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Grade Level Topics and Parent Explanations/Strategies

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Grade Level Topics and Parent Explanations/Strategies

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Math explained in easy language, plus puzzles, games, worksheets and an illustrated dictionary. For K-12 kids, teachers and parents.

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Videos, guides, practice

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Find helpful info like school contact information and links to other education organizations.

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Math Activities K-5

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My 2nd graders have been exploring place value, so yesterday I wrote the number 43 on the table in front of one sweet friend and asked what he could tell me about the number 43. He proudly told me it was 4 tens and 3 ones. This is very common, right? We ask students to name the place value positions or tell us what digit is in the tens place, etc. So you might assume that this student knows place value. But as I probed a little deeper, I began to realize that there is a big difference between knowing and understanding place value.

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I handed him a student ten-frame kit and asked him to build the number 43 using ten-frames. He immediately reached for a 4 tile. Uh oh. I asked what the 4 represents in the number 43, and again he told me 4 tens. He had the tile for 4 in his hand, so I asked if that was a ten. I got a quizzical look in return. I changed directions and asked him to show me 10 using the ten-frames. I also made headings for tens and ones on the table in front of him (see the photo). He put the 4 back and took out a 10. I asked him how many tens he had, and he told me 1. I then asked how many dots were on the ten-frame, and he told me 10. I asked him where he should place the 10, and he told me under the tens. Next, I asked him to show me another 10, so he took another ten out of the kit. I repeated my questions-how many tens? how many dots (ones)?-and he told me 1 ten and 10 dots and put the 10 next to the other one under the tens heading. Then I asked him how many tens he had under the tens heading, and he told me 20. Hmmm, I think I see 20 dots, but how many groups of 10? Two. Great! So there are 2 tens and how many dots on those two tens? Twenty. His responses were still nowhere near automatic. That is, he really had to think about his answers. I repeated this process until we had 4 tens. Finally, I asked him what he would need to add to make the number 43. He considered the question, looked at the ten-frames in his kit, pulled out a 3, and placed it in the ones column. To tie it all together we wrote that 43 is 4 tens and 3 ones, and we also wrote it in expanded form, 40 + 3. We repeated this same process for several more 2-digit numbers.

Truly understanding place value requires students to be able to unitize. What this means is that they must be able to understand that a group of ten ones can be counted as a single unit, called a ten. That's a huge mathematical step, because the idea is so abstract. As with any abstract concept, students need lots of varied hands-on experiences building tens and ones and talking about the meaning to develop a true understanding. That means ten-frames and counters, linking cubes, beans on a stick, linking chains, etc.-as many different representations as you can think of.

The ten frame kits can be a bit pricey, and have limited availability, but you can create your own student kits using this file. I also uploaded a B&W version, in case you want your kiddos to color their own. If you need ten-frames to use with counters, download those here.

I'd love to hear your experiences with early place value understandings! Please share what has worked for you.

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The Difference Between Knowing and Understanding Place Value - Math Coach's Corner

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There is a big difference between knowing and understanding place value. Read how to develop a deeper understanding. Grab a free download!

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"I'm never going to use this!" Chances are, if you teach math, you've had a student say something along these lines. Yet, math is a vital part of our daily lives. From checking the temperature or deciding what to wear, to knowing if you have enough money to purchase an item or figuring out how long it will take to get somewhere, math is a part of everyday life. Here are nine ways to make math relevant for your students and inspire them to embrace math in the real-world.

1. Follow Current Events

Connect math to social studies by following current events in the news. Students may be surprised by how frequently numbers are cited in news stories. Start by identifying a grade appropriate print, online, or video news sources like PBS NewsHour Extra. Then, have students keep a journal of articles that cite numbers and analyze how the data is presented as part of the news story.

2. Partake in a Math Competition

Quality math competitions will challenge students to apply their knowledge in ingenious ways. Encourage creative problem-solving and build teamwork skills by enrolling students in a competition like Odyssey of the Mind.

3. Teach Personal Finance

If there is one math skill every person should master, it is money management. Although students typically learn how to add and subtract money, learning how to budget, invest, and manage debt are essential when it comes to ensuring a secure financial future. Get started with these ideas on teaching personal finance.

4. Play Games

Games are a fun way of incorporating math learning into the classroom while engaging students in play. Many classic board games help develop counting skills, number recognition, and fact fluency through the use of dice, spinners, and cards. Online math games are a high-interest activity for today's tech-savvy students and many also support math standards and curricula.

5. Plan a Road Trip

Planning a road trip can help students hone their math skills while also studying geography. Divide students into groups, provide a budget, and have them research, design, and present a print or digital travel brochure of their road trip. Require that each group provides a breakdown of costs, including miles per gallon for fuel, meals, lodging, and admission fees to attractions.

6. Get Cooking

Many kids love to cook. Apply math to daily life by having students practice their culinary math skills. Not only does cooking allow students to practice skills like conversions, fractions, and proportions, but they also get a tasty meal or snack at the end!

7. Root for the Home Team

Whether you have students who participate in sports, play sports video games, or simply love to watch a good game, statistics play a key role in athletics. Challenge students to watch or participate in a sport, then record and graph data about the game. Alternatively, look for sporting events that provide educational materials like these Iditarod math teaching resources.

8. Study the Mathematics of Music

From patterns to frequency, music is mathematical. Elementary students can connect the arts and math by listening to music and identifying patterns. High school students can dig deeper into the mathematical structure of music by studying harmonics or looking at new ways of seeing music.

9. Celebrate Math Holidays

Math holidays and theme days are a great hook for inspiring students to learn math. Join Global Math Week in October, connect math and literacy on Math Storytelling Day in September, or celebrate any of the multitude of math holidays throughout the year.

How do you make math relevant for students in your classroom? Share your ideas in the comments. For more math teaching resources, try Help Teaching's free math worksheets and math lessons.

Lori Leclair is a freelance educational content developer. Using her classroom teaching experience coupled with her obsessive attention to detail, Lori crafts quality math and science materials designed for students and teachers. She currently serves as Help Teaching's Manger of Science and Math Content. When not devising and assessing curriculum materials, Lori can be found reading, camping with her family, or watching a youth baseball game from the bleachers.

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"I'm never going to use this!" Chances are, if you teach math, you've had a student say something along these lines. Yet, math is a vital part of our daily lives. From checking the temperature or deciding what to wear, to knowing if you have enough money to purchase an item or figuring out how long it will take to get somewhere, math is a part of everyday life.