Fourth graders at Lakeview Elementary recently got moving while learning about rounding numbers. Teachers Lisa Battista and Jeanne Russo, along with teaching assistants Keimoni Haynes and Christina Madalon, set up a “living number line” in one of the school hallways. Each student received a Post-it with a different number between one and 100 written on it and was challenged to place themselves in the correct order along the number line.
“Math concepts can feel abstract when they’re only on paper,” Russo said. “By turning rounding into an active experience, students are engaged, having fun and making the learning stick.”
As the activity unfolded, students worked together to find their places, identifying patterns along the way. When Russo asked the classes, “What do you notice?” fourth grader Maddalena Bartolini observed that the lower numbers were written on pink Post-its and the higher numbers were on yellow Post-its, while the midpoint number 50 stood out on a blue Post-it.
The hands-on exercise not only helped students better understand the concept of rounding but also encouraged collaboration, problem-solving and discussion.