Oh wow! Whole
numbers - I thought I had this one in the back. Came into class thinking I
already know everything there is to know about whole numbers. Boy, was I
wrong. The minute the first problem was presented I had that ‘deer in the headlights’
look. The same look I had back in school at almost every math lesson. However,
having adopted a new attitude towards mathematics, I felt a little less anxious
and a little more excited.
My new favourite
thing from learning about whole numbers would be using the 10-frame to
teach the concept. Having my love for children’s literature already embedded in
me, it was no surprise that I love how a story (Jack and the Beanstalk) is
being used at the beginning of the math lesson. I learnt how to use the 10-frame
to find the sum of three different numbers. It reinforced the importance of the
use of concrete materials when working with addition of whole numbers. My big
takeaway here was that there were many ways that were discuss on solving that
one problem. Just by using the 10-frame alone, we came up with at least 7
different ways of adding together 5, 6 and 7. Truly amazing!
Here are some
advantages of using the 10-frame:
- teaching counting
- teaching number bonds
- understanding number conservation
- understanding one-to-one
correspondence
- cultivate place values (tens and ones)
The big emphasis
in today’s lessons – the importance of allowing children to as many concrete
experiences and then pictorial before attaining the abstract. Ways children
learn:
- Looking for patterns
- Visualization
- Number sense
- Metacognition
- ??? (Be on the lookout for this in the
next few blog entries)
It is time we all
move away from the convention way of learning and teaching mathematics. The new
era of teaching mathematics begins now.
Wise words:
“Children learn
by manipulation of concrete materials.”
“You cannot
imagine well what you have never experience.”
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