Take Two: Naming Numbers

September 16, 2013 | Posted in: Homework Assignments, Learning Resources

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One of the most important responsibilities a teacher has is to informally assess, DURING a lesson, how well students are learning material.  It is our job to adjust our instruction during a lesson to meet the needs of all learners, so that we can make sure that, like Goldilocks, we aren’t going too fast or too slowly – we want to teach “just right”.  Last Thursday, it was very clear to me that our math lesson was NOT going well and that the majority of students were struggling with the material.  I assigned only certain problems for homework (skills with which students seemed more comfortable), and today, we took “take two” with the lesson.  We went nice and slowly (which, in this case, was “just right”) and I could see that students felt MUCH more comfortable.

Throughout the school year, you will find that I like to post tutorials on the class website that explain different skills we are working on in class.  These are helpful for students as they complete their homework, but also helpful for parents who want to help their students (by teaching the same strategies we use in class).  I often record these videos after school or during my prep periods, but sometimes I build them into lessons and record them with the students’ help.  That’s what we did today.  The video you will find below this paragraph is lengthy, but it explains TWO different strategies that students can use to name numbers when you’re given the value of certain places, such as “386 hundreds”.  The first few minutes review place value, but starting at 5:45 into the video, I explain the two different strategies.  After we used them a bit, I thought most students would REALLY prefer the second strategy.  But I was pleasantly surprised to find that several students favored the first strategy.  That’s why I often teach two ways:  As you’ll hear me say in the video, different people’s minds think about math differently, and what is a winning strategy for one person could be a complete DUD for another person.  I hope this video is helpful to you and your children as they work through tonight’s homework. Finally, here is a downloadable worksheet with place value charts included if your fourth grader finds it helpful to use them.  (MOST STUDENTS SHOULD USE THIS!)  Enjoy the movie: