Lessons that Count
EUPISD Monthly Math Instruction Digest
This Month's Focus: Formative Assessment in a Virtual Classroom
As teachers, we rely heavily on formative assessment to check for understanding in the classroom. One of the most widely used and easiest to do is observation. However, in a virtual setting observation is challenging due to students not having cameras on, unable to see student work, and limited meeting times. So what do we do?!
Fortunately, there are many digital tools at our fingertips. Below are descriptions on how to use some digital tools that are readily available to our region and easy to use. In order to not overwhelm yourself but still keep routines and variety for your students, select two to three tools that work well for your online teaching style.
In The Moment
Those in-the-moment checks for understanding that we did in the classroom were valuable, allowing us to adjust instruction and meet students where they were. That kind of check-in is still important.
For those of you that use hand signals in the classroom, Zoom has the following emojis, under Reactions, for students to use (hands clapping, thumb-up, heart, joy, surprise, and celebration)
For those using Google Meet, the site, Ditch That Textbook, provides an assortment of easy-to-download Jamboard templates for quick checks such "Good, OK, Bad", "Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down", and "Fist to Five".
These check-ins help you provide just-in-time feedback, and can guide your thinking about who might need further support later through resources, intervention, or small-group instruction through breakout groups in a synchronous session.
Student Process
Students who have access to digital cameras on phones and computers can take a picture of the work on paper and email the image to the teacher or, upload it to Google Classroom or Canvas.
There are also a variety of digital whiteboards available that make it feasible for students to show his/her work digitally. Google's whiteboard, Jamboard, is one such digital whiteboard that has grown in popularity over the summer due to it's simplicity. It can be used in a variety of ways. When using it to capture student process, you add a problem to the "board", then ask the student to use the available tools (pen, marker, highlighter, shapes, textbox, or sticky note) to solve it. When assigning the problem, you can set it up so each student is assigned his/her own Jamboard file or create one Jamboard file with multiple "boards", each board assigned to a student or a group of students. There are pros and cons to both methods. Assigning one Jamboard per student can be time consuming to create and review. When using one Jamboard with multiple "boards", you need to set up rules ahead of time stating that students can only manipulate his or her own board. There is no way to limit student access to all the boards.
Content Knowledge
Google Forms is also an easy-to-use tool for checking content knowledge and they synch nicely with Google Classroom's Gradebook. Below are a few tutorial videos on how to create and assign Google Form.:
For those of you using Zoom, you have the ability to create polls that can assigned easily during a meeting with one click of the mouse and results from the polls can be shared with the students.
COVID Response Resources for Math Instruction
Below is a list of resources to assist teachers with planning around the impact the COVID pandemic has had on our students
K-8
- Prioritizing K-8 Mathematics Standards
- Important Prerequisite Standards Math Standards with Resources
High School
Math Recovery / AVMR Resources
Answers to Riddles
Riddle #2 Answer: When Buddy is 100, Hermey will be 97
Riddle #3 Answer: Hot Cocoa costs $1.40 and a cookie costs $0.40
Riddle #4 Answer: Dasher spent $120, Prancer spent $240, and Cupid spent $360
Riddle #5 Answer: There are 14 total squares (15 if you count the square at the center of the bow on the wreath!)
Link to web sourse: https://www.mashupmath.com/blog/christmas-maths-activities-riddles
Editor: Julie Bazinau
Happy Holidays!
Email: jbazinau@eupschools.org
Website: https://www.eupschools.org/domain/1256
Location: 315 Armory Place, Sault Ste. Marie, MI, USA
Phone: (906) 440-8857