Conceptual Fraction Tool That Rocks!

There are many books, lessons and activities out there that help students gain some conceptual understanding of fractions. Unfortunately most of these great activities require you to go out and buy manipulatives or spend hundreds of hours cutting up parts and making manipulatives. This site offers learners the chance to set up many different fractions visually so they can instantly compare and contrast what all this fraction nonsense is about.

The link is to Fraction Bars from Math Playground.
Fraction Bars

I am working with some learners right now that have no ability to compare fractions. With this tool I am watching in amazement as they are figuring out the roles of the numerator and denominator and easily seeing how each set of fractions are related to each other. From here I just need to offer a little formalized instruction on some syntax and procedures and the learners really understand fractions well.

A few hints on using the Fraction Bars. Having a prepared list of questions or challenges can be very effective in helping to guide student work. Even having a worksheet that asks students to compare a number of fractions or put them in order can be helpful to use with this tool. Simply directing them to the site and saying "try it out" will not accomplish much as there is little the student is given to do at the site. It is like a calculator, without some reason to use it, you are just pushing pretty buttons and watching the flashing lights. If you have some good fraction exploration questions please share in the comments so we can all work together to flesh out some great learning activities.

Sample ELA checklist completed

I thought ELA teachers might want a sample of our "first step" in addressing the CCRS in our lessons. I just made up this activity this morning on Superbowl Sunday and plugged it into the lesson plan checklist tool we have on the maineccrs.org site.

Link to the example checklist filled out https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13HRtuN5DgIQVTXZc7oH-KBgNjTdv-DPRTT7Qwy8qnL4/edit?usp=sharing

Background: This activity would have students exploring a logically written article so the student could work on identifying how we distinguish from opinion to fact. Students would write up their rational about what parts of the article were fact and which fiction. Then students dive into the types of fallacies and take notes on them so they can then identify fallacies in an article on the topic. Students develop a 5 minute oral presentation in which they address the given article.

From here I would work with peers to get some critical review of my ideas and the key shift points I identified. Maybe a peer points out how my stated CCRS does not quite match the products students are creating. Maybe I need two or three CCRS put in on that form? What would this lesson look like fully fleshed out?

I have a template in the works and almost done up that all ELA and Math teachers can use so the lessons all have a standard arrangement to better enable all of us to be able to share and access work. Having a consistent format is helpful in looking for key information within resources shared. Do you have thoughts on this process?

CCRS Question for Assessment

As I continue to dive in and really learn the CCRS standards a discussion topic came up that I wish everyone to chime in on. One of the major differences between the CCRS and the CCS is that the CCRS is a more limited scope of the CCS. I am finding that the committee that designed the CCRS have sometimes bundled a number of CCS into one umbrella standard that is now simply referenced by a single CCRS. As an example, take a look at this standard from Level D Math. Fractions D5 Standard Link (you may have to zoom in as the text has to be small on this card)

As you look over this standard, note how there are actually 7 CCS standards all in this one CCRS standard.

My question to you centers around how you might want to assess standards like this?


I see two camps,

Camp A takes on the rational that if my students meet a majority of the items listed in a CCRS then they get credit for it.






Camp B notes that each of those sub skills are important and a student would need to meet all of them before getting the credit for that CCRS.




Which camp are you in and why? (Please note we are being metaphorical with the tents and we are not soliciting your choice of tents. Rather, we would love to hear your view on how we best assess CCRS that are composites of multiple CCS)

Questions and Answers from the fall Director's Meeting

During the director's meeting this fall, there were many questions generated around the CCRS. You can view all those wonderful questions, and the answers from the CCRS Coordinating Council and the state team Right Here.

Remember that this blog is also a great resource for sharing your questions and answers you have concerning Maine's CCRS implementation.

ELA CCRS Checklist Instructions

ELA CCRS Shifts Checklist Released

It was very apparent at the CCRS Academy that English language arts teachers wanted a tool that helps teachers start thinking about the shifts in an easy "first step" way. After conferring with a number of ELA people, I have prepared a prototype for everyone to try and offer feedback. The prototype is linked on the maineccrs.org website under the training materials, but I offer a link here as well to save you a trip.

Please note that this tool is a first step. Complexity involves more than just finding a reading level for instance, but with this tool teachers can easily find and record EFL of the resources they hope to use. Additionally, this is a tool for just one activity or lesson. If people like the tool, I will create a second "Unit Plan" tool that will include 5 tabs for activities (identical to the  Activity tab in the prototype) and the Unit Plan will include graphs and data to help the teacher identify how well the shifts are being met. More on that later. First of all here are the simple steps teachers need to follow to complete this form.

Getting Started

Start by visiting the maineccrs.org site, under the ME Teacher Trainer Resources (left column) and scroll down to session 4 to find the link to the ELA Lesson Plan Shifts Checklist. You will only be able to view the copy you see there, so you will need to go to "FILE - Make a copy" to make your own copy of this form.

There are two tabs with this tool. The primary tab is the "Activity" tab. Here are the simple steps teachers will want to follow:

Sheet Instructions

1. Fill in the Activity description with a brief outline of what the students will be doing (keep it big picture) We can add a field for teachers to offer a full, detailed lesson plan link if we wish later.

2. Use the drop down to select the target EFL the activity is aiming to work with. 

3. Teachers can then start listing resources students would be using. Note that this includes the title of the work, the EFL (see step 3a), and a link to the resource if it is digital, 

3a. To find the EFL of a work you click on the second tab titled "EFL Level?" 

• On this page, the title of the resource goes in the A column. 
• If the text is digital, copy and paste a few paragraphs into column B. If it is not digital, you can type in a few paragraphs.  
• At the top of column C is a link to a page where you can paste your text into a box to find the number of syllables. Note you only need to find the syllable count from this page. When you return to the spreadsheet enter in the number of syllables from your work. 
• Poof, the spreadsheet does the number crunching and table look ups to determine the EFL level of that reading. 

4. Returning back to the Activity tab, you will note there is another column (H) that houses drop downs so the teacher can easily indicate if the work is non fiction or fiction. 

5. Finally the last part of the form allows teachers to start recording different activities or assignments students will engage in and how those assignments fit into the shifts. 

• The Mode column is set up with a drop down to easily choose what action the learner will be engaged in. 
• The Type column is set up with a drop down that includes the different types of writing learners will be demonstrating
• Finally there is a column for links to specific assignment instructions if the teacher has that available. 

All feedback is welcome! Please don't be gentle as the goal is to collaboratively make a useful tool that gets teachers engaging in CCRS shifts in a painless and efficient way. All feedback can go to Ed Latham ( ohgeer@gmail.com ). Please be specific if you can (use cell names if necessary) so I can best attend to your suggestions. Of course you can always post to this blog your thoughts, dreams, and questions centered around this tool and process. 

Reflections from CCRS Teacher Academy in August 2014

Does anyone wish to share an "ah-ha" moment, remaining questions or some memory from the Teacher Academy in Pitsfield? I will start by sharing that I was so amazed at the energy level of the teachers attending. The schedule was indeed packed from 8am to 8pm, and teachers were not seen dozing off or disengaging even once! Even when the schedule allowed for one 2 hour break at night, most teachers kept on doing meaningful work! Truly a special group of people dedicated to improving the opportunities for Maine learners. What do you remember most from your time at the Academy?