Chronicle

CLASSROOM
volume 3 I S Su e 2 o c to b e r 2 0 0 7

Manipulatives are Everywhere!

A couple of years ago I was assigned to do a workshop for math supervisors, and the person in charge had forgotten to bring the manipulatives I had requested. Originally I panicked, thinking, what would I do for 4 hours when I had been asked to cover four math strands and vertically align grades 36. Looking around the empty room, I saw a ball of string and began cutting it into yard-length pieces. That piece of yarn served as my only manipulative as we explored the mathematical strands of Geometry, Measurement, Number Operations, specifically fractions and Patterns. At the end of the workshop an assistant superintendent said to my surprise, that was the best math workshop I have ever attended! From that moment on, my view of manipulatives had changed. One of my favorite manipulatives today is the students themselves. Often times, teachers feel that they do not have the materials they need to provide the instruction they would like in mathematics. We all know the importance of manipulatives for the further development of conceptual understanding but do we remember to think outside the box? As you teach students about concepts such as arrays, consider having students line up for lunch in a 3 by 6 array. Once students are able to do this, you will be able to physically discuss other concepts such as area and perimeter by simply having the students count off to represent area or count around the outside edge to represent the perimeter of an array. This is a wonderful way to provide ongoing assessment of previously-taught content. Keep in

mind that research tells us that the deepest types of learning occur when learners have the time to engage in increasingly more sophisticated layers of investigations and explanations of content. Each layer brings new insights and new learning for the students to consider. Allowing students the opportunity to discuss and rearrange themselves to create new arrays using the same number of students helps them to develop flexibility in thinking and to compare concepts of area and perimeter. As a teacher you can generate a list of questions like the ones below to ask students as they work to share their understanding of these concepts. 1. As you worked to form a 3 by 6 array, what were some of the challenges you faced? Possible responses: Should we make 3 rows and 6 columns or should we make 6 rows and 3 columns? Is there a difference? 2. How did the area change as you made new arrays? (i.e., 2 by 9, 1 by 18) The area does not change. 3. How is the perimeter affected as you change the array? Of course, Harcourt will provide you with a multitude of ideas and opportunities for Hands-On instruction in our new programs, but in the meantime, as you wait on the arrival of your new program, I encourage each of you to share one idea with a colleague of how to use the students as manipulatives when teaching your next mathematics concept! Creativity is a gift that I believe all teachers possess. We tend to forget all of the natural resources we have on hand. See you next month! Susan Wright

Contest Corner!
Try YOUR hand at this challenging word puzzle! Fax your answers to Veda Pannone at 1.800.277.4707 by October 30th, 2007. The first 50 winners will receive a Harcourt Pedometer! So, get your answers in soon!

HIDDEN NUMBERS
Each of the following sentences has at least one hidden Arabic number Circle as many as you can find!

1. I love my computerwhen it works! 2. Beth reeked of smoke after sitting by the campfire. 3. My mother likes to weigh tomatoes on every scale in the store. 4. Annie was even early for school last week! 5. We can stuff our dirty backpacks in your tent. 6. We like the mirrored maze room at the fun park.

Texas Harcourt Sales Representative

practice using a mathematics TEKS correlation. The Texas Education Agency has developed a K12 Mathematics Guide that has been printed and distributed by the Charles A. Dana Center in Austin. If you need a revised mathematics TEKS handbook, please visit The Dana Mathematics Toolkit website at: http://www.utdanacenter.org/mathtoolkit/

TAK S

Tex s TAKS Tips

Teaching the math TEKS in their entirety is an extremely important task at every grade level to ensure success on the TAKS test. This includes providing instruction of the student expectations in conjunction with a solid understanding of the Knowledge and Skills Statement. Focusing exclusively on student objectives will not provide them the experience they will need to be successful on TAKS. Strategically plan your mathematics lessons and TAKS

Feature Article ..................................................1 Texs TAKS Tips..................................................1 Contest Corner.................................................1 Math Mania.......................................................2 Math at Home ..................................................2 Publishers Products and Profiles .............3 Harcourt Heroes ..............................................3 Upcoming Events ............................................4 Harcourt Helpers .............................................4

Contents

Getting Connected to Learning

Math Mania!
A Hands-on Learning Experience!
There was an American teacher and journalist, Noah Webster, whose name became synonymous with the word dictionary after his collection of the first American dictionaries of the English language. His birthday is celebrated in the month of October on the 16th of the month. In recognition of his birthday and the great resource he provided, have students have fun with words and language while also exploring math and algebra. Language of Math Activity Suggestions: Counting on Words Provide each pair or small group of students with vocabulary cards from your unit(s) of study, have them use these cards to categorize by number of syllables, number of letters in the word(s). Then have them add words together by either the number of syllables or number of letters.

The Value of Words Display a chart like the one below, and have students work to determine a value for each of their words based on the chart. Depending on your current unit of study, you can tailor the chart to your needs. A=1 B=2 C=3 D=4 E=5 F=6 G=7 H=8 I = 9 J = 10 K = 11 L = 12 . . .and so on! Cross-Intersecting Words Provide students with letter cards like the ones below, have them determine how many words they can create using these cards. Some students may generate an immediate answer, but have them show how they came to this number. You can have them use intersecting lines to show how the various combinations can be reached. It is fine if the words are nonsensical, actually this sometimes makes things more fun for the kids!

s, b, w

ill, it, in, ee

Welcome to the Math-At-Home Corner!

doing math at home! How much food should we make? Ask your children to help you figure out how much food is needed for a meal, a picnic lunch, or a party. Theyll practice counting, adding, or multiplying. How many sandwiches do we need if each adult eats two, Alicia eats half, and the other children eat one? (PreK2) As educators, we form a special partnership with parents as we work together to ensure each child develops a strong mathematics foundation. A students development of basic mathematics concepts is a very important component of his/ her elementary education. The MATH-AT-HOME Corner features suggestions and ideas for math activities for parents/guardians to try at home with their children. Please feel free to duplicate this section of our newsletter and distribute copies to your students parents/guardians as you encourage them to play an active role in their childs mathematics education. We hope you, your students, and your parents enjoy We need enough soup for three meals. Will we have enough if we double this recipe? What if we triple it? (Grades 26) What do we need for this recipe? Involve your children in reading and adjusting recipes as you prepare meals. This work involves measurement, fractions, volume, and ratios. Can you measure out exactly three-fourths of a cup of flour? (PreK2) Im going to make one-third of this recipe for carrot souffle. The recipe requires twelve carrots. How many carrots do we need for one-third of the recipe? (Grades 24) For this punch mix, we need two ounces of lemon juice per cup of Kool-Aid. How much lemon juice will we need if we use a gallon of Kool-Aid? Can you find a container that holds a gallon? (Grades 36) Whats fair? Brothers and sisters often argue over a fair division or share of favorite foods. Encourage them to develop their own solutions and take advantage of this argument to explore fractions and division! For food that comes in small pieces, children practice with counting, arithmetic, or fractions. For food that comes in pans or large pieces, children work with shapes and area. How can we divide these grapes fairly among three children? (Pre-K4) Whats the fairest way to share these three brownies among the four of us? (Grades 24)

Dear Teachers,

Publishers Products and Profiles

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Math
Harcourt School Publishers has the perfect solution to promote the professional growth of teachers with convenient, economical, and cost-saving tools. Professional Development for Math Series contains contentspecific training and instructional materials that are perfect for a train-the-trainer model! Aligned to NCTM standards and TEKS Fulfills requirements for PDAS Comprehensive kits include video, trainer guide, manipulatives, transparencies, participant guide Podcast Videos tied to HSP eMath lessons

FOR

Harcourt Hero!

Jennifer Psencik has been teaching in Wichita Falls ISD for 6 1/2 years. She began her career at Washington Jackson Math Science Center, and currently she is teaching 3rd grade math and science at Fain Elementary. She has been using the Harcourt science text ever since she started teaching science several years ago. Jennifer says, The labs go right with the material in the book, and they are easy to follow. The best part is, the kids love them! If youre looking to boost your Science scores, Harcourt has the solution for you with our new Core Science Intervention (CSI)! This supplemental program includes Earth and Physical Science Leveled Readers and Teacher Guides, assessment practice with Keys to TAKS Success: Reading, Writing, and Science, an Inquiry Tool Kit, Science Up Close and Enrichment Activities CD, and most important: CSI Lesson Plans. These provide structured lessons, correlated to grade level TEKS to help teachers customize the program for after-school tutorials or to enhance their core science program. For more info, please contact your area sales rep.

Jennifer Psencik

Upcoming Events for October

Oct. 36 TABE - Assn Bilingual Education San Antonio, TX KToT - Kinder Teachers of TX Houston, TX Diocese of Austin Temple, TX TAEYC - Education Young Children Ft. Worth, TX Austin Area Council Teachers of Mathematics Austin, TX TASCD - Texas Assn Supervision and Curriculum Development Ft. Worth, TX

Oct. 56

Oct. 8

Oct. 1113 Oct. 13 Oct. 1516

Texas Sales Force

Sales Manager
Yolanda Cortez

Texas Representatives
Jackie Amos Mary Brown Jennifer Burchard Brady Busby Jennifer Eason Gloria Escamilla Robert Flores Karen Szeryk Kathryn Traves Susan Wright

Harcourt Helper! Kathryn Traves

Kathryn Traves has been with Harcourt for a year and half as the West Texas Sales Rep and resides in Amarillo. Before working for Harcourt, Kathryn taught for 10 years in Wichita Falls, Denton, Amarillo, and Canyon. She attended both Texas Tech University and Midwestern State University. Kathryn says, The people out here in West Texas are extremely friendly and genuine. I really enjoy serving them. Kathryn was born and reared in you guessed itWest Texas!

Consultant Manager
Karen LaCroix

Texas Educational Consultants

Sharman Admire Michelle Cardona Tracie Carr Wally Day Graciela Farias Marilu Garza Latrenda Knighten Mindy Moran Pablo Perez Brian Pollack Rochelle Williams