3rd Grade: 3.NBT
1. Begin by reading page 12 of the Math Progression Document and look for new understanding and/or important aspects of 3rd grade and fluency.
2. Watch the following video on standard 3.NBT from EngageNY Studio Talks located here: Click Here (You may stop the video at 9:50)
3. Post One Comment about how students use their understanding of Place Value to round and what is the important relationship between addition and subtraction students need to learn.
4. Post one comment responding to another participant in order to add to their thinking, suggest additional ideas or engage in a meaningful educational conversation about 3rd grade and what you have learned or can use in your classroom based on what you have learned.
Students use their understanding of place value to round by deciding which two tens a number would fall in between on the number line. This method would help them identify the two tens and use the number line to decide which ten the number is closest to. It reinforces their knowledge of place value by figuring it out this way. I have to admit, in the past, several students enjoy the "tricks" used to help them round. It gets a bit more difficult to explain when you are rounding to the nearest 100 with numbers into the 1000s. Decomposing numbers is important when adding or subtracting so that students can actually show their knowledge of place value, then can add the numbers up easily by breaking them down. It has many more steps then the traditional way of adding, vertically, but it truly breaks it down for the students to understand the relationship. Since I teach third grade, I will be discovering how they do with this in the coming months!
ReplyDeleteJulie...I do still use some of the tricks. Despite all the conceptual understanding we are working towards, sometimes some students just need a trick to help them remember math processes.
DeleteThe video talked about how to teach rounding using place value concepts, instead of teaching the “old fashioned” rounding rule. I do see the value in having the students think about what two values a number falls between. For example, when rounding the number 34, it falls between 30 and 40. Students should be proficient at skip counting by third grade and this skill will be important when rounding. Finding the midpoint is also helpful. It’s a different mindset because the rounding rule almost becomes unnecessary if you are strictly thinking about where the numbers fall. As far as adding numbers, I am not a super fan of teaching with the strategy “jumps on a number line”. It seems difficult and opens up more opportunity for errors to occur. I believe it is important, however, to give students numerous strategies and time to find one that works best for them.
ReplyDeleteYes Kelly!! You got it, that is what is key, TIME to experience, play and make decisions on what model works best for them!
DeleteI do like the methods and strategies that were emphasized in the video clip. I think decomposing numbers and then adding them by combining like place values does offer a clearer understanding of addition for the students. I do not prefer the “jumps on a number line” method. Jumps on a number line also appears in 5th grade when we add and subtract fractions, and every year I have taught that strategy it has been more confusing than helpful. Jessi, as I read your comments on some of the previous posts, I think it might be time for me to let go of jumps on a number line. However, I do worry that maybe that method does reach a couple students and helps them with their understanding of addition and subtraction of fractions. With regard to rounding, I liked how the instructor used number lines to help students round. Kelly and I do that as well, however we usually skip count aloud with the students.
ReplyDeleteYes, Janelle!!! I agree! It is important to weigh the benefits and downfalls of using any strategy. I think through past experiences however, we have already discovered how difficult the "jumps on a number line" strategy is for some children and how it typically confuses them even more! I think we can let it go!!
DeleteDoing anything on a number line can get tedious when there is not enough room on the paper for student work, when students do not have the motor skills to write clearly, or when student do not have good spatial awareness. There are not fun to grade either. :) My eyesight has really done downhill over the last 2 years.
DeleteJanelle, I find that to be interesting about he number line jumps. I thought that would be a great way for students to learn addition. As a secondary teacher...all of these comments are great to hear and understand for the future students headed my way.
DeleteJumps on a number line also appears in seventh and eighth grade when the students learn integer rules for addition and subtraction. Our series also shows multiplication of integers using a number line. We found that the kids sort of liked the addition and subtraction using the number line, but gave us "deer in the headlights" look when we showed them multiplication on a number line. In reading the other comments, it sounds as though we need to continue to offer as many strategies as possible to reach all learners.
DeleteThat really is key Janelle, you never want to skip something entirely but allow them to pick what works best for the problem they are given. So students love the numberline and will use it throughout while others can not get best labeling a number line so it never really helps them. They should always be given an option to choose the best model for them :-)
DeleteI have to agree...I do like the number line for rounding but am not yet a fan of the jumps. But like anything, it may just need time. Instead of being the end all be all, it could just be another tool in the toolbox.
DeleteI makes me feel better that these strategies are being taught starting in kindergarten. Then students will arrive in third grade with a foundation and be accustomed to decomposing numbers. I remember the first year we implemented the modules, teachers were pulling their hair out trying to teach some of these strategies while students gave us a "deer in the highlights" look. I have never strictly taught rounding using only a number line. I will try it this year and see how it works. In the past I have given the students a "rounding rules" story that was handed down to me over 18 years ago by a former third grade teacher. Being able to round quickly to complete estimation and reasonableness problems is beneficial. In the past, expanded form was taught as a different way to write a number; however, we never DID anything with the expanded form. Now students are encouraged to use a decomposed number (expanded form) to compute answers.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. We always taught expanded form, yet it never connected to anything except just breaking the number apart because that was what the lesson called for. Even as a teacher, I thought it was quite silly. But now I can clearly see the purpose of decomposing the number to help students think about place value and adding the numbers up based on their value.
DeleteI also agree. The idea of decomposing numbers didn't make sense to me at all, it just seemed like busy work. But now I understand the reasoning behind it and how it can be used to help students understand place value.
DeleteI was happy to see that the video did not endorse the use of the trick for rounding. I would prefer that my students are able to visualize a number line and place the given number on it appropriately. The student will need to understand that the closest multiples of 10 (or 100) need to also be included. I think students will be more successful at the secondary level if they continue to use the strategies being used at the elementary level. In regards to the relationship between addition and subtraction, I tell my students all the time that I hate subtraction. I like to think of subtraction as, "what number do I need to add go the small number to get to the big number?" This was addressed in a previous video, and I think it applies to our students as we encourage them to become fluent with subtraction.
ReplyDeleteOne concept I noted in the progressions document surrounded rounding of numbers and multiplication by 10. Some times, I think we have placed so much emphasis on knowing the "tricks" that they fail to develop a real understanding of what they are doing and why they are doing it. I am glad to see that this is an extension of the place value work from earlier grades. At the middle school level, students tend to still struggle with this. Again, probably because we are still seeing kids taught by "tricks" rather than understanding.
ReplyDeleteI have seen the fraction bars in my supporting materials of the math series we use. After watching the video, I think I'd like to have ,y kids use it as a resource. One thing I'm finding is that kids are being asked to apply concepts to increasingly complex numbers (i.e. solving algebraic equations with decimals and fractions). I am finding that kids are bogged down in fraction concepts and operations. Perhaps if they have the fraction page as a resource in their Interactive Notebooks, then they will use it as a reference when finding common denominators (something my kids have difficulty with). I also liked the decomposition of larger numbers in order to add. I can see how it would alleviate some of the common errors we see in multi-digit addition with regrouping (or at least give the kids a better understanding in order to check to make sure their answer makes sense and correct it if needed)..
Sorry ... the above comment is mine. It took me too long to compose, so google logged me out.
DeleteI couldnt agree more Mrs. Smith. Tricks only help them with a process of doing not how to do it. I only have learned how to add zeros and that had no meaning conceptually.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteStudents use their place value understanding to round numbers to the nearest 10 or 100. The use of the number line for this standard is new to me. I would probably have students put a mark at the midway point to help write in the number more accurately. I’m not confident that a special education student can accurately place 78 between 70 and 80 without marks to help with the jumps. Although this video has not convinced me about the effectiveness of jumps on a number line for rounding, I do like it for understanding addition and subtraction of fractions. I especially like it for showing equivalency. Using the fraction bar and the number line is another great way to make the connection.
ReplyDeleteNumberline can also be a tough one for your kiddos if they dont know how to start by labeling the number line. This takes time especially when decimals are thrown into the mix, but i do love this tool as a visual!
DeleteAlthough the document states that multiplication is the major focus in 3rd grade, there seems to an awful lot of emphasis on rounding too. I find this very interesting because I was just working with a few 6th graders struggling with rounding. I am glad to see it is getting a lot of practice earlier on. As far as the multiplication goes...I liked how they used regrouping for this too. The idea that 3 * 50 can be 3 groups of 5 tens is awesome. This is great practice for not only using regrouping but also properties.
ReplyDelete