The Worlds of Fractions and Spelling Collide
I wrote on January 19 ("Quadrant Spelling") about the way I deliver spelling words to my fourth-grade students, via a pocket chart in the form of an x,y quadrant graph. They all know about coordinates, points, rows and columns now, and participate with great enthusiasm.
We recently began adding fractions with uncommon denominators. Heady stuff. Many blank faces. Confusion. In fact, many students still do not really have a grasp of what a fraction actually is.
Wait, what about spelling? The idea popped into my head to ask them to tell me the fraction of letters in the word at point -3,-5 (where I'd posted the word "dimmed") that are vowels (2/6, simplified to 1/3). Or, what fraction of the letters in the word at -4,-2 (where I'd posted the word "running") are consonants? What fraction of the words in column -3 have the letter "L"?
When asked these new questions, the students immediately responded with comments like "OOOO!, let me see!" They love the challenge of something new. My fellows teachers are also impressed, and the spelling/quadrant chart is spreading through El Verano School.
Pretty cool. Tuesday, it's back to uncommon denominators. Maybe something else will pop into my head.
Posted in DemEd in Real LifeTeaching on Feb 14, 2010 - 03:58 PM
When Melia Dicker, IDEA's Communications Director, first asked me to become involved with this project, I thought, "Me?" Then she comes up with this "ImprovEducation" title, and I thought that maybe there could be something there for me to write about. The improvisational aspect of my teaching style comes naturally, and sometimes yields something pretty darn good.I wrote on January 19 ("Quadrant Spelling") about the way I deliver spelling words to my fourth-grade students, via a pocket chart in the form of an x,y quadrant graph. They all know about coordinates, points, rows and columns now, and participate with great enthusiasm.
We recently began adding fractions with uncommon denominators. Heady stuff. Many blank faces. Confusion. In fact, many students still do not really have a grasp of what a fraction actually is.
Wait, what about spelling? The idea popped into my head to ask them to tell me the fraction of letters in the word at point -3,-5 (where I'd posted the word "dimmed") that are vowels (2/6, simplified to 1/3). Or, what fraction of the letters in the word at -4,-2 (where I'd posted the word "running") are consonants? What fraction of the words in column -3 have the letter "L"?
When asked these new questions, the students immediately responded with comments like "OOOO!, let me see!" They love the challenge of something new. My fellows teachers are also impressed, and the spelling/quadrant chart is spreading through El Verano School.
Pretty cool. Tuesday, it's back to uncommon denominators. Maybe something else will pop into my head.
Tags for this entry:
curriculum,
math,
spelling,
graphing,
fractions
