Inside the Classroom: Rachel Chavez - Nance Elementary
Inside the Classroom: Rachel Chavez - Nance Elementary
Inside the Classroom is a series that visits Northwest ISD campuses throughout the year and highlights the magical moments that happen between teachers and students each and every day across the entire 234 square miles of NISD.
Green/Gold + Fractions/Decimals = an energetic St. Patrick’s Day themed math review
That was the equation for a lively and productive afternoon in our next Inside the Classroom, Rachel Chavez’s fourth-grade class at Nance Elementary. We visited the Wednesday before spring break, and the Clever Clovers, Lucky Ladies and four other teams were putting their math skills to the test with a pot of gold on the line.
Ms. Chavez, now in her 13th year teaching and 11th at Nance, typically reviews main concepts before a long break. With St. Patrick’s Day coming during the district’s upcoming spring break, she saw an opportunity to take her math review to a whole new level.
With a magic wand in hand and clovers on her headband, Ms. Chavez started the lesson by reviewing the rules of the game. She stressed that teamwork and communication would be just as crucial as knowledge of fractions and decimals if students wanted to snag all they could from her pot of gold.
Before the game began, teams discussed key terms they might need for the first section of the game. Students teamed up with those at their table and prepared for the first question.
With each question, they first worked independently to find an answer. Then Ms. Chavez asked students to “put their heads together” to agree on a final answer, keeping in mind a key concept they learned from Ms. Chavez: “Teach, not tell” when working in groups.
If they got the answer correct, each team came to the pot and grabbed one piece of gold, not knowing the exact value of the different sized pieces of gold.
Throughout the game, Ms. Chavez was moving around the room making observations and visiting each team.
“The academic conversations I’m hearing are fantastic!”
After four questions, Ms. Chavez introduced a team challenge. Each group was given a bag of dominoes, which they laid out on their table as improper fractions. They then converted them to mixed fractions, using dry erase markers on their tables.
During the team challenge, each group got one gold coin for correct answers, plus another for showing good teamwork. One team even got to fill out golden tickets for exhibiting extraordinary teamwork and communication. The tickets were entered into a grade-level drawing, encouraging students to go above and beyond to earn as many tickets as they could.
Soon after the team challenge, students realized there were only five pieces of gold remaining in the pot for the six teams to snag. This was when the strategizing went up a notch as teams were able to steal gold from their classmates.
Some teams formed alliances, some channeled their inner leprechauns and tried to hide their gold, and others moved on and started plotting their revenge.
After a quick stretch break, students answered the last few questions, stole their last few pieces of gold, then awaited the big reveal of the value of each piece. Many were surprised at the value of the small coins, then with one last math problem for the day, teams tallied their totals.
The winning team got to complete golden tickets and chose a prize from the prize table. Ms. Chavez also awarded golden tickets to the team that worked the best together.
After an hour jam-packed with concentration, anticipation, teamwork and lots of smiles, these Nance Golden Eagles have brushed up on their fractions and decimals all while also learning the value of teamwork and communication.
Check back regularly all year as we continue to visit students and teachers throughout Northwest ISD and offer a rarely seen look Inside the Classroom.