In preparing for the coming school year, I would like to utilize Power Pix. The first thing I have to teach is odd/even numbers. While this should be a review of the skill from 2nd grade, I always find my students don't know the difference and some forget it very easily. Since there isn't a Power Pix for it, does anyone have suggestions on gestures or an idea for a Power Pix that I could sorta create myself to go with this skill?

Also, are there any thoughts on creating Power Pix for science and social studies general skills/concepts?

Have you looked into the E download for Smoothy Bumper planet. It would help odd/even counting. I have one for my students folder and one we use on the doc camera as a warm up.
Annette

I did take a look at that, but I'm worried that my students will look at it as something babyish. Aside from that, the biggest error students who don't seem to have the concept make is using the wrong digit when dealing with larger numbers. They seem to want to choose the number in the front rather than the number in the ones place. Guess that's why I was leaning to a gesture or something like that.

I don't think anything in WBT is babyish. If you make it a game and super fun. Just tell them you are reinforcing number sense. From teaching k-6, I knew the upper grade kids who didn't get that number sense and base 10 back in kinder and first. I'd use the smoothy bumber planet and then use the bottom row of big numbers. I'd also use the ones,tens and hundreds page and add a few columns for big numbers and then have them make odd/evens. Anything is fun with the right attitude.

Good luck, Annette

Excellent point Annette. These kids who don't get the number sense need that in our intervention groups a lot worse than they need the state exam practice. They can't solve complex problems until they understand numbers. It's like asking a kid to read War and Peace when they don't know basic phonics. You can't put the cart in front of the horse!

I definitely agree with Annette about using the smoothy bumper planet pages to reinforce odd/even and also the place value page to draw their attention to looking at the ones place.

Now~ as far as creating your own Power Pix~ make a visual and then put your teaching steps on the back, just be sure your format is like the one on the back (the 5 step lesson format), which is:
!. Question
2. Answer (with gestures)
3. Expand (this is your direct instruction)
4. Assessment/ Check for understanding (Yes/ no~way; QT test)
5. Critical thinking (the application step~ pulls learning from surface learning into deeper/ higher level learning).


Here's my suggestion for odd/even:

(this would be number 2 in the 5 step lesson format~ the answer part)
For even~ hold up four fingers and say: "Even numbers are numbers that can be divided equally into 2 groups (or you can say can be divided by 2)" as you are saying this, take your four fingers and group them into two groups of two (I think this is the Vulcan (sp?) symbol for hello????)
To start out your expand examples~ you can tell students that numbers that end in a 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 are EVEN numbers. (good time to pull out that smoothy bumper planet for reinforcement)


For odd~ hold up three fingers and say: "Odd numbers are numbers that cannot be divided equally into two groups (or you can say cannot be divided by 2)", as you are saying this divide up your 3 fingers so they can see two are together and one is by itself.

To start out your expand examples~ you can tell students that numbers that end in a 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 are ODD numbers. (good time to pull out that smoothy bumper planet for reinforcement)

You can have students practice grouping together their fingers with the above example numbers so they can see that even numbers can be paired and odd numbers cannot~ they will always have an "odd~man out". (the only exception is 0 when it is by itself~ although you can always point out that when there are two of us and there is nothing~ we share in that nothing together~ but if there is 1 of something~ one of us will get something and the other gets none~ which is "not fair"~ or odd. A great illustration is the "not fair" for odd. You can expand on your teaching by taking manipulatives and having the students "divide up" different amounts of manipulatives. Have them notice or record the numbers that were "fair" (divided equally) or "not fair" (divided unequally). Ultimately they will notice that all the numbers that end in 0, 2, 4, 6 & 8 are "fair", or even and all the numbers that end in a 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9 are "not fair", or odd.)


Also~ as part of your hook (this is an optional addition to step one) you can tell a story where you went to an amusement park with you and two other friends and that you had a miserable day because you were always the "odd man out". You can explain that the reason why was because all of the rides required "even paired" riders and so you were always stuck by yourself or with a stranger. (at this point students can guess what words in your story were the academic words that they will be learning about today~ or just cut to the chase and say~ "in my story I used two phrases~ "odd~man out" and "even paired riders"~ and the question you will be learning the answer to today is: "What is an odd number?" and "What is an even number?"


Anyway~ there are some suggestions~ hope this helps!

Andrea,

Thanks for your insight and explanation! I also tell the students that an even number always has a partner. We review even/odd numbers daily when we do the calendar and review the number of days we've been in school i.e. We have been in school for 178 days. Is 178 an even or odd number? 178 is an even number BECAUSE.... The students then write two number sentences that have an answer equal to 178 on their white boards. I pick two and post them on the math wall (100 + 70 + 8 = 178, 278 - 100 = 178). The students present their problems and explain it to the class.

Karen

Karen~ that is awesome~ and you know that WBT requires students to answer questions using a complete sentence (which has the question in the answer:) AND you added the BECAUSE~ ten finger wooooo! with a lightning sizzle to you!!!!

Karen~ that is awesome~ and you know that WBT requires students to answer questions using a complete sentence (which has the question in the answer:) AND you added the BECAUSE~ ten finger wooooo! with a lightning sizzle to you!!!!

Oooh Andrea...I love that. Something to add to my lesson for the upcoming year.

With my 3rd graders and this concept, I didn't have a PowerPic, but I still used words, gestures, and could play Yes/No Way and Cutie to check for comprehension. So you can still complete the 5 step lesson even without the aid of a PowerPic, although I don't think a PowerPic would be too difficult to create.

I would have some different numbers written on the board and say, "Numbers are either odd or even. We're going to learn about odd and even numbers today."

Mirror words: Hold up both hands, and in a chanting tone, "Odd numbers end in: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9." (Showing these numbers with your fingers)

They teach each other.

Complete the same process for even numbers, "Even numbers end in: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8." (Showing these numbers with your fingers)

They teach each other.

Using the numbers you have written on the board, you can point to them and say, "Is this an even number?" They will give a mighty Yes, or a No Way. And so on...

Then go ahead and play Cutie.

I would do this at the beginning of almost every math lesson. It would take about 5 minutes by the end of the school year. There always seems to be questions about odd and even numbers on our state test, so this was a fun way to prepare them for that too. My 3rd graders loved it, and they could all identify odd and even numbers, no matter if it was single digit or multi-digit.

Hope this helps!

Thanks,
Staci Glass
WBT Intern, 2011-2012

Thanks so much for all your suggestions! I've made a couple of power pix to use.

For even I used even numbers and a picture of a man with swirled eye glasses - gesture would be to use their pointer fingers to point to the eyes(because eyes are a pair), using the right hand make a zero, then using 2 fingers count the remaining even numbers. They'll use the right hand as a reminder that the last digit, or the one all the way to the right is the deciding digit.

For odd I used odd numbers and a picture of 2 hands making a triangle - gesture would be to make a triangle using both hands and say 1, 3 (because I can make one 3 sided triangle), then hold up the remaining numbers using fingers.

I'm getting so excited to start the new year August 8 and try this out! I'll be in a new "setting" because I'm staying at the same grade but I'll be departmentalized and only be teaching math, science, and social studies.

Sounds perfect!!!

Be sure to post those power pix you made for the other 3rd grade teachers out there that are now reading all this and are excited to teach odd and even numbers next year!!!

Here are the even and odd power pix I created

THANK YOU!!! Wow - these are amazing!!!!

Liann

WBT Intern

Those are awesome PowerPix! I can totally use them in my classroom in the fall! Thanks for your hard work!

Thanks,
Staci Glass
WBT Intern, 2011-2012

Wow, fantastic discussion and I love the power pics! I'll be printing those out myself for my first graders! Just a thought and not really a gesture, but I've taught 2nd, 3rd and now 1st grades, and I've always given my students a dose of "You're a Genius" when it comes to odd/even. I teach the concept using a place value chart after having taught them the basics of "does everyone have a partner (using a matrix of dot pairs below each digit 0-9)," as someone else mentioned here. (I wonder if this could become a gesture by using both hands and showing how each finger on one hand has a partner on the other hand, or not, for numbers 1-9.) Then I write some huge nine- or twelve-digit number on the board and tell them when we're finished they'll know just how to easily tell if it's an odd or even number, just by looking at the ones place number. When we've practiced that a few times and everyone's by then gotten the "magic" of the ones place number, then I tell them to go home and challenge their parents to give them any number, big as they want, and let the kids show off by easily telling them whether it's even or odd, just by looking at the ones place number. I say, "Your parents will say, "Oh Maude, our son's (daughter's) a genius! I knew it - let's call Aunt Sally, she'll never believe what our little genius can do!" The kids love it! I'm thinking this could even be a 1-minute partner party reward tied to the Scoreboard - let them use whiteboards and challenge each other while I monitor for concept understanding - viola! instant assessment! I love Whole Brain Teaching - it makes me use my whole brain to figure out ways to teach kids by using their whole brains! Love it!

WOW! Those powerpix turned out SHARP!!!! 10 finger WOO with a lightning sizzle to you!!!

Gunna suggest a new folder for PowerPix for others who want to make, upload, and share their ideas!
Power to the Teachers~!!!!!!!!!