Author Archive for Allison

4th Grade Measurement

Published by Allison on July 13, 2009 in summermath, math and teaching. 2 Comments

Introduction:

We know that measurement is a fundamental mathematical component.  As a teacher, it is our job to teach it well.  Below you will find a selection of books that are necessary for children to develop a clear understanding
of measurement. You will also find a selection of websites and resources useful for developing proficiency with basic measurement facts and concepts.  These materials provided are anticipated for fourth graders; however they can be modified for different grade levels if necessary.

Recommended Books:

book cover of How Tall, How Short, How Far Away? by David A AdlerHow Tall, How Short, How FarAway? by David A. Adler and illustrated by Nancy Tobin is a book that introduces several measuring systems such as the Egyptian system, the customary (inch-pound system), and the metric system.  The book has some questions asking what units would you use to measure an object such as the length of a celery stick and other questions ask you to find the measurement such as the length of your block.

31pi13siy2l_sl500_aa180_.jpgHow Much, How Many, How Far, How Heavy, How Long, How Tall is 1000?  by Helen Nolan and illustrated by Tracy Walker is a book finding different ways to measure 1000.  How tall would a pile of 1000 acorns be? And if those acorns grew into 1,000 oak trees, how big would that forest be? As children learn about large numbers, counting becomes less practical and understanding these numbers becomes more and more important. In this playful and mathematically sound book, children will develop an understanding of how big, how small, how long and how tall 1,000 really is!

9780060848064.jpgMillions to Measure by David M. Schwartz and illustrated by Steven Kellogg is a book exploring the invention of length, weight, and volume measurements.   How tall is Moonbeam, the unicorn?  How long are the whiskers of Jello, the cat?  And just how heavy is that darling hog?  Tons and teaspoons and ounces and feet and yards and miles … what a headache!  With millions of things to measure, wouldn’t one standard system be simpler?  With another wave of the wand, Marvelosissimo, the Magician,  explains to you to the development of standard units of measure, and shows the simplicity of calculating length, height, weight, and volume using the metric system and introduces the world of metrics and makes it easy to understand the basic pattern of meters, liters, and grams.  And with Steven Kellogg’s playful and delightfully detailed illustrations, measuring has never been such a blast!

0805065725_large.jpgMeasuring Penny written and illustrated by Loreen Leedy is a book about a girl named Lisa who has an important homework assignment–to measure something in several different ways. She has to use standard units like inches and nonstandard units like paper clips to find out height, width, length, weight, volume, temperature, and time. Lisa decides to measure her dog, Penny, and finds out … Penny’s nose = 1 inch long, Penny’s tail = 1 dog biscuit long, Penny’s paw print = 3 centimeters wide … and that’s only the beginning! Lisa learns a lot about her dog and about measuring, and even has fun doing it.This clear and engaging concept book, delivered with a sense of humor, is certain to win over the most reluctant mathematician.

9780064467247.jpgRoom for Ripley by Stuart J. Murphy and illustrated by Sylvie Wickstrom is a book introduce various units of liquid measure.  A boy named Carlos is getting a fish bowl ready for his new pet.  Carlos pours cups, pints and quarts of water into his fish bowl, getting ready for his new puppy, Ripley.  Readers can learn about capacity as they see just how much water it takes to make room for Ripley!

Recommended Websites:

Math Matching  - This is an activity of matching equivalent customary measures.  For example, 16 ounces is equivalent to 1 pound.  The matches will make a picture.

Can You Fill It - This is an activity involving filling up containers using three different sized pots.  The goal is to use to pick a combination of pots that fill the container with the fewest amount of pours without going over.

Harbour Measurements - This is an activity where you will need to help Molly load up the boat by choosing the correct parcel I ask for.  This is testing  estimating metric measures.

Bitesize Maths:Practice Postage Measurements - This is an activity where you have to find the length and weight of a parcel and then figure out from those measurements how much a postage stamp will cost using the chart.

Measuring Wangdoodles - This is an activity where you are to find the weight of each Wangdoodle using the information provided by the scales.  To be successful, you will have to make sure that the weight you assign to each Wangdoodle works on each scale.   This also introduces algebraic equations.

Additional Resources:

Cooking Measurement Equivalents

This side provides measuring equivalents for teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, pints, fluid ounces, and more. This page also includes the conversions for metric and U.S. systems of measurement.

A Maths Dictionary for Kids

This site provides a dictionary will all mathematical definitions and an example.  You just have to click on the letter that the work starts with and then click on he word.  For example for the word volume, you would click on the letter v and then click on the word volume.  You will then see the definition and an example.

Tree Measurement

This site is used to help understand vertical and horizontal measurement of large objects.

Kindergarten Addition and Subtraction

Published by Allison on July 12, 2009 in summermath, math and teaching. 0 Comments

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Introduction
The topic I will be covering is Addition and Subtraction. The target grade will be Kindergarten, which is the grade that I plan to teach. The Standards of Learning this topic will cover is:

K.6 Math - The student will model adding and subtracting whole numbers, using up to 10 concrete objects.

Text Annotations
The following are some great books related to my topic of Addition and Subtraction. These are books that I will be able to read to or with my students in my Kindergarten classroom.

  1. Jack The Builder by Stuart J. Murphy Illustrated by Michael Rex. - This book covers counting on, which builds on a student’s ability to add. A little boy uses blocks to build a robot and adds the parts on one by one.
  2. Mall Mania by Stuart J. Murphy Illustrated by Renee Andriani. - This story takes place in a mall and practices addition strategies. In it, there is shopping, counting, and adding. The book uses elementary school students as the characters, which will help relate to the students when we read it.
  3. Elevator Magic by Stuart J. Murphy Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. - A little boy subtracts his way down an elevator while encountering some magical sights. Great way for kids to practice subtraction.
  4. Math for all Seasons by Greg Tang Illustrated by Harry Briggs. - This book has rhyming riddles. Kids can solve these by counting, or by using the author’s techniques. Kids can also develop great problem solving skills. It practices fun ways to add and subtract.
  5. Ten Terrible Dinosaurs written and illustrated by Paul Stickland. - This book is a fun and entertaining way for kids to count back and subtract. It starts off with ten dinosaurs and the interesting scenarios they experience taking one away at a time.

    Web Annotations
    The following is a list of websites pertinent to my topic of addition and subtraction. These websites include games students can play to practice what we are learning.

    1. Count Us In Practicing Addition - In this game, children have to put a certain amount of people on a bus to get the desired sum. It is a fun and interactive way to practice addition.
    2. Addition and Subtraction Kindergarten Webpage Adding Bricks - In this activity, students count the number of bricks the workers dump to find the sum.
    3. BBC Homepage The Little Animals Activity Center - Students take away the number of dots on one lady bug from another to practice finding the difference in a subtraction problem.
    4. Kidport Kindergarten How Many? - Students count the number of shapes to get the total number. This will help build on addition skills for young children.
    5. Pitara Kids Network Learning to Add and Subtract - Students will add or subtract the picture objects to find the correct sum or difference.

    Additional Resources
    The following are additional resources to help support instruction for this topic.

    1. The Blue Bean Game - This lesson idea comes from education.com. The goal of this game is to practice addition skills with kindergarten students. Large Lima beans will be colored two different colors on opposite sides. After they are colored, you are to place them in a cup, shake them up, and toss them out. The student will have a piece of paper with the appropriate color in correlation to the lima beans and color on their paper the colors of each lima bean they see. They will add the individual colors and get the appropriate sum.
    2. Subtraction Coloring Page - The template on this website has coloring pages that students can use to practice subtraction. Students this age love to color so I think it would be a great way to incorporate fun and math into one!
    3. Candy Corn Kindergarten Math Lesson Plan - This lesson generates ideas to use candy in correlation to students learning to subtract. It is instructed for Halloween but can be adapted to any holiday or can even be used generally. Kids love candy at all ages, so what other better way to show kids concepts for subtraction then by eating candy away!

    Teaching Civics With Children’s Literature: Vote!

    Published by Allison on November 19, 2008 in civics, book review and social studies. 0 Comments

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    Elections, elections, elections have been the pressing news topics recently with the President Campaign just ending. What better way then to teach students about the importance of voting with the book Vote! by Eileen Christelow. The book does an outstanding job in explaining all about voting, the importance of it and how it actually works in children friendly language.

    The book begins by using a town that is looking to elect a new major. The text follows the process of a campaign starting by explaining voting and ending with the inauguration of the new mayor, even adding in a recount. Christelow gives background information of the history of voting, registration process, different political parties. fundraising and how the ballots are counted:

    If you want to vote, you need to register. Where? At your town office. Or you can download a registration form from the Internet or you might even find a both set up at a shopping mall or at a political rally (Page 17).

    The colorful, comic like illustrations provide excellent support for the text and have relevant bubble captions. One of the most impressive aspect of the book is additional information included. It includes a vocabulary sheet in simple language, a timeline of voting rights, information on political parties and additional references. This book would be a great way to introduce your class to voting and all of the processes involved in a way that tailors to questions children would have or be unsure of. The book is simple, informative and a fun way for your class to learn about their civic duty and how every vote counts!

    Curriculum Connections

    This book would be a great way to introduce the civic duties of citizens they have as they get older such as voting. It talks about our responsibility to be active in voting as it impacts the schools, town and laws being made and how each person has a voice. In Virginia it would relate to the Standard of Learning for Civics, where students can explain the responsibility of being a good citizen by taking part in the voting process of classroom decision making (1.10 f, 2.10 b)

    Additional Resources

    Book: Vote!
    Author/Illustrator:     Eileen Christelow
    Publisher: Clarion Books
    Publication Date: 2003
    Pages: 48 pages
    Grades: 1-3
    ISBN: 0618247548

    Teaching Geography with Children’s Literature: Shall I Knit You a Hat?

    Published by Allison on October 22, 2008 in geography, book review and social studies. 1 Comment

    Aspects of geography affect our lives every day.  It is likely that each day we get up and use the weather report to decide what to wear.  We may also base our decisions on what to eat and what kind of transportation we rely on due to our location and its climate.  For example, if it’s snowy, many people prefer hot chocolate to ice cold soda for refreshments. When vacationing in Alaska, most would rather stay in a warm lodge than a bamboo hut.  Kate Klise presents a similar theme in her story Shall I Knit You a Hat?

    Klise’s Shall I Knit You a Hat? is a story that describes the importance of making decisions based on the way people live in their environment.  This story follows Mother Rabbit and Little Rabbit as they prepare for a blizzard that is coming on Christmas Eve.

     ”It will start snowing on Christmas Eve and won’t stop until the snow reaches the tallest tips of your ears.”
    “My ears?” asked Little Rabbit. “But that will be very cold.”
    “You’re right, ” said Mother Rabbit. “Shall I knit you a hat to keep your ears warm?”

    To ensure Little Rabbit will be secure in the storm, Mother Rabbit knits a hat that will perfectly fit Little Rabbit’s tall ears. Because Little Rabbit enjoys his hat so much, he suggests that he and his mother make more hats to help keep his friends warm too.  They visit the horse, the goose with the long neck, the stylish cat, the dog, and the deer with antlers to make measurements for their hat.  Little Rabbit and his mother stay up all night knitting and sewing each individual hat.  The next day, they decide to use a sled to deliver their presents in the market due to snow on the ground.  Just as they hand out the hats, snowflakes begin to fall from the sky!  Luckily, all the friends have their new hats for the weather!

     Just look how this clever hat keeps my head warm and dry,” said the horse.

    Curriculum Connections
    Shall I Knit You a Hat?     is a great book to introduce how location, climate, and physical surroundings affect the way people live (Virginia SOL 1.6).  The illustrations, by M. Sarah Klise, also serve as a great tool for teaching about geography. The scenery describes the location, displaying tall hills, full of snow with many snowflakes falling down. Due to the climate and the presence of snow, the main characters are shown dressed in warm hats.  Little Rabbit and Mother Rabbit also choose to use a sled as their form of transportation in the story.  Through these examples, it is clear their daily lives are affected by their location and climate.  It may be interesting to read another story that compares this winter setting to a warmer one and discuss how the clothing, forms of transportation, and weather are different in the stories

    Additional Resources

    • For more books written by Kate Klise and illustrated by M. Sarah Klise, check out their website!
    • The Crayola website offers a great sewing craft that emphasizes the use of sewing in Shall I Knit You a Hat?  This activity, Love You ‘Sew’ Much Cards, also stresses the significance of gift giving.
    • Use this geography lesson plan to teach about Africa and how the weather affects the people who live there.  This lesson encourages students to question how geography affects their lives as well.

    Book: Shall I Knit You a Hat? 
    Author:     Kate Klise
    Illustrator: M. Sarah Klise
    Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. 
    Publication Date:     2004
    Pages: 32 pages
    Grades:     K-3
    ISBN:         0805073183

    Teaching Earth Science with Children’s Literature: Comets, Stars, the Moon and Mars

    Published by Allison on September 24, 2008 in space science, book review and poetry. 0 Comments

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    Comets, Stars the Moon, and Mars is book of space paintings and poetry written and beautifully illustrated by artist, Douglas Florian. The book includes clever little poems about all eight planets, the sky, galaxies, and even a sad poem about how Pluto was demoted as a planet. This particular poem starts off as “Pluto was a planet. But now it doesn’t pass…” and goes on before concluding that Pluto was officially fired as a legitimate planet in out solar system. All the poems are easy to read and understand, making it a perfect book for kids to work on reading themselves. The scientific facts about the planets and space objects are neatly folded into the stanza, it never seems forced or cheesy. For example, one poem about black holes includes lines like, “some are small, some are quite wide. Gravity pulls, all things inside,” which subtly gives basic facts about black holes while still presenting a strong piece of poetry.Another helpful resource that the book offers is a glossary in the back with written paragraphs about each planet and space object mentioned in the poems. This is a great resource to help answer questions that arise while reading the poems as you introduce kids to the new topics. I really enjoy the paintings in the book that accompany each poem. I think the book can appeal to many kids because it combines both artistic and scientific thinking.

    Curriculum Connections
    The book can be used to get kids interested in science and the topic of the universe by letting them read about it in a non-traditional way, through poetry and art. It satisfies the Virginia SOL for earth science 4.7 by talking about sizing, positioning and mass make-up of the earth, moon and sun. I think it could be appropriate for any grade between 3rd and 6th to give kids an alternative and maybe more fun way of looking at earth science.

    Additional Resources

    • For some extra detailed information and facts about the planets and the solar system, check out this site by NASA
    • Retreat back to a more traditional science book with this universe encyclopedia.
    • Have students illustrate their own astronomy terms with some ideas here, you could even add in a poetry workshop and have each student create their own poem defining the terms just like in the book.

    Book: Comets, Stars, the Moon and Mars
    Author:     Douglas Florian
    Publisher:     Harcourt Children’s Books
    Publication Date:     2007
    Pages:     56 pages
    Grades:     3-6
    ISBN:  0152053727

    Teaching Life Science With Children’s Literature: A Seed Is Sleepy

    Published by Allison on September 17, 2008 in life science and book review. 2 Comments

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    Have you ever looked for a informative yet unique approach to introducing seeds to your class? Dianna Hutts Aston and Silvia Long in A Seed Is Sleepy, provide an eloquently written and beautifully illustrated non-fiction book that you will want to purchase not only for your classroom but for your home  collection as well.

    Ashton and Long present interesting facts about a vast array of different seeds, most of which children see around them everyday. The text is written in an poetic sounding way that flows very nicely and will keep your class or child interested. The authors also do a phenomenal job at simplifying related technical science terms such as “gymnosperms” or “dicots”.  Every two pages, is started by a one sentence teaser about that group of seeds such as “A seed is adventurous.” The larger cursive sentence is then followed by an explanation of the previous teaser given:

    “Most seeds sleep through a season or two, waiting for the warmer temperatures of spring. But some take their time. Ten years might pass before the bright red-orange seed of the Texas mountain laurel shows its purple blooms” (Page 2).

    As you turn each page, you are drawn to the intricate illustrations that seem to pop off the page. The book even provides a labeled diagram of a seed embryo in addition to identifying a countless number of other plants. Aston and Long even go into the process of how plants get their nutrients through the process of photosynthesis. This book will help introduce to your class to all the different types of seeds ranging from the ancient date palm seeds to the pumpkin seed.

    Curriculum Connections
    This book will provide students with an introduction to seeds and basic plant structures. The student will also begin to examine photosynthesis and all of the necessary components that need to be present in order for this process to occur.  In Virginia it can be used to explain the structure of typical plants, touch on the structures and processes involved in reproduction and the process of photosynthesis (Science Standard of Learning 4.4 a, b, c)

    Additional Resources

    Book: A Seed Is Sleepy
    Author: Dianna Hutts Aston
    Illustrator: Sylvia Long
    Publisher: Chronicle Books
    Publication Date: 2007
    Pages: 40 pages
    Grades:     3-4
    ISBN: 0811855201