Posts Tagged: Concrete-Representational-Abstract

My Favorite Teacher

“The most extraordinary thing about a really good teacher is that he or she transcends accepted educational methods.” -Margaret Mead “The dream begins, most of the time, with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes, and leads you onto the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called truth.”…

A.K.A. Decimals

“We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.” -Lloyd Alexander “I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” -Albert Einstein I was never more aware of how important hands-on instruction is until I taught concepts like decimals.…

Irregular! Impossible? Important!: Area & Perimeter of Irregular Polygons

“Information’s pretty thin stuff unless mixed with experience.” -Clarence Day, The Crow’s Nest Last week I received a comment and a request from Anne, an academic coach at an Elementary school in Georgia. I first heard from Anne this August when she visited my website looking for information about differentiating instruction and using small groups in math. …

A Mathematical Happy Meal

“The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good.” -Brian Tracy “The greatest waste in the world is the difference between what we are and what we could become.”…

Pour the Concrete First!

“We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” —  T.S. Eliot A few weeks ago I watched a group of first grade students use base ten blocks.…