Today’s
agenda: fractions, multiplications and polygons
After doing
problem 13 and 14, we discovered that “9” is a magical number!!
Some tricks
for doing multiplications of 9…
Ever wonder
why it only happens to “9”?? Let’s think about it…
PROBLEM OF THE DAY
Problem 17:
Making polygons using geo board.
Joining dots
on the geo board with straight lines to form different polygons, what are the
different polygons that you can make?
We tried making
different kinds of polygons with only 1 dot in the middle. There were small
polygons and big polygons. Then we compared it to the small square and find out
the area of the polygon that we have made.
I had fun
trying out different ways to form polygons with 1 dot inside and tried to form
the biggest polygon that I can make and it was 12 times of the square. The
smallest one that I made was 2 times of the square. BUT one of our classmates
managed to create a polygon that was only 1½ times of the square!
QUOTE OF THE DAY…
“Mathematics
is an excellent vehicle for the development and improvement of a person’s
intellectual competencies.”
Third day of Elementary Mathematics
with Dr. Yeap, MORE problems and QUIZ!!!
3 THINGS THAT WE LEARN IN
MATHEMATICS:
Conceptual
– cardinality
Procedural
– procedures in doing math sums
Conventional
– things that need to be exposed to, for example, rote counting
PROBLEM
OF THE DAY:
Problem 9: Addition of 2 digits
numbers to form 2 digits number answer.
We created our digit cards from 0 to
9. We have to use the number cards that we have to form addition sums. It was
fun and required much thinking. After manipulating with our digit cards, here
are some observations that we have found:
The digit
“0” can only be used in the sum.
The digit
“9” can only be used in the ones place.
The largest
number that we can have the answer of is 98.
The smallest
number that we can have the answer is 39.
Problem 11: What are the different
ways to share a piece of rectangular chocolate equally among 4 persons?
Similar shapes:
Rectangles
Triangles
Different shapes
I was really amazed that there are
actually so many ways that we can share a rectangular chocolate among 4
persons.
Second session with Dr. Yeap, what did we learn and solve today?
I’ve learnt new words today…
üSubitize: able to perceive a number of items without counting.
üHow manyness: the quality or state of being many.
INTERSTING PROBLEMS OF THE DAY…
Problem 6: Beans! Take a random number of beans and count down by
1 or 2. The person to count to 0 is the winner.
This activity really requires us to think carefully and strategize when
the number of beans got fewer. And after playing for a few times, we realized
that we can actually predict who is the winner when there is left with 5 beans.
We also identified some “bad” numbers; which means when it’s our turn
and the numbers of beans left are 3, 6 and 9; there is a high possibility that
we are going to lose.
Problem 7: Ten Frames! Find out
the different methods that we can solve “5 + 7 + 6” using ten frames.
As a
class, we found many different ways. The most straight forward method; counting
on; counting in fives, counting in sixes, counting in tens and many other.
I personally feel that this is a good learning approach to teach
children addition and counting in tens. I would like to incorporate ten frames
into my lesson plan and hopefully, it would benefit them and help them in their
learning.
Dr. Yeap also shared with us on for people who are unable to do rational
counting, there are 4 contributing factors:
1.Classify: unable to
group the same items together.
2.Rote counting: unable to
rote count in order.
3.One-to-one
correspondence
4.Do not have the
conceptual understanding of cardinal number (do not know how to appreciate that
the last number uttered represents the size of the object.
*interesting fact
In the Jewish culture, the children in schools like to
ask a lot of questions as their parents would ask them how many questions did
they asked in school.
And lastly to end off with this video that Dr. Yeap shared with
us. Very catchy and nice song to tell us about “Jack and the beanstalk” story.
First thought that I have when I saw the module title; YAY!! Mathematics, my favourite subject. BUT!! When I saw the textbook that was given and started reading, that’s where all the problems come!! I don’t really quite understand the text and there are so many words!!
BUT… after the first lesson with Dr. Yeap:
üI HAD FUN!!
üAnd… MANY brain cells killed when solving the different problems.
The activity that I enjoyed most is the tangram. Though it is nerve-wracking to figure out how to place the different pieces to form a rectangle, but I felt a sense of accomplishment when my group managed to form a rectangle with all the 7 pieces.
Then we tried out using only 3 pieces to make a rectangle. Who knows that we can actually use different pieces to form rectangles of the same size??!!
*IMPORTANT POINTS THAT I HAVE LEARNT:
üMathematics is NEVERabout memorizing. SERIOUSLY!!
üThere can never be only 1 way to solve a problem.
üDiscussing with others help us to reflect on our own methods and compare.
LOOKING FORWARD TO SOLVING MORE PROBLEMS IN CLASS TODAY~~ J
Ever faced problems when teaching your child math? Ever experienced explaining
the problem over and over, yet they still don’t understand? Don’t worry! Here are
some tips to help you…
For one to be an effective teacher in teaching mathematics, he or she
needs to have knowledge of mathematics and understanding of the way your child
learns mathematics.
The ways of teaching mathematics have been changing over the decades to
provide the best education for the children. Teachers now seldom use the
approach of memorizing, drilling and copying as these do not prepare children
for the real act of doing mathematics. On the other hand, teachers have to think
and use different medium and techniques to teach children mathematics. For instance,
relating the problems to their daily lives or allowing them to have concrete
materials to work with or real life experiences.
In order to allow children to develop mathematical understanding, it is
important to create an environment that offers children opportunities to learn.
For instance, allow them to explore the sums first rather than to tell them the
answers straight and allow them to ask questions instead of asking them to just
listen. We could also use technologies that they are familiar with like
computers and smart phones to enhance their understanding. For example, showing
them a video on the computer that teaches fractions or having educational games
on phones that they can play with and learn at the same time.
There is a common core standard that guides teachers on what to teach
for mathematics for different age group. The concepts that children learn get
more complex as they grow older and it is important for children to have a good
foundation before proceeding to more complex stuff. Therefore, we as teachers
and parents cannot expect the children to know how to solve the complex sums
without them learning the basics. Reference Van de Walle, J. A., Karp, K. S., & Bay-Williams, J. M. (2014). Elementary and middle school mathematics: Teaching developmentally (8th ed.). USA: Pearson Education Limited.
