Today our class learned some strategies to help middle schoolers learn some basic math functions. Two in particular stuck out. One is that there is no such thing as subtraction, as all you are really doing is adding the opposite of a number. 5 - 6? Clearly you are just adding a negative 6! Kind of like when you see the $114 check show up in front of you while at the local Buca de Beppos, you can now look up at all the free loaders in your family and say calmly, "Well, we're adding the opposite of money from our future dearest family. Now who wants to go get a job?" The other thing was that the famous pedagogical teaching method of FOIL is waaaaaaay too overrated by the educational community. Technically it makes sense, and gives kids a precise process for working out the distributive property of multiplication, so why don't we just teach the distributive property of multiplication? Ask 100 students what the distributive property is and you might get 2 that can tell you. Ask the same 100 kids what FOIL is and there is a good chance 100 will say "It's that thing you do to numbers in math!" Simply teaching ideas that make sense.
1) Teach subtraction is actually addition
2) FOIL is for campers stew, The Distributive Property of Multiplication is for math stars!!
It is tough to go through a 4 hour class without having any questions but today's class was quite solid in how clear the information was conveyed. So my mind shifts to what more can be done in the classroom. We ran through a quick exercises that helped explain that a number such as 325 is actually 3 100's , 2 10's and 5 ones. For the math geeks out there, we explained the number system of base 10. It seems this is a great way of beginning to explain the base 10 system, and how other systems use different bases (such as computer programming in base 2). If someone understands base 10, they'll understand base 5, and so forth. This understanding would help sooooooooo much in allowing the brain to figure out simple algebraic equations. What would be some reasons we don't add this to the curriculum of our elementary schools?
How would I use this in the classroom you ask? Heck if I know...but it would be cool if my students understood the importance of 10 in our number system in that it makes quick calculations much easier. I mean hugely easier. Like $100 level Who Wants to Be a Millionaire easy!!
MOG #2 out.....with a funny for the day, Chicago Bears Style!
Did you hear the new penalty for speeding in Illinois?
On the first offense they give you Bears tickets, and on the second offense, they make you use them.
OR
Mommy Bear and Daddy Bear were in divorce court. The judge looked down and asked the Baby Bear, “So Baby Bear, do you want to live with Daddy Bear?” “Oh, no,” Baby Bear replied, “I don’t want to live with Daddy Bear. He beat me.” “Well then, you should live with Mommy Bear,” answered the judge. “On, no, I don’t want to live with Mommy Bear. She beat me.” “Well then, Baby Bear, who do you want to live with?” Baby Bear said, “I want to live with the Chicago Bears. They don’t beat anybody!”
Cheerio
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