task cards Archives - Tales from Outside the Classroom

Fractions Greater than 1 Lesson with picture of two cookies partitioned into parts

How to Teach Fractions Greater than 1: Hands-on Lesson and Engaging Sorts

In order to effectively teach fractions greater than 1, students should have a strong understanding of fractional concepts like numerator, denominator, and fractions representing parts of a whole. I don’t teach fractions greater than one until I feel most of my 3rd grade students are feeling comfort with fractions of a shape and fractions on a number line. Significant work with fractional concepts lays the foundations students need to be successful with improper fractions. You

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Algebra in Elementary Grades How & Why text with balance task card displayed on side

How to Integrate Algebra with Elementary Students: Equality, Equations, and Discourse

How do you teach algebra in elementary school? Why would you? If you think of algebra as the class you took in high school and not a critical, intertwined component of mathematics, you might wonder why I’m talking about introducing algebra with elementary students. As with all things, the work we do in the elementary years lays the foundation for students’ algebra work later. Key components of our elementary math instruction build algebraic thinking in

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Multiplication & Division word problem types: what they are and how to teach them" text next to a colorful printed reference chart

Multiplication and Division Word Problem Types

Word problems can be such a struggle. Especially in grades 3rd and up when students have to work through all of the operations and multi-step word problems. Students often struggle to identify the operation presented, or miss part of the steps needed to solve. Explicitly teaching word problem types can help our students recognize the operations in context. The Common Core State Standards lay out the different multiplication & division word problem types that students

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Working with Division

Some people, districts, textbooks (take your pick) teach multiplication and division together in one unit and at one time. I prefer to teach division a few weeks after multiplication; after students have had some time working with multiplication, exploring equal groups, and building a deep understanding of what multiplication means. You can also read more about how I introduce multiplication. For division, however, my go to is always, always food! Lesson engagement is at an

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Introducing the Distributive Property

The first time I taught the distributive property to my third graders I had no idea what I was doing. There was one (and I think only one) lesson in our textbook and it had students relate the distributive property to basketball where students figured out how many points were scored based on the number of two-pointers and three-pointers. In theory, it’s a great idea, and I’m sure I could have livened up that lesson

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Hi! I’m Tessa!

I’ve spent the last 15 years teaching in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades, and working beside elementary classrooms as an instructional coach and resource support. I’m passionate about math, literacy, and finding ways to make teachers’ days easier. I share from my experiences both in and out of the elementary classroom. Read more About Me.

How to Teach Fractions Greater than 1: Hands-on Lesson and Engaging Sorts

How to Integrate Algebra with Elementary Students: Equality, Equations, and Discourse