## Sunday, September 29, 2013

### Use Straws to Teach Elapsed Time, Third, Fourth, Fifth Grade Teaching Ideas

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Third- Fifth Grade Teaching Ideas

Use Straws as Teaching Tools

Straws are such a versatile tool for use in the classroom. They are easy to find and are very affordable.  Check out these different ways to use them in the classroom.
Elapsed Time

Use them to teach elapsed time.  Use tape to attach both ends of the straws together.  Using a permanent marker, write the increments of time on the lower straw.  Use the top straw to draw curved lines to help students "see" time elapse.

Rounding Decimals

Many students have difficulty with rounding decimals to the nearest place value.  By using two straws, students can touch, feel, and see how close a decimal number is to the nearest tenth or hundredths place.

Straw Synonyms and Antonyms

Use straws to sort words.  The same word was written on the front and back of each straw.    Write words that have the same meanings or opposite meanings on each straw.

Going Deeper with Fractions

The new Common Core Standards is really for students to go deeper in content knowledge, think critically, and think about math concepts flexibly.  What does it mean to think about math concepts flexibly?  This means to go in-depth to understand a math concept from different angles.  Some students are skilled at memorizing a specific format of math problems.

The problem is that if this same student encounters a different type of math problem on assessment day or in class, this student is stumped.  This chart shows different ways of understanding fractions.  I designed this to help the students that I work with see fractions from different angles.
Another idea is to have students create their own word problems.  The constant review of writing these problems deepens understanding.

Teaching Resources

These idiom task cards enable students to learn common idioms and practice them in a fun way.  The document comes with two idiom games and printable, easy-fold boxes for convenient storage too.  Click Here For More Information

Taking Care of You
In the hustle and bustle of being an educator, friend, and everything of life, it is important to take time for yourself. One way to do this is by taking time with a hobby.

Windowsill Container Garden

With the changing seasons, this may be difficult to do, but starting a windowsill container garden is always an option. Container gardens take up little space.  This is one of my container gardens.  It contains green leaf lettuce.  No matter what the hobby is, the most important idea is taking time to do something that you enjoy.

Have a great week!
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