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Numberless Word Problems in the Elementary Classroom

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Word problems can always be tricky to teach and tricky for kids to understand. In the beginning of my teaching career, I focused so much on key words and strategies that told my students to underline the problem and box key words. As the years went on, I realized that even when my students are doing all of “the parts” of the word problem strategy that I am asking them to do, they aren’t actually understanding how to attack the word problem independently.

I wanted my kids to focus more on what is actually happening in the word problem so insert numberless word problems. When I first learned about numberless word problems, my first thought (if I am being completely honest) was, “How in the world would that actually help them understand if there’s no numbers?” As time went on and I learned more about the importance of taking the numbers away, the more I learned how this actually helps deepen students understanding of the word problem.

Let’s take a peek at what I do!

First thing I will do is display the numberless word problem on the Smartboard. Students will have a graphic organizer in front of them.

When this first is displayed I will read the word problem and ask students what they are picturing in their minds as I read the story. Students will record some thoughts/pictures/notes onto their graphic organizer.

I will now ask students about what information do we have now? (George=32 fish) What information are we missing? (How many more he bought) Students are recording this onto their graphic organizers as we are working through the problem.

I will now ask students about what information do we have now? (bought 18 more fish) What question could we be asking? Students may say how many fish does he have in all? We want students to start understanding that when you have some and you got some more, you will have a bigger amount than you started with. Students are recording this onto their graphic organizers as we are working through the problem.

I will now ask students about what operation we will use to solve the problem. It takes time but students will start to understand that they are looking for the total. They will see that they have a part, and got another part, which will help us to find the total. Students are recording this onto their graphic organizers and once the operation is determined, they will solve the problem using pictures, numbers, and/or words.

Here is an example of what it may look like!

I will use these numberless word problems as a warm up as a whole group or even in small groups. As time goes on and students feel comfortable with this, they can do it independently or with a partner!

Do you use numberless word problems in the classroom? Let me know if you have any comments or questions about this!

Easy Warm Up Engagement Ideas For Distance Learning and In School Learning

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Easy and simple may be my middle name and that is exactly what I like to do in my classroom. Engaging warmups have always been one of my favorite ways to get kids excited about the lesson before we start. I love using warmup games that can easily be used for a variety of subjects, without having to reteach a new game every time! Remember, the easy and simple middle name thing? 🙂

*DID YOU KNOW?* I recently have added all of my math warm-up games and put them into ONE HUGE resource! Be sure to check them out here!

True or False? That is the question! We loved using this easy game as a math warmup! I wrote a fact on the board (it can be any subject, any question, not just math facts!) and kiddos had to tell me (in our Zoom chat) if it was true or false. If it was false, students had to tell me what made it true. To help with differentiation, I added a few numbers on the bottom so kiddos could use them to better help them figure out how to make it true! This was a hit and I’ll be using this in the classroom too!
OH SNAP!! This EASY & ENGAGING game is so fun! I picked a card and called on a student to read it, if they got it correct it went into their “pile.” If they read it incorrectly, it went back into the bin. After one student went, the next student went, and so on. If the card that came up was the OH SNAP card, I “snapped” up all of that student’s cards and returned them to the pile. So many ways to make this work for you and your kiddos in you classroom. (Sight words, math facts, SS/Sci vocab – kids will define the word that you show, morning meeting questions, grammar and more!) The possibilities are endless!
Today, we played 2 wrongs and 1 right. Students saw the problems, typed into Zoom the right and wrong answers, and we had a very dramatic reveal. Other ways to use this could be spelling, vocab, content definitions, grammar, and many more!
Make it true! Such a fun and easy math engagement warm up! I have always loved using warms ups before each guided math small group session but did not realize how important they were for our #onlinelearning time. My kids really looked forward to them. In this game, students have to make the number sentence true, however they choose to do so. I love when a student chooses to change the inequality and their minds are all blown. 🤯 😂 Looking forward to adding more #easyengagement games to our math rotations!
Poof! This easy engagement math warm up was so fun! Students had to use two numbers that equaled our target number and then the numbers that they used would POOF! and be taken off the board. Most students used addition but when a student used subtraction, their minds went 🤯🤯🤯! I’ve thought about using this with fractions, rounding, area, phonics, just to name a few!

These warm ups have been such a great addition to my class and I love creating new ones as the year goes on! 🙂

 
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Math Test Prep Boot Camp.. Reporting for duty!

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Sargent Mack is READY for Test Prep Boot Camp!

State Tests can be stressful for everyone in involved, from the kids, to the teachers, to administration. Enter: One of my favorite days of the year, Test Prep Boot Camp.

My main purpose of this day is to allow students to have fun and review different skills that will be on the state test that is the following day. Let’s be honest, no amount of “cramming” will really do the kids any good so why not make a fun day of review out of it?!

Students wear a badge and I always do a little ceremony and chant before we begin to enhance the excitement!

During our boot camp, we have 6 different stations, a station on multiplication and division, fractions, area and perimeter, graphing, time, and addition and subtraction. Students spend about 20 minutes (could be longer or shorter) at each station. When it is time for them to change stations, I blow my whistle and give them some type of “command.” (IE: March to your next station, 10 Jumping Jacks, repeating a chant after me, etc.) My students find this hysterical and I am sure to encourage them with silly chanting and commands throughout the day.

If you are interested in checking out this resource, I have linked it here for you!

Now let’s get into the details:

Room Decor: I “decorated” my room for about $40.00. I bought some camouflage tablecloths , a camouflage net, some faceprint, and some camouflage colored streamers. This may seem a little steep BUT I knew I will be able to use this all again for years to come! (Minus the faceprint, I’ll buy a new one each year.)

Station 1: Fractions

Students will complete a fraction game where they solve problems about identifying fractions, fractions on a number line, comparing fractions, equivalent fractions, unit fractions, and more. The first student to reach the finish line is the winner!

Station 2: Multiplication and Division

This might be the favorite station of them all. Students have flashcards with a multiplication or division problem on it and a “command” on the bottom. The command is some type of exercise. (5 squats, 3 sit ups, etc.) Student solve the problem and then complete the command! If the student gets the command correct, they keep the card and the student with the most cards at the end is the winner!

 

Station 3: Place Value

Students will complete roll and writes and need to round to the nearest ten or hundred. They will have a partner check their work before they are able to move on to the next worksheet on rounding!

Station 4: Area and Perimeter

Students will be given a task to create a map of the base using specific measurements of different buildings. Students typically choose to create these on large paper so they can decorate them once they have completed their questions but they can be down on smaller paper as well!

Station 5: Addition and Subtraction

This station students have to add and subtract numbers and find the matching puzzle piece to their equation. The students work in pairs and can check each other’s work with the inverse operation or you can have students work independently.

Station 6: Graphing

Students are given a data sheet and have to create a bar or pictograph according to the information. Students loved making the pictographs!

Station 7: Time

This station is new this year and I can’t wait to have students complete it! Students will use a schedule to answer questions about the daily life of a solider! Students can also complete a day in the life book about a solider using the schedule as well!

Overall, this is one of the best days of the year and my kiddos have so much fun, are so engaged, and usually forget that they are reviewing for a big test, which is exactly what I want them to do! 🙂

 

Do you use any kind of test prep activities in your room? I would love to hear about them below! 🙂

Classroom Expectations

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One of the things that comes up a lot in conversation is classroom management. I have tried everything from clip charts, to Dojo, and beyond. I have never really found one system that I loved, so I stopped using any system all together. (I know I am crazy!!)

In my classroom, we spend a lot of time talking about our expectations we have for one another, our room, and our building. We come up with these expectations and review them constantly (especially in the beginning of the year!) I have noticed a much bigger sense of pride when students take ownership of the expectations that they created as opposed to the ones I said they had to follow.

During morning meeting, we will review these reminders to help our classroom community be the best it can be. Students will compliment one another (____ has really been on task and showing good body language today!) by using some of the expectations of our classroom. It has been just a great way of keep us all accountable and allowing my students to have a voice in the way OUR classroom is run!

To get started, I have the students sit on the rug together and we take turns sharing things that we want our classroom to be. While students are sharing, I am making a list on anchor chart paper (or the whiteboard!) Once students are done sharing, we have a discussion about our list. I ask them questions such as: What do you notice about what we came up with? What do you notice is not on there? What topics did we repeat often? Etc. When we are done our discussion and done narrowing down our most important expectations, we talk about ways we can implement these in our classroom. For example, what does hard work look like? How can we listen? What does it mean to be a role model? Continuing to use and discuss these terms with my students has helped them truly understand what they mean and how to meet those expectations that they created.

If you are interested in these posters, click on the picture above so they can bring you to my Teachers Pay Teachers Store!

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