What's more fun than a barrel of monkeys? Solving equations using order of operations!

     Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally! Actually, there is no "Aunt Sally" but you'll wish there was so you could thank her for making your math troubles vanish into thin air. This is a mnemonic device which will help you solve all your tricky order of operations math conundrums. So how does it help? Glad you asked.
P lease- Parentheses
E xcuse- Exponents
M y- Multiplication
D ear- Division
A unt- Addition
S ally- Subtraction
     These are the steps you will use in this particular order to solve a problem when there are multiple operations to be used within a problem. If you do not use "PEMDAS" you will without doubt come to the wrong solution to your problem. Using PEMDAS, you will solve 3+2x3=? with the correct answer of 6. If you solve left to right as when reading, you will get the wrong answer of 15.
     And with that, prepare to dazzle and amaze your friends at parties and special events.
Let's say we have to solve this mysterious problem:
(3+4)-(7-3x2)=?
Well, we solve parentheses first.
(3+4)=7
But what about (7-3x2)
Ok, we solve the multiplication part before the subtraction part like so:
3x2=6
Now we have
7-6=1
That leaves us with the simplified problem of
7-1=6
Ta da! Thank you, you've been a great audience. I'll be here all week.

What?!? You're ready to try? Alright, have at it!

ROCKIN' MATH GAME ---> Math Frog Order of Operations game
KILLER ORDER OF OPERATIONS VIDEO  ----->

Embarassed old lady photo: Corbis Photos Add to Lightbox RF Royalty Free

Fractions are Fun!

Photo: http://www.imaginativeteacher.com/Fractions_ebook.html

Fractions are everywhere, from cooking, to time telling. But sometimes understanding fractions can be a difficult concept to grasp, especially when it's listed so abstractly such as with numbers. I found a cute game on PBS kids, Melvin's Make-a-Match, which asks kids to pick two bottles off the shelf that match; one having the fraction listed numerically, the other depicted with a pie style diagram. What I like so much about this game, is that kids get to see the fraction listed both numerically and as a picture, hence the fraction is no longer abstract, but pulled into focus and visually tangible.
FUN GAME ----> Melvin's Make-a Match

So what is a fraction anyway? It represents a portion of a whole. Let's say I have 3 quarters out of a dollar. We can write this a few ways but they all mean the same thing.
                                     75             3        
                                     ----    =     ----
                                     100           4         

They are both equal. Why? A quarter equals .25 and a dollar equals 1.00. We have 3 .25 quarters. .25x3=.75 so we have .75 out of 1.00. Also, there are 4 quarters in a dollar, and we already have 3 of the 4. Therefore, 75/100=3/4!

Can't get enough? Want more? Here's a nice little source for all your fraction needs: Fraction Lessons

One valuable lesson I'll take away with me from my Math for Elementary Teachers class is to not underestimate the importance of visual aides. My classroom will most likely be loaded with them as you never know which visual or musical aid may reach which student. While the school district may assign the curriculum and tell me what and which methods they'd like me to teach primarily, how can I help but offer alternatives? Could this not put a new spin on the lesson or perhaps reinforce what has been taught and learned? I look forward to Fall 2013 when I will be able to have my own classroom with 20 pairs of wide little eyes looking at me with the whole world in front of them. I look forward to learning right along with them.

Sesame Street Introduction to Venn Diagram Concept

     So you are bored and have a few hours to kill. What to do, what to do? Practice your organizational and classification skills and make some sweet Venn Diagrams! But say you want to organize more than your A's and B's. Perhaps you need to sort your sticker collection into red stickers and star stickers. Your stickers that are red will go one one side, your stickers that are stars will go on the others. But wait, you have a red star sticker, what side should it go on? The middle section of course because it shares BOTH characteristics. Uh oh, where do you put your green heart sticker? Because it is neither red nor a star, it can't go inside the diagram, so it must go outside. And presto, there you have a pristinely organized sticker collection highlighting both your red stickers and star stickers!

     Here is a game my son really enjoyed a lot. While it doesn't have the overlapping section of a true Venn Diagram, I think it's a good introduction to the concept. Sesame Street character Zoe asks children to sort animals based on color, size, and tail and ear length.
     The game encourages children to focus on one specific characteristic at a time while ignoring others. It's a simple game, but a great start to sorting and organizing in a fun, entertaining way which really engages children to continue to further levels.
GAME! -----> Zoe's Pet Shelter, Introducing Venn Diagrams

Photo attributions: Weisstein, Eric W. "Venn Diagram." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/VennDiagram.html
Image Source Page: http://www.kindergartenkindergarten.com/math-problem-solving/