After wrapping up fractions we are moving on to decimals! What I LOVE about decimals is I feel like it's a culmination of so many skills we have done in fourth grade. There's fractions, division, place value, money (okay, fourth grade doesn't "own" money, but it's a fun hook no matter your age) not to mention computation, ordering numbers, measurement and word problems.
By the time I hit my decimal unit, the kids know my teaching style, know who they can ask for help within their groups, and are ready to really accept help where they can get it, or show off what they know and brave some challenge work with confidence.
To drive the point home that math is all related, I created this anchor chart for them:
I also tried something new this time around. Normally I unveil a chart this dense a little at a time. They copy a part, practice a skill, and repeat in order to keep things active. However this time I decided to try expediting their note taking with a "fill in the blank" page. It basically consisted of this exact wording on the anchor chart, however I left out a word or two in each line for them to fill in as we discussed the information.
I felt like this was VERY successful for this particular anchor chart because the information is simple to grasp (even if it needed to be taught). This was not an abstract procedure; it's all about connecting what they already know. It would not have been an efficient use of time to have them stop and try something 4 times in this case, but it would have been too much writing to do all at once.
My plan for next year (and to keep trying for the rest of this year) is to do more of these "guided note pages" for my students. I started with the poster (right) when we moved on to relating decimals and fractions. I think this guided note taking will be even more useful for new fourth graders at the start of the year to ease them into note-taking, and free up more math time for hands on practice applying math concepts.
By the time I hit my decimal unit, the kids know my teaching style, know who they can ask for help within their groups, and are ready to really accept help where they can get it, or show off what they know and brave some challenge work with confidence.
To drive the point home that math is all related, I created this anchor chart for them:
I also tried something new this time around. Normally I unveil a chart this dense a little at a time. They copy a part, practice a skill, and repeat in order to keep things active. However this time I decided to try expediting their note taking with a "fill in the blank" page. It basically consisted of this exact wording on the anchor chart, however I left out a word or two in each line for them to fill in as we discussed the information.
I felt like this was VERY successful for this particular anchor chart because the information is simple to grasp (even if it needed to be taught). This was not an abstract procedure; it's all about connecting what they already know. It would not have been an efficient use of time to have them stop and try something 4 times in this case, but it would have been too much writing to do all at once.
My plan for next year (and to keep trying for the rest of this year) is to do more of these "guided note pages" for my students. I started with the poster (right) when we moved on to relating decimals and fractions. I think this guided note taking will be even more useful for new fourth graders at the start of the year to ease them into note-taking, and free up more math time for hands on practice applying math concepts.
After taking notes on the relationship between decimals and money, we played this matching game for decimals and money. This was an easy game to set up and the kids could work independently while I worked with small groups. Click to preview, and see if it would work for your class too!