Week+10

**Week 10: **
====This week’s presentations started with chapter eleven about applying physical models for students to solve a variety of problems. I enjoyed their centers because their activities were simple and playful, yet it required using mental math skills. In the group’s presentation, they stated that physical models play a key role in developing concepts to children which, I think, is the most critical step when coming up with a lesson plan. The centers consisted of using place mats, expressing math problems in three different ways, measuring lengths, compatible pairs, looping in groups of ten, and riddles. My favorite was the riddles because they are fun and make you want to solve them at once. I thought of using these in my classroom, maybe as a review and/or practice and have the students in groups and race to see who answers the most in a minute, or first. The next group was for chapter twelve and it was about using strategies for computing math problems. The centers were alright, but somewhat confusing. One thing I did like was the review I got in division. That activity was challenging and it is important for students to be challenged as well. This activity provided only a sheet of paper but about three strategies to choose from. The chapter was very informative because of the many strategies it provides for teachers to present to students. Most of the time, at my internship, I present material the best way I know it and this opened my world of vast possibilities of solving a math problem. The next chapter was thirteen and it was about computational estimation. I loved the way this group started their presentation with the jelly bean jar. It demonstrated the idea of estimation perfectly. They also used another great way to estimate with the Jeopardy game about the prices of diverse objects. I never knew the importance of the using the word estimate instead of guess. There is a clear line between the two and the students should practice estimation daily in order to shape their “guessing” strategies. Great ideas in this week’s presentations! ====