Alabama Road Trip
For the last few weeks, we have been working on addition strategies. This week my students were able to apply the strategies they have learned by planning an Alabama road trip. My friend Patti came up with the fabulous idea to have our students plan a trip visiting cities around our state. She created a mileage table which showed the distance between each city. She also created a list of the places our kids could visit in each city. In fourth grade, our students learn Alabama history. I love that this lesson combined the curriculum for both history and math.
The students selected a city in which to begin their trip. Next, they selected two cities they wanted to visit on their trip. Then, they returned to the city in which they begin their trip. My kiddos used a dry erase marker to mark their trip on a map of Alabama. Then, they used the mileage chart to find the distances between each of the cities they selected.
Once they
found the total number of miles traveled on their trip, my students wrote a
math story about their trip. Their stories included the number of miles between each city.
Number Patterns
This week we also examined number patterns. We used my
Thousand Chart to count how many tens are in 1,000. We counted down the chart,
one row at a time, chanting 1 ten, 2, tens, 3 tens…all the way to 100 tens. Many
students noticed a pattern in the numbers as we counted. For example, they noticed
31 tens is 310 spaces on the thousand chart. Click here to get your Free Thousand Chart.
We created a large classroom ten thousand chart. First, I use a
roll of graph paper to create 10 blank thousand charts. I cut off 10 pieces that were 100x10, and then used a black marker to divide the piece into 10 (10x10) sections. Next, I laminated each thousand chart so my student would be able to write on them with dry erase markers. (If you do not have a roll of graph paper, you may create each thousand chart by gluing 10 hundred chart to butcher paper. I have a blank hundred chart in my
Freebie Create Your Own Thousand Chart.)
I split my students into groups of 2-3, and then put them in charge of completing a section of the chart such as 1-1000; 1,001-2,000; 2,001 - 3,000... Instead of writing all the numbers on the chart, they were suppose to write enough numbers so that we could find any number quickly. They began by writing the first 100 number across the length of their thousand chart (see picture above). This task created so many teachable moments. For many students it was difficult to move from _,099 to _,100. For example, they wrote 4,000 as the number after 3,099 instead of 3,100. We used our completed ten thousand chart to find how many hundreds are in ten thousand.
I created a smaller 10,000 chart to further exam
number patterns from 1-10,000. The 10,000 chart is made
from 100 hundred charts. Each chart is labeled with the last number on the
chart. My students used a
sticky hand to slap the 10,000 chart, and then they identified the hundred chart
under the sticky hand.
I created a printable so that my students could magnify or Zoom In on the small hundred chart under the sticky hand. I placed the printable in clear report covers so my student could write on it with dry erase markers. They identified the first and last number belonging on the chart under the sticky hand. They also identified 10 additional spots on the chart. Next week during math stations, two kids will slap the 10,000 chart, and then find the difference between the two numbers. Click here to get Place Value Slap It!
