For potential teaching candidates it is important to be well familiarized in understanding the mathematics of alternate base units, especially since as educators we are the professionals that show students that everyday life involves functions that work off of different base units. Students are first taught in base-10, which uses the digits zero through nine. They are first taught to count up to ten and eventually build on these skills to be able to count to one-hundred and so on. When teaching base-10 money serves as a good example being that one-hundred cents totals to one dollar. However, money can be classified into smaller bases, such as nickels which are base-5 because there are five pennies in one nickel, which one instance as to why there is a need for understanding other base functions. After mastering the skill of counting from 1-100 in base-10 it can be difficult for students to grasp something as simple as learning time due to the fact that it does not work under the same base rule that they have been originally taught. To illustrate, time is base-60, therefore students must comprehend that there are 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour. To make this even more confusing, students then have to learn that days are base-12, because there are twelve hours on a …show more content…
This can become a concern when teaching measurements. There are two major measuring systems, the metric system, which is used almost everywhere, and the imperial/english system, which is used in only a few countries including the United States. The metric system works in base-10, however, the imperial/english system has different bases such base-12 for twelve inches in one foot, and base-16 for sixteen ounces in one pound. An if it is not for students who come from countries that sue these systems, some older grades do use these functions in subjects such as
Weight – Three commonly used metric units for weight are the kg, g, and mg.
The metric system is the most common system of measurement and nearly every country uses it but one, America. People who needed an easier way to measure things invented this system of measurement long ago. While the metric system was spreading to every country, Britain was using the customary units of measurement to measure things. As the British started colonizing America, the customary system moved with them. Finally, when Britain decided to convert to metric, the newly democratic America established its system of measurement as customary while almost every other country measured in metric. America should change to the metric system because it will promote more jobs in America, it would increase relations with other countries, and it is easier to understand and apply.
Place value and the base ten number system are two extremely important areas in mathematics. Without an in-depth understanding of these areas students may struggle in later mathematics. Using an effective diagnostic assessment, such as the place value assessment interview, teachers are able to highlight students understanding and misconceptions. By highlighting these areas teachers can form a plan using the many effective tasks and resources available to build a more robust understanding. A one-on-one session with Joe, a Year 5 student, was conducted with the place value assessment interview. From the outlined areas of understanding and misconception a serious of six tutorial lessons were planned. The lessons were designed using
Analysis – Both assessments will provide students with opportunities to demonstrate their leaning of decimal multiplication by relating base ten block to the area models. When students will be constructing decimals, I will be able to see if they understand that the flat represent the whole, a rod is equal to a tenth, and a unit represents a hundredth. The activities will reveal any misconceptions students may have about the place value, or I may be able to see whether students have struggled with making various exchanges with the base ten blocks. These pieces of information will reveal whether students have mastered a new
Ninety-five percent of the world uses the metric system, so why does the United States not? The metric system is the decimal measuring system based on the meter, liter, and gram as units of length, capacity, and weight or mass respectively. At the moment, the United States uses the English imperial system, which has no rhyme or reason to it. The imperial system is a cluttered mess that is challenging to understand. The U.S. should commence the usage the metric system because it is less strenuous to make conversions, it is uncomplicated, and a great majority of the world uses it.
For a second grade class, I will use a book entitled "Counting Crocodiles" written by Judy Sierra and Will Hillenbrand. The book is as simple as is sounds, a monkey counts crocodiles in the Sillabobble Sea to see if there are more crocodiles in the sea or monkeys on the island. At the beginning of the lesson, I will write the addition problem "1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10" on the board, and ask my students to solve it. If I 'm correct, they will not even know where to begin. Then, I will tell them that they can all do it if they use the right tools, and proceed to give each student base pieces (both units and longs). Hopefully, at this point, the kids are excited about solving such a large problem.
There are many different ways that math is used at home just like everywhere else. You use math before going to bed at night when you’re setting your alarm clock for when you need to get up. Another way math is used at home is when making your coffee. You need to know how many cups to make for the number of people drinking it. Then finally you’re for sure going to need to know what a cup, pint, quart, and gallon is when making dinner or you could really mess up while making it. I bet there is many more ways you use math at home that you don’t even think about. (Anneberg, 2013)
Numeracy is a mathematical skill that is needed to be a confident teacher. This unit of study has allowed students to build their knowledge in the mathematical areas of competency and disposition towards numeracy in mathematics. The six areas of mathematics under the Australian Curriculum that were the focus of this unit were; algebra, number, geometry, measurements, statistics and probability. Covering these components of the curriculum made it evident where more study and knowledge was needed to build confidence in all areas of mathematics. Studying this unit also challenges students to think about how we use numeracy in our everyday lives. Without the knowledge if numeracy, it can make it very challenging to work out may problems that can arise in our day to day activities. The knowledge of numeracy in mathematics I have has strengthened during the duration of this unit. This has been evident in the mathematics support I do with year 9 students at school, as I now have a confident and clear understanding of algebra, number, geometry, measurements, statistics and probability.
According to a report given in 2000 by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM’s ) Principles and Standards for School Mathematics content standards are defined as, “standards that describe knowledge that students are expected to know in specific areas of mathematics, for example algebra and number theory. Process standards refer to the mathematics skills and processes needed to use the content to solve problems in school and real-world settings (n.d. 2001)”. Mathematical standards are important in grades K-12 classrooms, because they give students clear and realistic expectations of what is being taught, and can as a ...
Students in fifth grade need to be taught how to round with mixed decimals to the nearest tenth. The prerequisites that students need before learning this concept are an understanding of place value and how to round whole numbers. There may be conceptual and procedural errors that students may have when rounding decimals to the nearest tenth. Some of these errors are that students may round the whole numbers to the nearest ten instead of the decimal portion of the problem. Another misconception is that students may not round up. They may only write down the tenth place value number that is given in the problem.
Countless time teachers encounter students that struggle with mathematical concepts trough elementary grades. Often, the struggle stems from the inability to comprehend the mathematical concept of place value. “Understanding our place value system is an essential foundation for all computations with whole numbers” (Burns, 2010, p. 20). Students that recognize the composition of the numbers have more flexibility in mathematical computation. “Not only does the base-ten system allow us to express arbitrarily large numbers and arbitrarily small numbers, but it also enables us to quickly compare numbers and assess the ballpark size of a number” (Beckmann, 2014a, p. 1). Addressing student misconceptions should be part of every lesson. If a student perpetuates place value misconceptions they will not be able to fully recognize and explain other mathematical ideas. In this paper, I will analyze some misconceptions relating place value and suggest some strategies to help students understand the concept of place value.
Attending the Greg Tang math workshop was a wonderful opportunity and much of what I learned has been implemented into my practice. Math in Focus and Greg Tang together both stress the importance of understanding math using three tiers. We start with concrete materials to better explain math understanding, this is followed by encouraging pictorial representation and finally abstract numerals and symbols. I have 2 students who still rely on concrete materials to solve simple problems. In the pictorial questions, I stressed the importance of replacing detailed pictures with simple shapes to solve a problem. This is a typical kindergarten issue, the students can become more focused on drawing the cats and dogs in the math story than actually answering the problem. I am pleased that all of the students have made progress in this area and we do not color or add details to the math pictures. This sends a confusing message and takes away from the task at hand. Finally, I am looking for students to begin adding a number sentence to practice the abstract aspect of the solution. I find that many (NUMBER) are able to do this with an addition sentence but a subtraction sentence is much more
The prominence of numeracy is extremely evident in daily life and as teachers it is important to provide quality assistance to students with regards to the development of a child's numeracy skills. High-level numeracy ability does not exclusively signify an extensive view of complex mathematics, its meaning refers to using constructive mathematical ideas to “...make sense of the world.” (NSW Government, 2011). A high-level of numeracy is evident in our abilities to effectively draw upon mathematical ideas and critically evaluate it's use in real-life situations, such as finances, time management, building construction and food preparation, just to name a few (NSW Government, 2011). Effective teachings of numeracy in the 21st century has become a major topic of debate in recent years. The debate usually streams from parents desires for their child to succeed in school and not fall behind. Regardless of socio-economic background, parents want success for their children to prepare them for life in society and work (Groundwater-Smith, 2009). A student who only presents an extremely basic understanding of numeracy, such as small number counting and limited spatial and time awareness, is at risk of falling behind in the increasingly competitive and technologically focused job market of the 21st Century (Huetinck & Munshin, 2008). In the last decade, the Australian curriculum has witness an influx of new digital tools to assist mathematical teaching and learning. The common calculator, which is becoming increasing cheap and readily available, and its usage within the primary school curriculum is often put at the forefront of this debate (Groves, 1994). The argument against the usage of the calculator suggests that it makes students lazy ...
The teacher started off simple teaching us the basics.. We learned how to say the alphabet, and we also learned to count. as the year went along we learned more numbers. I thought the numbers were simple to learn, especially after you learned to count to ten. The alphabet was a bit harder. Learning how this language differed from mine was so exciting.
The early acquisition of mathematical concepts in children is essential for their overall cognitive development. It is imperative that educators focus on theoretical views to guide and plan the development of mathematical concepts in the early years. Early math concepts involve learning skills such as matching, ordering, sorting, classifying, sequencing and patterning. The early environment offers the foundation for children to develop an interest in numbers and their concepts. Children develop and construct their own meaning of numbers through active learning rather than teacher directed instruction.