"Can we try ONE MORE PROBLEM, PLEASE??" This is what I heard from several students in a fifth grade class last week I was asked to teach a lesson about multiplying decimals. In our district we are using Pearson Envision Math and the day in which I would be teaching the lesson 7-4B I decided to use Nearpod to teach it rather than project my display and ask the students to take notes on what they are learning. I used the school's iPad cart and each student opened the free Nearpod app. They entered the PIN for my lesson and we were ready to learn. Multiplying decimals by decimals and/or whole numbers can be an abstract mathematical concept for 5th grade, especially when the lesson called for the students to utilize models to represent their problems.
One of the reasons I volunteered for this particular lesson was that I wanted to experiment with combining some of my favorite tech tools. The lesson, shown below, utilizes Haiku Deck for the slides because it makes great looking slides. I used Doceri for the 0.3 minute whiteboard video demonstrations. Finally, Nearpod supplied the great interactive activities that engaged the students. It worked so well that the kids were enthusiastically asking for math to be taught this way from now on.Our district in the process of purchasing a large scale subscription 3-year license for this amazing Nearpod service. This development has the potential to change the way teachers teach and student learn in the classroom. We have such great access to technology in this district, Nearpod is an exciting new way to implement positive classroom practices. In one lesson, using Nearpod, I was able to meet many of the instructional priorities our district has emphasized:
- Feedback
- Maximizing Opportunities to Respond
- Explicit Instruction
- Acquisition, Automaticity, the Application
In order to gain access to this district-wide license, we will be doing short trainings for elementary and secondary teachers to share with you the features and be sure that you have what you need to get started. For more information, contact your Ed Tech or me (katherine.hill@canyonsdistrict.org).
This the Nearpod presentation I created and used for teaching the multiplying of decimals. Even though I presented this live to the students in class, it is posted here as a self-guided presentation via Nearpod Homework. Go through it yourself and let me know what you think. If you can't see this embedded presentation, you can click here.
