Thanks to the teaching staff of GAD Elementary in Surrey, BC, for their warm welcome and heartfelt participation as we delved into problem solving, math tools and strategies, and math processes (especially communication). Changing our teaching practice is not an easy feat, but if we commit to some small changes, practice them regularly, add more changes, practice those regularly, and keep on going in that manner, we can end up making a significant and lasting change that will benefit students greatly.
Remember, “math talk” does not just happen. We have to plan ways to incorporate it into each math lesson. It is a good idea to create math partners so students are responsible to talk to someone about their math thinking. Modeling (letting students hear YOU talk through a demonstration problem) is always a good idea. Responding to students with proper math language/vocabulary (when they have not used such) is helpful. Posting “sentence stems” is a great way to give them an easier start in speaking math. Additionally, try creating a “math words” chart with the students that they can use as an on-going reference in both their speaking and writing (click here to see an example of a “math words” chart.)
As promised, I am adding links from this post to the handouts from today’s session (see bottom of the post) and some that we just talked about.
I would LOVE to hear from any of the GAD staff of how things go in your math lessons in the next weeks. You all listed something that you could begin to do right away in your classrooms, and I hope you will share what you are doing and the effect it is having on the students.
Remember, understanding “lives” in the processes! Reflect on your teaching regularly to see if you are embedding those processes into math classes. It will make a big difference in students’ understanding if they are immersed in the processes!
Mathematically yours,
Carollee
Download materials here:
100 dot array (teacher size)
100 dot arrays 4 per page
100 dot arrays 6 per page
100 dot arrays 12 per page
break apart number sheet – 2’s
break apart number sheet – 3’s
problem solving assessment rubric
10 frames (teacher size)
10 frames (student size)
10 frames blank mini’s Thanks to the teaching staff of GAD Elementary in Surrey, BC, for their warm welcome and heartfelt participation as we delved into problem solving, math tools and strategies, and math processes (especially communication). Changing our teaching practice is not an easy feat, but if we commit to some small changes, practice them regularly, add more changes, practice those regularly, and keep on going in that manner, we can end up making a significant and lasting change that will benefit students greatly.
Remember, “math talk” does not just happen. We have to plan ways to incorporate it into each math lesson. It is a good idea to create math partners so students are responsible to talk to someone about their math thinking. Modeling (letting students hear YOU talk through a demonstration problem) is always a good idea. Responding to students with proper math language/vocabulary (when they have not used such) is helpful. Posting “sentence stems” is a great way to give them an easier start in speaking math. Additionally, try creating a “math words” chart with the students that they can use as an on-going reference in both their speaking and writing (click here to see an example of a “math words” chart.)
As promised, I am adding links from this post to the handouts from today’s session (see bottom of the post) and some that we just talked about.
I would LOVE to hear from any of the GAD staff of how things go in your math lessons in the next weeks. You all listed something that you could begin to do right away in your classrooms, and I hope you will share what you are doing and the effect it is having on the students.
Remember, understanding “lives” in the processes! Reflect on your teaching regularly to see if you are embedding those processes into math classes. It will make a big difference in students’ understanding if they are immersed in the processes!
Mathematically yours,
Carollee
Download materials here:
100 dot array (teacher size)
100 dot arrays 4 per page
100 dot arrays 6 per page
100 dot arrays 12 per page
break apart number sheet – 2’s
break apart number sheet – 3’s
problem solving assessment rubric
10 frames (teacher size)
10 frames (student size)
10 frames blank mini’s 