Blog Posts I Love--Part 6

Doing these blog posts help me remember the great ideas that I have read and helps me plan for how I will use them in my classroom.

1. I have wanted to set up a large number line in my classroom for a while and this blog post gave me the push. Mr Elementary Math posted about a number line that is geared towards younger elementary. To make it appropriate for my 6th graders, I will mix fractions, decimals, percents for students to place on the number line. I want to have this as a station that students can rotate into.

2. Another post from Elementary Math Coach--Math Pictionary. This is the second time I have posted about this and I am actually going to make something for a math station. Students will get an integer operation problem and will draw the algebra tiles that model that problem which their team mates will have to name.

3. The growth mindset is something I am going to talk to my students about the day we get back from winter break. This is one blog posts at Edudemic on the importance of having a growth mindset. I have a bulletin board that focuses on growing in math and I want to make sure I am talking to my students about it.

4. When my students take tests, I do not let them turn it in early. I give them a time and tell them they need to be working on the test until then. My students don't try to turn in the test early, but they will close their test and just sit there until it is time. I ask them to go back and check their work and some students will say "I already did" and others will go through and check that they did all the problems.

I experimented with one class one day and briefly looked through their tests when they said they were done and said "It's not a 100." All of the students went through and some found at least one mistake and changed their answer.

At Who's Who and Who's New,  this post explains the levels of checking your work. Something I want to share with my students. There are three levels from make sure you check that you have an answer, checking that your answer is reasonable, and solving the problem again.