Math Message
April-May 2018 edition
Problem solving...
Mathematicians At Work
Fact fluency races
Student Voice
Telling Time
Breakout Fun
Fraction Fun
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss
Blogspot
Do you remember as a math student "back in the day," getting a packet of worksheets to keep you busy? As we move ever closer to a learning platform, most of us have abandoned this ineffective practice. There are times, however, when it's tempting to "digitize" a worksheet and assign some busywork on IPads. Are there ever times when a worksheet is useful? How often should I use paper/pencil tasks vs. technology? This blog post by Jennifer Gonzalez offers a great perspective as she dives into the topic of "busysheets" vs. "powersheets"!
Play-full math...
Check out this blog by Lybrya that I found by following the #MTBoS hashtag on
Twitter. She encourages all of us to add some playfulness to our math class. Speaking of play, I was part of an awesome book study with GES Kindergarten and Pre-K teachers. We read and discussed Purposeful Play by Miraz, Porcelli, and Tyler. Be on the lookout for a session at our GCLI18 and reach out if you are interested...I'm happy to facilitate a book study with your PLC, or team.
We all know that strategies for our ELLs are good for all learners. Read 18 Ways to Support our ELLs in 2018 and let me know which ones work for your class. Thanks to Cynthia Graham, Instructional Coach for sharing this great resource!
Pre-K and Kindergarten teachers,
Check out these great ideas for May workstations. I particularly love all the playdough ideas. According to this article from NAEYC, researchers state, "While poking, rolling, and squishing playdough, children develop the small muscles in their fingers and hands." Through the manipulations of pushing, poking, flattening, rolling, and scraping, they develop eye-hand coordination, gain strength and improve dexterity in their hands and fingers. These are critical areas of physical development for writing, drawing, and even sports skills later in life.Got the Fact Fluency Blues?
Guest post by Sharon Gardner
The struggle is real. How do students get to a level of math-fact automaticity, being able to recall basic facts within about 3 seconds without counting, with addition and subtraction within 20 for 2nd grade and multiplication up to 10 x 10 in 3rd grade? Once students understand what those facts represent, the answer appears to be by practicing them, along with seeing and hearing the correct answers. If you are searching for more ways to practice, here are some links from the math curriculum maps full of games to get students working and practicing facts in a non-threatening and enjoyable way:
Building Conceptual Understanding & Fluency Through Games, grade 2
Building Conceptual Understanding & Fluency Through Games, grade 3
Got flash cards?
Try these:
5 Simple Games with Math Fact Flash Cards and 15 in a Row: Fun Math Facts Game
OR let students practice flashcards independently or with a partner, spending time seeing and saying the fact with the answer before they try them without the answer
OR use a modified version of “Incremental Rehearsal” by having students learn new facts starting with facts they already know--the idea is to start with 90% facts they have mastered and 10% new facts. For example, they get a set of 10 facts, out of those 10 they already know 9 of them and are just learning 1 new fact at a time. If you want more information about this, along with some other highly structured procedures, go here.
Do you have timed tests you haven’t recycled? How about giving students the option of using them in a very private way. Cut the tests into rows rather than leaving as a whole page. Students keep these in a folder, use a digital timer to time themselves and work to beat their own time. Nothing is posted for the class to see and there is no shame or embarrassment if I’m competing against myself.
Perhaps offer several of these as an option and have students choose since autonomy often brings big results.
RtI binders
New Additions to Curriculum Maps
Contact information
Instructional Coach
Email: melanie.gonzales@gcisd.net
Website: http://gonzamel.blogspot.com/
Phone: 682-558-1367
Twitter: @gcisdmelanie