Tag: MathRack20

  • Great Finds at CAMT12

    Great Finds at CAMT12

    Last week, Wil and I were at the Conference for the Advancement of Mathematics Teaching. We learned so much and had a great time – and found tons of neat stuff!

    I walked away with so much knowledge and quite a few great products – and Wil ended up with some too. Here are our fun finds and great product choices – look for more information on each soon!

    The MathRack

    The MathRack is an amazing product built by even more amazing folks. They started in their own home, and they still assemble the MathRack by hand in their garage.

    I know I should share a photo of the product, but Scott Rule, owner, founder, chief cook and bottle washer of MathRack, is such a sweetheart – and has worked so hard on the product – I couldn’t resist including this fun photo of us!

    The Ultimate Puzzle

    Anette offered a free Ultimate Puzzle to anyone who could solve it in less than 5 minutes. Both Wil and I tried our hand at this puzzle developed in Estonia.

    There are over a bazillion million hundred billion ways this thing can go together – and only 200 of them will work!

    Alas, I ended up buying one of them.

    Dinah Zike’s Alphabet Tabbed WrapAround

    Last week I put alphabet tabs on a Moleskine book to help me teach K8 to read. Then I found Dinah Zike’s Alphabet Tabbed WrapAround. It’s amazing and I can’t wait to use it!

    Flashdisc – Wheel of Facts

    The Flashdiscs are a nifty little self-checking set of fact helpers. They come in both addition/subtraction and multiplication/division.

    Luckily Wil could actually use a set of these with his tutoring clients — I got him to pay for it!

    Math Olympiads

    Math Olympiads is a monthly competitive math fun for classroom schoolers and homeschoolers. Seems very cost effective and lots of fun for kids of all ages.

    Tons of ideas!

    We learned about numeracy and using “Number of the Day” exercises from two fabulous teachers from Conroe ISD. We learned great ways to use the MathRack from the beautiful and awesome Christina Tondevold.

    We even got some great giveaways from Kaplan Elementary and Frog Publications that we’ll be dissecting so you can use them at home (they’re currently only priced for full classrooms).

    So look for detailed articles on these and other great math learning ideas coming soon. I’m kinda bubbly inside from all I have to write on.

    … and next week is the Homeschool Convention!

    Share your thoughts in the comments or on twitter/x.

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  • First Grade Math – Place Value Practice

    First Grade Math – Place Value Practice

    A number system is a highly advanced concept. And yet we throw it at first grade math students expecting them to immediately grasp it.

    Our number system is based on place value, like any number system (like clocks, years, etc.). Which means everything wraps around. Once you get to the “top” of the list of numerals, you have to start over, in a sense. This is crazy weird – it’s no wonder kids struggle at this point!

    I promised to help a teacher this weekend who was struggling teaching place value to her first grade math class. I dug out a MathRack, a brand of rekenrek, which was part of a set MathRack.com shared with me months ago. I peeked at their book Mastering the MathRack to Build Mathematical Minds to get an idea of how to teach place value using this amazing tool.

    The video above uses the MathRack 20 and some place value cards. I followed the Hidden Numbers activity on page 61 of the book. (As of writing this, I’m unable to find the book online. The site where it is supposed to be doesn’t seem to be functioning anymore.)

    Glenda, the first grade math teacher, specifically wanted help teaching the comparing numbers and ordering numbers. So here goes…

    Comparing numbers is easier when visualized.

    Children can see the value of two digit numbers better when they see the quantity of beads. Let them practice comparing numbers for a while using both the rekenrek and the place value cards. The more they practice, the better feel they’ll get for the place values in our number system.

    I’m not sure what the structure of a first grade math class is, but the more days they can “play” with their MathRack like this, the better they will get at comparing numbers. If you have limited time, do a few minutes each day for more days, rather than more time on fewer days.

    Ordering numbers is also easier when children see it.

    Once the children have played a while with the rekenrek, they will have some comparison skills. Ordering numbers is the next step. Teach them that the act of ordering numbers is just comparing numbers many times.

    Computers order numbers by comparing them one at a time to each of the other numbers. Let students try ordering numbers this way, as well as other ways. The one-at-a-time method might be slower, but it could be what the child needs.

    Keep trying and share what you learn.

    How about it – can you use this for your first grade number system lessons? Do you have a MathRack or can you make one? Share your successes in the comments!

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