Author Archives: Diana Sanchez

Problem-solving Two Ways (Bilingual English & Spanish)

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📖 Standard

CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP4 Model with mathematics.

CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

⏰ Time

30-40 minutes

📃 Summary

Students are introduced to the various means of problem solving in a brief presentation. They watch a video on visualization, then solve a problem that asks them to visualize. After watching a video on building a model, students build and/or draw their own model of a multiplication problem or property. Lesson concludes with game play to reinforce these problem-solving strategies and learn more. This lesson assumes that students have some familiarity with multiplication of one-digit numbers and division with one-digit divisors.

📲 Technology Required

If teaching in person, the teacher will need a computer and projector or smart board to show the videos, or students can be given the links to watch on their own devices. Students will need a PC, Mac or Chromebook or tablet. Making Camp Bilingual, Making Camp Lakota and Making Dakota are all playable on any web browser on those devices. Spirit Lake: The Game, playable on Mac or Windows computers also teaches these same concepts. Students will also need access to the games.

📚Lesson

Watch a Video: Visualize (2:38)

Or watch it in Spanish – Visualizar (2:38)

This video teaches you how to visualize a problem. Visualization may help you solve it more easily. If you use objects to imagine quantities of numbers in certain problems, you will be able to find the solution faster.

Short presentation and problem (10 minutes)

After watching the video, teachers can present this short Google slides presentation or assign to students in Google classroom, giving another example of visualizing a problem.

Visualize – Presentation in English

Visualizar – Presentation in Spanish

The presentation ends with asking students to visualize another problem themselves. It then leads into the next video.

Watch a video: Build a Model (1:37)

Or watch it in Spanish – Construyendo un Modelo (1:37)

If you’d rather give a presentation than show a video, here is a Google slides deck you can use as is for copy to your own Google drive and modify.

Build a Model – Presentation in English

Construyendo un Modelo – Presentation in Spanish

Actually Build a Model (10 minutes)

Two possible assignment for building a model are:

  • Have students create a model using Google draw, jam board or simply drawing it on paper.
  • Build a physical model using objects in their home or school

Google slides presentation describing these assignments is given here.

Assignments – Presentation in English

Assignments – Presentation in Spanish

You can simply save to your own Google classroom and then assign to your class to include both types of problems or modify to add more explanation or delete whichever one does not apply to your class before assigning.

Play a game (15 minutes)

Assign students to play Making Camp Bilingual (plays on any device) to practice these problem-solving strategies and more with multiplication and division.

Growing Math Games

Assessment

Two assessments are built into the lesson, on visualization and building a model. Teachers can also see which standards students have attempted and how many problems they have answered correctly in the Making Camp Bilingual teacher reports.

Related: Problem-solving Two Ways

The lesson above has a companion lesson for English only learners. Problem-solving Two Ways is the same lesson from above but provides the resources, videos and Google Slides, in English only.

Fill in the Blank: 3 Digit Dividends

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📖 STANDARD

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NBT.B.6

Find whole-number quotients and remainders with up to four-digit dividends and one-digit divisors, using strategies based on place value, the properties of operations, and/or the relationship between multiplication and division. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.

⏰ LESSON TIME

55 Minutes

📃 SUMMARY

This lesson plan will have students reinforce the previously presented concept of long division of 3 digit dividends by 1 digit divisors through a short review, an animated video, a fill in the blank division word problem activity, and game play.  

📲 TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED

Students will need a PC, Mac or Chromebook or tablet. Making Camp Premium and Dakota are both playable on any web browser on those devices. Students will also need access to the games.

📚LESSON PLAN

  1. Start the lesson by having a short review on dividing 3-digit dividends by 1-digit divisors. It is suggested to review the activity that was assigned in the previous lesson, “Build Your Own Division Problem” lesson. You can find the review copy of the activity here: “Review – Build Your Own Division Problem“. (15 minutes)
  2. How to Use Division to Solve a Problem – Start with this animated video on how to use long division, with 3 digit dividends, to solve different word problems. (Time – 1:24)

3. Have students work on the activity “Fill in the Blank: 3 Digit Dividends“. The activity has students fill in the blanks to complete the division word problem, identify the problem, and solve it. (Corresponding “Fill in the Blank: 3 Digit Dividends” Activity Jamboard that’s also linked in the activity above can be used by students as space to work out their division word problems.) (20 minutes)

4. Have students play Making Camp Dakota: Past & Present using our Games Portal for Kids. The division in Making Camp Dakota will be more practice for students on problems with 3 digit dividends divided by 1 digit divisors. (15 minutes)

ASSESSMENT

The “Fill in the Blank: 3 Digit Dividends” activity is not only allowing students to continue practicing the concepts previously introduced and reviewed in this lesson, but also serves as an assessment of how well the student grasps the concept of division using 3 digit dividends and 1 digit divisors.

Making Camp Dakota Teacher Reports

You can view your students’ progress on mastering these standards by viewing your Making Camp Dakota teacher reports. You can access the Making Camp Dakota reports here.

STATE STANDARDS

Minnesota State Standards

4.1.1.6 – Use strategies and algorithms based on knowledge of place value, equality and properties of operations to divide multi-digit whole numbers by one- or two-digit numbers. Strategies may include mental strategies, partial quotients, the commutative, associative, and distributive properties and repeated subtraction.  

5.1.1.1 – Divide multi-digit numbers, using efficient and generalizable procedures, based on knowledge of place value, including standard algorithms. Recognize that quotients can be represented in a variety of ways, including a whole number with a remainder, a fraction or mixed number, or a decimal.  

Build Your Own Division Problem

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📖 STANDARD

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NBT.B.6 

Find whole-number quotients and remainders with up to four-digit dividends and one-digit divisors, using strategies based on place value, the properties of operations, and/or the relationship between multiplication and division. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.

⏰ LESSON TIME

50 minutes

📃 SUMMARY

This lesson plan will build upon the introduction to division with 3-digit dividends from the “Dividing 3-Digit Dividends” lesson. Students will be able to continue practicing dividing 3-digit dividends by 1-digit divisors through a short review, an activity where students build their own division problems, and game play.

📲 TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED

Students will need a PC, Mac or Chromebook. Students will also need access to “Making Camp Dakota: Past & Present” using our Games Portal for Kids. “Making Camp Dakota: Past & Present” is playable on PC, Mac, and Chromebook using any browser.

📚LESSON PLAN

  1. Start the lesson by having a short review on dividing 3-digit dividends by 1-digit divisors. It is suggested to review the activity that was assigned in the previous lesson, “Dividing 3-Digit Dividends” lesson. You can find the review copy of the activity here: “Review – On Your Way Home.” (10 minutes)
  2. Students will take the information reviewed and use it to complete the “Build Your Own Division Problem” activity. In this activity, students practice division using 3-digit dividends and 1-digit divisors through using virtual manipulatives. (20 minutes)
  3. To end the lesson, students can play Making Camp Dakota: Past & Present to further practice division. Students can access the game using our Games Portal for Kids. (20 minutes)

ASSESSMENT

The “Build Your Own Division Problem” activity is not only allowing students to continue practicing the concepts previously introduced and reviewed in this lesson, but also serves as an assessment of how well the student grasps the concept of division using 3 digit dividends and 1 digit divisors.

Making Camp Dakota Teacher Reports

You can view your students’ progress on mastering these standards by viewing your Making Camp Dakota teacher reports. You can access the Making Camp Dakota reports here.

STATE STANDARDS

Minnesota State Standards

4.1.1.6 – Use strategies and algorithms based on knowledge of place value, equality and properties of operations to divide multi-digit whole numbers by one- or two-digit numbers. Strategies may include mental strategies, partial quotients, the commutative, associative, and distributive properties and repeated subtraction.  
5.1.1.1 – Divide multi-digit numbers, using efficient and generalizable procedures, based on knowledge of place value, including standard algorithms. Recognize that quotients can be represented in a variety of ways, including a whole number with a remainder, a fraction or mixed number, or a decimal. 

Related Lesson – Fill in the Blank: 3 Digit Dividends

The “Fill in the Blank: 3 Digit Dividends” lesson plan will have students reinforce the previously presented concept of long division of 3 digit dividends by 1 digit divisors through an animated video, a fill in the blank division word problem activity, and game play.  

Dividing 3-Digit Dividends

2 Replies

📖STANDARD

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NBT.B.6

Find whole-number quotients and remainders with up to four-digit dividends and one-digit divisors, using strategies based on place value, the properties of operations, and/or the relationship between multiplication and division. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.

⏰ LESSON TIME

30-45 minutes

📃 SUMMARY

This lesson will build upon the already introduced concepts and vocabulary of division in our “Introducing Division” lesson. Students will learn and be able to practice dividing 3 digit dividends by 1 digit divisors through a short review, activity, and game play.  

📲TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED

Students will need a PC, Mac or Chromebook or tablet. Making Camp Premium and Dakota are both playable on any web browser on those devices. Students will also need access to the games.

📚 LESSON

Begin by reviewing division.
  1. Start the lesson by reviewing the important division basics. This Division Review Google Slides reviews “what we know.” The presentation goes over the definition of division, key terms, division symbols, and examples. 
  1. Have students work through the On Your Way Home division activity where they take what they know and practice dividing 3 digit dividends by 1 digit divisors. The activity takes division problems and puts them into real-world context, visiting stores on your way home from the park. 
  1. Have students play Making Camp Premium and/or Making Camp Dakota using our Games Portal for Kids. The division magnets game in Making Camp Premium can be used as review before moving on to Making Camp Dakota. The division in Making Camp Dakota will be more practice for problems with 3 digit dividends divided by 1 digit divisors.    

ASSESSMENT

Assessment is built into the “On Your Way Home” activity through the creation of their own division problem after repeated practice of 3 digit dividends divided by 1 digit divisors.

Making Camp Dakota Teacher Reports

You can view your students’ progress on mastering these standards by viewing your Making Camp Dakota teacher reports. You can access the Making Camp Dakota reports here.

STATE STANDARDS  

Minnesota State Standards

4.1.1.6 – Use strategies and algorithms based on knowledge of place value, equality and properties of operations to divide multi-digit whole numbers by one- or two-digit numbers. Strategies may include mental strategies, partial quotients, the commutative, associative, and distributive properties and repeated subtraction.  

5.1.1.1 – Divide multi-digit numbers, using efficient and generalizable procedures, based on knowledge of place value, including standard algorithms. Recognize that quotients can be represented in a variety of ways, including a whole number with a remainder, a fraction or mixed number, or a decimal.  

Related Lesson: Build Your Own Division Problem

The “Build Your Own Division Problem” lesson plan will build upon the introduction to division with 3-digit dividends from this lesson. Students will be able to continue practicing dividing 3-digit dividends by 1-digit divisors through a short review, an activity where students build their own division problems, and game play.  

Introducing Idioms

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📖STANDARDS: 

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.5.B Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.5.B Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs.

[For state-specific standards, click here.]

⏰LESSON TIME

45 minutes

📲TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED

A device with a web-browser – PC, Mac or Chromebook – or phone or tablet

📃SUMMARY

This lesson plan helps students recognize and understand idioms and what they are through different examples. Students will be able to understand the meaning of common idioms through an instructive video, idiom book activity, and Making Camp Premium gameplay. 

📚Lesson Plan

1. VIDEO: Idioms

Start your lesson with this video that covers the meaning of idioms and understanding common idioms through different examples. 

2. Have your students make their own idiom book.

What you’ll need:

You can go about this in different ways. You can have students pick their favorite idioms. You can assign different idioms to different students. You can assign all students the same idiom. Or you can make it more like a game and random by having students draw out idioms. 

Once students have their idioms, have them write the idiom and what it actually means (this reinforces the memorization of the idiom’s meaning). Then have kids draw pictures as to what the idiom suggests. Students can then share their drawings with the class and see what fun ensues as they share their drawing and explain their idiom. 

3. GAME: Making Camp Premium

Have students play Making Camp Premium for 20 minutes. Students should focus on the WORDS section of Making Camp Premium and especially the idioms activity (the first box in the Words section) in order to reinforce the understanding of idioms. You can access Making Camp Premium on Mac, Windows, Chromebook, and iPad on the Games page of the Growing Math site.   

Choices screen from Making Camp Premium - Watch movies. Answer questions. Earn points.

ASSESSMENT: Making Camp Premium Teacher Reports

You can view your students’ progress on mastering this standard by viewing your Making Camp Premium Teacher Reports. You can view the Making Camp Premium reports here. 

STATE STANDARDS 

Arizona (AZ), New Mexico (NM), North Dakota (ND), South Dakota (SD), Minnesota (MN) and Oregon (OR) have all adopted the English Language Arts standards covered in the Common Core Standards. 

________________________

List of Idioms & Meaning

IdiomMeaning
Cool as a cucumber.To be calm and relaxed.
Going bananas!To go crazy; to get very excited or angry.
It costs an arm and a leg.To be very expensive.
Bite your tongue.To not say something that you want to say.
On thin ice.Being in a risky situation, usually one where you might upset someone.
Hit the books.To study. 
In hot water.To be in a difficult situation, in trouble. 
Smells fishy.Doesn’t seem quite right.
It’s a piece of cake.To be very easy.
Under the weather.To be sick; not feeling well. 
Raining cats and dogs.To be raining very hard.
More than you can shake a stick at. A great number; very many. 
Drive up the wall.To become frustrated or annoyed by something.
Break a leg!Good luck!
On cloud nine. To be very happy. 
Time is money.Work quickly. 
That ship has sailed.It’s too late. 
Like two peas in a pod.Always together. 
Fit as a fiddle.In good shape. 
On the fence.To be indecisive. 

Adding fractions with like denominators

1 Reply

📖 STANDARD

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NF.B.3.A Understand addition and subtraction of fractions as joining and separating parts referring to the same whole.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NF.B.3.D Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions referring to the same whole and having like denominators, e.g., by using visual fraction models and equations to represent the problem.

[For state-specific standards, click here.]

⏰ LESSON TIME

45 minutes

📃 SUMMARY

This lesson plan will explore how students can add fractions with like denominators to determine the sum of fractions. It incorporates two instructional videos, an editable presentation and educational game that can be used to practice/reinforce the concept with assessment data.    

📲 Technology Required

The teacher (or student, if learning at home) will need a computer, phone or tablet with an Internet connection to play the video. For students at home without Internet access, the teacher can print out the attached PDF or PowerPoint for students to study. The game required plays on Windows or Mac computers and on iPad. A Chromebook version will be available by April.

📚 Lesson Plan

1. VIDEO: Adding Like Fractions

Start your lesson with this one-minute video on adding fractions with like denominators.

Alternate format : POWERPOINT: Adding Fractions with Like Denominators

This presentation provides the information in the video viewed at the beginning of the lesson as a PowerPoint or PDF.

For a PDF version, go here. 

For an editable PowerPoint version, go here. 

2. Game Play

Have students play Fish Lake for 30 minutes. This lesson is most effective when introduced towards the beginning of Fish Lake gameplay since the math ties into the math in Level 3. Students who master this standard will be able to advance within the game. Students who have trouble with this standard will receive individual instruction within the game to teach and reinforce this concept. 

3. Reinforce with another video

Common denominators can help you determine what’s fair

This two-minute video gives examples of how fractions with like denominators can be used to see if everyone is doing their fair share of the work or eating a fair share of the pizza.

4. Related Lesson – Introducing Fractions

If your students are struggling with adding fractions with common denominators, they may need a review of the introduction to fractions, including defining numerator and denominator.

ASSESSMENT

You can view your students’ progress on mastering these standards by viewing your Fish Lake Teacher Reports. You can access the Fish Lake reports here. 

STATE STANDARDS

Arizona (AZ), New Mexico (NM), North Dakota (ND), South Dakota (SD), and Oregon (OR) have all adopted the math standards covered in the Common Core Standards. 

Minnesota (MN) Math Standard 

4. Number and Operation 

Represent and compare fractions and decimals in real-world and mathematical situations; use place value to understand how decimals represent quantities.4.1.2.3 – Use fraction models to add and subtract fractions with like denominators in real-world and mathematical situations. Develop a rule for addition and subtraction of fractions with like denominators.

Multiplying fractions with like denominators

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📖 STANDARD

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NF.B.4 Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication to multiply a fraction or whole number by a fraction.

Click for individual state standards, or scroll to the bottom of the page.

⏰ LESSON TIME

45 minutes 

📃 SUMMARY

This lesson plan will explore how students can take what they already know about adding fractions with like denominators in order to grasp multiplying fractions with like denominators. It incorporates an instructional video, an editable presentation and an educational game that can be used to practice/reinforce the concept with assessment data. 

📲 Technology required

The game Fish Lake can be played on iPad, Mac or Windows computers. Internet is required to log in to the game with username and password. If Internet access drops, students can continue playing and their progress will be saved on the device and uploaded to the server whenever access is available. Fish Lake is available free to schools participating in the Growing Math project.

📚 Lesson Plan

1. VIDEO: Adding and Multiplying Fractions with Like Denominators

Start your lesson with this video on adding and multiplying fractions with like denominators.

Adding and multiplying fractions: Definitions and examples 3:33

This three-minute video begins with adding fractions with a common denominator. It explains that denominator is more than the number on the bottom, it is the number of parts the whole is divided into. Multiplying fractions with like denominators is shown, with examples, to be the same thing as adding the fraction multiple times.

Teaching Options

The video above is also available as editable PowerPoint presentation and as Google slides. Teachers may prefer to use these as part of a mini-lecture

2. GAME: Fish Lake

Have students play Fish Lake for 30 minutes. This game can be played on Mac, Windows and iPad. You can find the link on our games page. This lesson is most effective when introduced towards the beginning of Fish Lake gameplay since the math ties into the math in Level 3. Students who master this standard will be able to advance within the game. Students who have trouble with this standard will receive individual instruction within the game to teach and reinforce this concept.

ASSESSMENT

You can view your students’ progress on mastering these standards by viewing your Fish Lake Teacher Reports. You can access the Fish Lake reports here. 

STATE STANDARDS 

Arizona (AZ), New Mexico (NM), North Dakota (ND), South Dakota (SD), and Oregon (OR) have all adopted the math standards covered in the Common Core Standards. 

Minnesota (MN) Math Standard 

6. Number & Operation

Multiply and divide decimals, fractions and mixed numbers; solve real-world and mathematical problems using arithmetic with positive rational numbers. 

6.1.3.1 – Multiply and divide decimals and fractions, using efficient and generalizable procedures, including standard algorithms.