Math concepts, such as the measurement of volume, mass, weight, angles, area, and perimeter, are abstract to young children; thus, my students need the opportunity to explore the real world meaning of these concepts before they can apply what they know to a standardized test. They need to fill a gallon jug with water and compare its size to that of a quart. They need to build with snap cubes to count the area and perimeter of the shape they've created. Unless they have felt the weight of a gram in their hands, they won't *really* know how heavy it is. Children thrive from experiences.
I am a serious advocate of hands-on learning for my students and the items in this purchase are hands-on tools to help 9 and 10 year olds explore the concepts of metric and customary units of measurement. It has been proven that hands-on learning increases retention of program objectives because students who practice what they are learning with tools retain three and a half times more information, as opposed to listening to the teacher talk. In 4th grade, students are not only asked to identify units of measurement, but then convert them to other units for multiple reasons in multiple ways. If they are given the chance to "play" with measurement tools beforehand, they can connect their experiences to the higher level thinking tasks. Hands-on learning not only facilitates the love of learning, but also connects abstract concepts to the real world. While using these tools to develop understanding of 4th grade math concepts, my students will also be critically thinking, communicating, collaborating, and creating.
About my class
Math concepts, such as the measurement of volume, mass, weight, angles, area, and perimeter, are abstract to young children; thus, my students need the opportunity to explore the real world meaning of these concepts before they can apply what they know to a standardized test. They need to fill a gallon jug with water and compare its size to that of a quart. They need to build with snap cubes to count the area and perimeter of the shape they've created. Unless they have felt the weight of a gram in their hands, they won't *really* know how heavy it is. Children thrive from experiences.
I am a serious advocate of hands-on learning for my students and the items in this purchase are hands-on tools to help 9 and 10 year olds explore the concepts of metric and customary units of measurement. It has been proven that hands-on learning increases retention of program objectives because students who practice what they are learning with tools retain three and a half times more information, as opposed to listening to the teacher talk. In 4th grade, students are not only asked to identify units of measurement, but then convert them to other units for multiple reasons in multiple ways. If they are given the chance to "play" with measurement tools beforehand, they can connect their experiences to the higher level thinking tasks. Hands-on learning not only facilitates the love of learning, but also connects abstract concepts to the real world. While using these tools to develop understanding of 4th grade math concepts, my students will also be critically thinking, communicating, collaborating, and creating.
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