Random "Epiphany" of the Day

Thank goodness my Master's class is making me use this blog! I was asked a loooooong time ago, by my principal, to keep a journal of my "goings-on" in class - something I always meant to get to! I guess it's just now sinking in how useful this could actually be! (Sometimes I can be a little slow on the uptake!)

So, I have switched the focus of my students' warm-up exercises from multiplication facts (I think they FINALLY got 'em!) to integer addition. The worksheets we're using do NOT have 100 problems on them like the multiplication ones did, which has actually turned into a blessing!

See, we record each warm-up score in a Warm-Up Data Collection Chart so the kids can see their progress. (We also have instant data to use for graphing practice, as well.) Well, when you have 100 problems on a page, recording the score is very easy - you automatically have a percentage built right in! Since there are 54 problems on these sheets, I was forced to teach them how to convert fractions to percents - which wasn't in my plan just yet!

How fabulous this actually turned out to be!!! Not only are their integer addition skills getting stronger, they've learned a new, required skill AT THE SAME TIME! I won't have to take time out to do a whole separate unit on this topic later! Woo-Hoo!

While we were converting our fractions today, something else hit me that simply made me smile and pat myself on the back. I have been focusing on all the different ways they might see multiplication and division written (i.e., * or a dot for multiplication and the "house" or a fraction bar for division). THANK GOODNESS for that! I can't tell you how easy it was to turn those fractions into decimals and then to percents!!! Here was our conversation:

Me: "So, we now have this fraction at the top of our papers, with the number correct as the numerator and the total number of problems as the denominator. It sure looks like a fraction, but what else could it be?"

Student 1: "Uuummm..."

Student 2: "Division!" (I swear it only took 2 students to get there!!!)

Me: "Awesome! Now, how 'bout reading this division problem for me?"

Student 2: "34 divided by 54"

Me: "Perfect. How will I put that in my calculator?"

Student 3: "Like you said it! 34 - divided by - 54! Duh."

All: "Hahahahahahaha!"

Since I've been using the fraction bar to represent division for so long, this was really easy for them to see! In the past, I didn't start the year mixing up the symbols, which led to issues later in the year! Guess what I'll be doing from now on? :)