Mathematics Update
www.esc11.net/math
Summer Digital Math Academy: K-8 Teachers
STAARting with the TEKS: Math for the Digital Age will be held this summer in three cohorts based on counties. Join us at a location near you for one of three face-to-face sessions in June and July. K-8 teachers completing 18 CPE hours of face-to-face collaboration and six CPE hours of blended learning through Canvas will receive a $150 stipend. Space is limited, so download the flyer for more information and registration details.
Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) Pilot Program for K -2 Teachers
Advanced Quantitative Reasoning (AQR) Summer Institute
Bills Affecting Mathematics
SB826, the course sequencing bill, is on the governor's desk. The final Senate vote was 31-0 so the bill did achieve the two-thirds votes needed in both chambers to take immediate effect if the governor either signs the bill or lets it become law without his signature.
HB884, which would've required required revision of the math TEKS for 2020-21 and capped IMA spending on Proclamation at 75%, died in the Senate.
HB515, which would've eliminated the requirement that all students pass STAAR math and reading at Grades 5 and 8, died in conference committee.
K–2 Diagnostic Assessments
Two types of diagnostic tools are available to K–2 math teachers: a rapid assessment tool and a flexible interview assessment. These tools were developed by Texas A&M University and national early childhood math expert Dr. Herb Ginsberg of Columbia University. The rapid assessment offers a quick gauge of students' mathematical ability through teacher observation of the given task. The rapid assessment also includes possible interpretations of student thinking, areas to address, and implications for further instruction. The flexible interview technique offers a deeper understanding of student cognitive ability based on underlying research in the area of the questioning strategy. Together these tools add to teacher capabilities at the important early grades and allow educators to more effectively measure a student’s grasp of key math concepts.
No revisions to math TEKS at this time!
After six board discussions over a 17-month period to determine whether adjustments should be made to the mathematics curriculum standards implemented in 2012, the State Board of Education on April 21 voted 5-9 with one abstention to make no changes at this time. The proposal considered would have removed references to mathematical process standards from the knowledge and skills statements in the mathematics standards for all grade levels. The board gathered extensive public input about whether changes were needed to the standards and whether the suggested changes would impact state assessments. There were conflicting comments from parents and educators about whether changes were needed. It was determined, however, that removing references to the process standards in the knowledge and skills statements would not prompt changes on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®).
STAAR results released April 25 for grades five and eight confirmed that student achievement in math is rising. The overall passing rate on the fifth-grade STAAR rose from 76 percent in 2016 to 81 percent in 2017. The passing rate rose from 69 percent in 2016 to 74 percent in 2017 at eighth grade.
What's new at MathIsFigureOutAble.com
As you look to fill out your summer reading list, check out some of these resources.
Read the 5 part series "Why Doesn't Everyone Teach Math This Way" to explore the different types of math learners and how that influences our choices about how to teach. What type were you?
Engaging Resources for Your Students
Pre-K–Grade 2
This lesson encourages students to explore another model of subtraction, the balance. This model leads naturally to recording with equations. Students use actual and virtual pan balances in their explorations and record the modeled subtraction facts and the related addition facts in equation form.
Grades 3–5
In this activity, students examine the United States Census Bureau website to investigate projections of the total population of states from 1995 to 2025. Using the provided data, students will analyze statistics from five states of their choice, develop specific research questions using the data, and create three graphs to compare and contrast the information.
Grades 6–8
Students identify and classify polygons according to various attributes. They then sort the polygons in Venn diagrams, according to these attributes. Extensions to fundamental ideas about probability and statistics are also included. This lesson was adapted from an article written by Carol G. Williams, which appeared in the March-April 1998 edition of Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School.
Grades 9–12
This lesson plan presents a classic game-show scenario. A student picks one of three doors in the hopes of winning the prize. The host, who knows the door behind which the prize is hidden, opens one of the two remaining doors. When no prize is revealed, the host asks if the student wishes to "stick or switch." Which choice gives you the best chance to win? The approach in this activity runs from guesses to experiments to computer simulations to theoretical models. This lesson was adapted from an article written by J. Michael Shaughnessy and Thomas Dick, which appeared in the April 1991 issue of the Mathematics Teacher.
Noetic Learning: Problem of the Week 2017 Summer Schedule
Looking for ways to challenge your students and develop their problem-solving skills this summer? Encourage your students to subscribe to Noetic Learning's Problem of the Week newsletter! Our POW newsletter offers an excellent opportunity for your students to develop their thinking and problem-solving abilities. To receive your free newsletter every Monday for eight weeks this summer, click here to subscribe.
THE PROBLEM:
Three baskets contain a total of 18 apples. The first two baskets contain a total of 11 apples. The second and third baskets contain a total of 9 apples. What is the number of apples in the second basket?
(Source: Noetic Learning Challenge Math Online)
THE SOLUTION:
The printable version of the problem and the solution is available here.
Texas Instruments
Welcome to classroom activities
Take advantage of easy access to hundreds of free middle grades and high school math lessons and activities for Texas Instruments (TI) technology. Sort lessons by standards, grade and subject; download them for free; and use them to support content and practice standards in your classroom. Browse and download »
Get ready … get set … ACHIEVE!
Texas Instruments’ (TI) test-prep resources include a downloadable PDF and fun videos that show your students the most effective ways to use their TI calculators on exams.
Win your choice of TI technology
Complete your profile for a chance to win your choice of a TI-Nspire™ CX handheld or TI-84 Plus CE graphing calculator and complementary software. Terms and conditions apply. View the full rules here.
Whitepaper: Selecting and Sequencing Student Solutions for Productive Math Discourse
Have you seen Dr. Gladis Kersaint's new whitepaper in which she examines how to implement strategies that work best for fostering rich discussions in the math classroom? Get tips on how to choose student solutions that encourage discussion and the best order to present them in to promote understanding and help students reveal their mathematical thinking.
Featured Classroom Resources
2017 Ultimate Math Resource Guide for Students
Math is an extremely important subject both in school and in life. In fact, almost everything known and unknown to man can be presented and explained in a mathematical language, including the interconnectedness of nearly all processes and occurrences. As a result, math has a high applicability and applies methodical or systematic approaches to issues and situations. It also spans wide areas as creativity, reasoning power, critical thinking, communication, spatial or abstract thinking and problem solving.
2017 Ultimate Math Resource Guide for Students is an array of resources for all levels of math students to use to make their experience with the subject both enjoyable and rewarding.
Conceptua Math Free Real World Investigations Activities
PART 1 - Students learn to analyze data provided for them.
PART 2 - Some data is provided, and the students add some of their own content.
PART 3 - Students analyze data from their own lives, imaginations, and research.
All Investigations are freely available at the bottom of each topic page within our Curriculum Library. No purchase or login is required to access these activities.