective way to structure them? Can First Graders really use them as a tool? How do you not get overwhelmed when using them?? The great thing about math journals is that there is not just one way to use them… they can be modified to fit your style and organizational preferences. A few summers ago, I was lucky enough to attend the National Singapore Conference in Las Vegas. One of the sessions I…

This is a fun way to add and subtract simple numbers on a number line. This idea originated from the activity that goes with Hap Palmer's "Jumping to Add and Subtract" song (see below). Create a number line on the floor by writing the numbers 0 through 9 on cards or dessert-size paper plates. Use yarn or electric tape to create the number line, and place the number cards or plates about 18 to 24 inches apart on the number line. To add, have the child stand on the number 2 or 3. Then add a…

Good Sunday Morning!!! I want to start off by thanking all of you who entered my Blog Birthday Giveaway Celebration! The comments you left on my post truly brightened my day. I am so glad that you are finding ideas you can use in your classrooms. That is the whole reason I started this blogging journey. I used rafflecopter to choose my two winners and have already emailed them this morning. You can see the winners here on the rafflecopter widget. So ... on to another idea to share. We're…

Directions for making a set of place value styrofoam cups. They can be used to understand place value, practice counting forward and backward, learn the names of large numbers, and decompose numbers to expanded form. The kids I have used these with really enjoy them! I would love to hear any other i...

Anchor chart inspiration for elementary teachers. Use my Not-So-Pinteresty Anchor Charts for Reading, Math, Grammar, and Writing.

We have been busy in math working on exponents! I have an accelerated 5th grade group, so we needed to cover 5th and 6th grade standards on exponents. We haven’t quite gotten to evaluating expressions with them yet, but they are exponent pros now! Here are the two anchor charts we made, and the students ... Read more

Multiplying and Dividing by Powers of Ten. Have students act it out for a concrete understanding of what's really going on.

[] The algorithm for multiplying fractions is easy, especially if you’ve already covered adding and subtracting fractions, which presumably has exposed your kids to lots of practice with reducing and the idea of simplest…

Score sheets, a deck of cards, and pencils are all that are needed for this fun decimal place value game!

Rounding WITHOUT Rhyming. Teaching rounding through number sense, number lines and an understanding of numbers!

Freebie: Common Core Place Value Foldables

Here is a post where I explain how I teach placing fractions and decimals on a meter stick number line. For awhile, I had the meter sticks out and several sets of clothespins for students to practice ordering fractions and finding equivalent decimals. Then I realized what other math concepts I could teach with this model. I know I am not the only fourth grade teacher who has students who struggle with rounding. I wrote this post about rounding whole numbers with a 100s chart and it is one of…

This post is going to be all over the place! There is a little bit of 6th grade math, a little bit of advanced 3rd grade math, and a limited time freebie for you! I’ll start with the math. On Halloween, my students did an activity to solidify their dividing and multiplying decimals skills. I ... Read more

I seem to be on a place value theme this week, so I thought I’d give decimal place value a shout out. Even though decimals are taught in the older […]

These dynamic number line worksheets allow you to select different variables to customize for your needs. These number line worksheets are randomly created and will never repeat.

Introduce decimals and place value with this fun math card game for fourth grade students.