It’s always fun to tie learning into seasonal themes! This week, I wrapped up teaching Multiples of 10 to my students using this quick activity!
I made some quick tracers out of manila folders. Three round circles, each one smaller than the other. They could all fit on one white sheet of construction paper. I also made a hat and scarf template as well. The last template I made were the arms. The kids free handed the eyes and the noses for their snowmen.
In my classroom, the students work on leveled tasks.
This snowman activity featured a LEVEL 2 question and a LEVEL 3 question.
They solved the problem on a scratch sheet of paper, and then after feedback from me, they wrote their work out on their snowman.
This would make a great portfolio addition for thirds working on Multiples of 10.
For the purposes of my LEVELS for this standard:
LEVEL 1: Student can multiply 1 digit whole numbers by multiples of 10.
LEVEL 2: Student can multiply 1 digit whole numbers by multiples of 10 in a word problem or table.
LEVEL 3: Student can multiply 1 digit whole numbers by multiples of 10 in the range of 10 -90 using strategies, word problems, or tables.
LEVEL 4: Student can multiply 1 digit whole numbers by multiples of 10 in the range of 100 – 900 using strategies and or the standard algorithm.
When I am teaching, I use create different examples for my students to use that look like the style of questions on the FSA.
I do short high impact lessons and then have the kids go into small groups for centers. This unit took about 8 days to teach. This snowman was done as a quiz grade and really helped me to see who was ready for the next step.
Each unit I teach has the same basic principles.
1.) Deconstruct the standard.
2.) Use a data point to determine the students’ level.
3.) Teach a daily mini lesson (about 15 minutes). Have students work on their leveled assignments while I pull small groups.
4.) Allow students to see me for mastery checks to move on to the next level.
5.) Quiz them mid way to evaluate growth.
6.) Finish with a unit assessment.
The reason why my students are starting to see so much more success is that they know exactly what they need to do in order to show mastery. If there’s nothing else that you get from me on this post, please get that your kids need to be able to explain what the standard is looking for. This is particularly key with at risk learners who need something other than a traditional style of instruction to learn.
I like to have the students use the computer for either front loading of the lesson or reinforcement of the lesson. I have a You Tube Channel with lots of videos that I use to help my kids with multiplication and division. Here are the ones that I used with my kids.
I worked with my boys on ways to deconstruct the numbers using expanded form. A few weeks ago, I taught them how to break apart numbers using a strategy I’ve been using for years. If you want to check it out, you can click HERE to go to my Break Apart Strategy: Break In Half. You could go HERE to go to my video Break Apart Strategy: Break to What You Can Count.
This is a student example of how to solve 70 times 4. Notice how the student breaks up parts of the multiplication problem. By breaking the number apart, they are able to multiply easier. This is an important skill for later work in elementary school. Students must be able to break down and manipulate numbers.
This was a really simple way to see at a quick glance what the students can and can not do.
I am working on putting together in a pack. I’ll get back to it over the summer!
On to the next project!