KATE

April 1, 2007

Money Matters -- Teaching Money at the Primary Level

Core Connections

 By:  Teresa Avery, Morningside Elementary, Christian County Schools

As a second grade teacher for the past three years at Morningside Elementary in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, I have found that one of the most challenging subjects for primary students is math and money. Counting money has been a difficult concept for my young students to grasp. Students are expected to know how to count money up to one dollar and to recognize a penny, a nickel, a dime, a quarter, a half dollar, and a dollar and know their value.. They also need to be able to place the coins in order from least to greatest, to be able to draw the value of each denomination, and to make change.

 All of these skills need to be continuously taught throughout the school year to help the students maintain the knowledge they acquire when learning how to count money. It is very important that students are given every opportunity to learn, review, and practice these skills. One way to make sure that students are continuously reviewing money math concepts is to include the skills in every school day. In my classroom, I have a math center where students can manipulate and practice with plastic coins that look like the real thing. Parents need to know early on in the year that counting money is one of the most difficult skills for their child to master and they should help their children at home.

Using the Internet is an excellent resource for students, parents, and teachers. There are many wonderful websites that offer fun interactive games, puzzles, homework help, worksheets and resources for students, parents, and teachers to use.

 

 

Related Links

• edHelper.com - A collection of printable, reviews and activities for counting money and word problems.

   

• H.I.P. Pocket Change - Fun and games for students to have with coins.
• Free Elementary and Preschool Math Activities - Students learn to count money with interactive coin counting games.
• The Pirate’s Treasure Box—Counting Coins - A collection of lesson plans and interactive activity links for teachers.
• Teaching Children about Money - Article about the value of parents educating their children about money.
• Teaching Basic Money Concepts to Children - Tips to help teach your children about basic money concepts.

Related Lesson Plans, Activities, and Classroom Resources

• Counting Money with Coin Lessons
• Counting Money Worksheets and Lessons
• Changes in Change
• How Many Pennies?
• Introducing Money
• The Changing Face of Money
• The Berenstain Bears’ Trouble with Money
• Money, Money, Money!
• Counting on Coins

April 1, 2007

Motivate Your Students With Blogs

Instructional Illuminations

www.blogging101.com/graphics/blogging-101.gif
 

"Never in 25 years of teaching have I seen a more powerful motivator for writing than blogs and that's because of the audience. Writing is not just taped on the refrigerator and then put in the recycle bin. It's out there for the world to see and kids realize other people are reading what they write." These are powerful words from Mark Ahlness of Seattle's Arbor Heights Elementary School. Ahlness like many other teachers are finding online blogs and journals useful tools for the classroom.

A blog is an online journal where students and teachers can post items and others can comment on the information. Blogs can contain random information and thoughts or serious research and educational information. Students are using MySpace and Facebook for social networking and fun so many educators are taking advantage of their enthusiasm and using blogs as an avenue for learning. Class Blogmeister (classblogmeister.com) is a blog service for teachers and allows security features controlled by the teacher. Edublogs.org offers free teacher blogs and can be used in a multitude of instructional ways.

 

Teachers are creating classroom blogs where they can post questions for students who can post their answers and explain how they solved the problems. Fellow students can then comment, creating interaction and dialog. One teacher started out using the blog as an outlet for stories that students wanted to share with her, that she didn't have time to listen to during class. As the students became comfortable using the blog then the instruction began.

Lyon County Kentucky fourth grade students have teamed up with Murray State University English education majors using a free edublog. The students are posting their portfolios privately on the blog and the MSU students are making corrections and comments directly on the portfolio pieces. According to Debbie Bell, instructor at MSU the student reaction has been very positive. "Students believe this gives them real practice on real writings and....they might make a difference in someone else's writing score. Rather than practicing with the old benchmarks or the new anchor papers, the students have a purpose for revising and learning how to revise." The elementary students feel it has been great for them to have outside readers and have benefited from the comments and suggestions.

Related Lesson Plans, Activities, and Classroom Resources

• Blogging Lesson Plan
• The Bird Can Blog: Online Writing with a Twist
• Blogtopia: Blogging about Your Own Utopia
• Blogs & RSS as a School Communication Environment
• All the News That?s Fit to Blog
• Responsible Blogging Lesson Plan
• Integrating Technology in the Classroom

April 1, 2007

Springtime Weather

Core Connections

Spring is in the air!  With Spring comes blooming flowers, warm sunshine, flip-flops, and a much anticipated opportunity to enjoy the outdoors.  However, the warmer weather also brings an unsettled atmostphere and the possiblity of severe thunderstorms and even tornadoes.  As different weather patterns begin to unfold, there is no better time to introduce your students to one of nature's most dangerous phenomenon-- the tornado.

According to USA Today, "Tornadoes and the threat of tornadoes are a key part of the USA's spring weather because spring brings favorable tornado conditions."  The following link provides an in-depth look at  tornadoes the impact they have on our society: Tornadoes are Earth's Most Violent Storms.

 

Twister! What To Do In a Tornado

When teaching your students about tornadoes, it is not only important to teach them about what they are and how they are formed, but also about how to protect themselves in case they are in an emergency situation.  The above link provides a lesson plan that deals with all of these topics. 

New Radar Technology

Today, there are many warning systems that alert us when a tornado is approaching.  However, there hasn't always been technology to allow us to know when a tornado is coming.  In the past 20 years there have been many advances in tornado technology. Explore the link above to see how technology has increased warning times of tornadoes.

Make a Tornado , Tornado in a Bottle

Above are two links that provide a detailed description on how to make a tornado with your students.  This activity will allow students to see how a tornado is formed and have hands on experience about the fundamentals of a tornado.

Related Links:

Tornado! Lesson Plan 

Tornadoes! Lesson Plan 

Disaster Math