We were so lucky to have Derek Whitson visit the school today and show off his bronze medal from the Sochi Paralympics.  His girlfriend visited the school back in February before they left for Russia and gave us a crash course on sledge hockey. We asked her if she'd bring Derek to the school after the Paralympics with his medal, and she did!  He gave an inspiring talk about overcoming obstacles and working hard towards your goal.  We were very lucky he was able to stop by!

I was surprised at how big and heavy the medal was.

Division Fun!

This is sooo much better than a worksheet:

I punched the numbers from foam sheets and kept them coloured-coded so it was easier for the kids to find what they needed.  We used a bendy straw for the division symbol.  I thought it was cute to see some kids using pencils and erasers for the subtract symbol, bring down arrow, and subtraction line.

A Remainder of One

My Grade 4 students were introduced to long division a few days ago.  I found this little gem at the public library and shared it with them to help explain the concept of remainders.

My Grade 4 students were introduced to long division a few days ago.  I found this little gem at the public library and shared it with them to help explain the concept of remainders.  As we read about Joe's bad luck with his army troop, the students showed the different long division statements on a simple handout I put together.

Spring Is In The Air

Mother Nature finally decided to smarten up today.  We hit a high of 24, and I was in heaven.  I took full advantage of the nice weather with my students, too.  First thing in the morning we headed outside for a little hopscotch with a math twist.  Before class, I drew several hopscotch designs on the playground pad and filled in the spaces with division and multiplication facts.  I had the students partner up.  One person hopped through and said the answer out loud.  The other person checked and helped if needed.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well they did.  Towards the end, I gave the students a challenge to see how quickly they could scoot through one of the hopscotches.  They loved this!

Next time I might have the students create their own hopscotch

Frustrated!

I am beyond frustrated at the moment.  It is after midnight, and I have just wasted at least 90 minutes tonight and a couple hours last night trying to spruce up my webpage.  I tried to switch the background and header.  Nothing seemed to work right.  I ended up going back to a standard layout.  It's ok.  For now.

I need to keep this in mind ...

Check It Out!

I love finding great blogs by accident.  I came across Performing in Fifth tonight, and I think you might want to check it out, too.

http://performinginfifth.blogspot.ca/

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