Who ever invented the slide rule was a genius. In the fifth grade Everyday Mathematics series, my students are currently learning/re-visiting how to add fractions. In doing so, like all simple math problems in Everyday Math, I am teaching my kids three different ways to add/subtract the same fraction problem. In no way is this a slam. In fact, it gives more options, which I really like. One of the options for adding and subtracting fractions, in this unit, is using a slide rule. The slide rule only is broken up into 16ths (like an inch), so it only works for adding numbers that are equivalent to 16ths (I am not sure if that makes a lot of sense).
Anyway, a lot of my kids were having the most difficult time seeing what I was doing with the slide rule to get the correct answers. They understood that 1/2 + 2/4 = 1, but could not easily find this simple answer on the slide rule. It does not help that the provided slide rule is only 10 inches long, which makes visibility to my back rows of desks about as good as driving through thick fog. It occurred to me, because of the vision difficulties and not having the time to assist 28 students individually (because of the time constraints and pacing Everyday Math uses) to hunt down one of the two Elmo document camera's in my school.
As I called our library media specialist, I had my fingers crossed. Blowing up the slide rule, and actually using it on my wall would get the point across. The Elmo was in use by a fellow third grade teacher. In an effort to be a "super" teacher, I ran down the hall (no, I did not get caught) and asked the third grade class if I could borrow their Elmo for 15 minutes...max! After some hard bargaining, the Elmo was mine...for 12 minutes.
In those 12 minutes, my math students were able to see a fully projected image of the slide rule and me using it. The light bulbs flashed on, above all of their heads (well, most of them). After making the time crunch, with 13 seconds to spare, I was excited to know that my students understood how to finally use their 16ths of an inch slide rules.
Elmo saved the day!
Document cameras are super cool! I think this piece of equipment would really benefit any classroom. Our art teacher uses his regularly, which seems totally practical. Besides using manipulatives in math class, I think document cameras could also be great tools in a science class. Any body else have any cool ways that they use their document cameras?
Elmo is my new best friend!
ReplyDeleteOur school purchased an Elmo, projector, and screen for each of our classrooms 2 years ago. I use it everyday. I like seeing my students as I teach and they can see exactly what I want them to see. I put a piece of notebook paper under the Elmo and teach everything (math, english, writing, cursive, etc.)It is perfect for using graphic organizers. Before I had to draw on the board, and then try to keep it available for absent students. Now, I can give them the paper I used. I also connect it to my laptop and can access websites also.