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Class Ideas: The Didax Blog

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Need new ideas? Looking for quick tips for teaching tricky concepts or organizing your math centers? Class Ideas is your go-to spot for inspiration, information and innovation and it’s an ideal way to stay current with the latest trends in math teaching and learning.

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If there are topics you’d like us to cover or you’d be interested in being a guest contributor, reach out to us and we’ll respond. Email us at hello@didax.com

Building Spatial Awareness with Geometiles

Spatial ability or visualization is essential in engineering and scientific fields. It is the skill of understanding where objects are in space in relation to each other and how they interact. Geometiles is a tool for children to develop spatial awareness either in a self-directed or teacher-directed way. Whichever way you use Geometiles, they give children an opportunity to develop resourcefulness and hone their problem solving skills.

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LEAP Q&A

What brought you to this project? Why did you think there was a need for an early algebra curriculum? We recognized that, generally, students are not prepared for the kind of math that they are doing in middle school and high school, and that algebra is really the gatekeeper for post-secondary education and entering the job market. We found that by spending just a little bit of time building early algebraic concepts in elementary grades, we can significantly improve children’s algebra readiness as they enter middle grades, and this has the potential to transform their success in school mathematics.

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Number Sense through Puzzle and Play

I like to think of number sense as the linchpin to learning mathematics well. It plays a critical role in students’ confidence and risk taking. It helps them determine the reasonableness of their solutions and tinker with strategies and approaches when their solutions to problems are off. Number sense enables students to be flexible and efficient with both their computation and reasoning.

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Activities for the 100th Day of School

It’s hard to believe that 2018 is here, and we’re quickly approaching the 100th day of school. When I first started working with elementary school teachers, the concept of a 100 days celebration was foreign to me—it wasn’t something that we did in high school. Over time, I’ve come to appreciate this tradition and the mathematical opportunities it brings. In honor of 100 days of learning this school year, here are a few ideas for your 100th day activities. Try them out and let us know what you think!

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Making your Number Line Work More Concrete

The Math Standards highlight number lines as a critical model to build flexibility and understanding, and we know that number lines can be used for a variety of concepts across grades. Unfortunately, students cannot interact with number lines in a way that allows them to touch and manipulate the parts the way they can with, say, Base Ten blocks or Rekenreks.

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