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The Blog of a K-8 Math Specialist

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Category: curriculum

curriculum…

“What Are You Hoping For?”: Facilitating the Number Boxes Game to Develop Reasoning – Learning with Teachers

8 Dec 20223 Feb 2023
Number Boxes is one of my favorite games to play. The set up looks similar to an Open Middle problem, with empty boxes that you will place digits into. Open…
curriculum

How do we measure change in data?

25 Nov 2022
This blog post was originally published on SlowRevealGraphs.com How do we measure change over time? The y-axis can be so deceptive. Change the scale a little, and a small change looks…
curriculum…

Turtle Time Trials & Leveraging Creativity To Deepen Mathematical Understanding

13 Nov 202212 Nov 2022
What if...? In a lot of tasks that we give students, there's an intended answer. Okay, sure, yes, I guess you could interpret the problem in this divergent way, but…
assessment…

Restless Teachers

13 Oct 202213 Oct 2022
My favorite educators are restless. They have that itch. Nothing is ever completely satisfying. If you chat with them after a lesson, they'll tell you three things they would change.…
curriculum…

Changing How I “Mathematize Children’s Literature”

26 Apr 202227 Apr 2022
I enjoy teaching math through children's literature. Typically, I'll read the book aloud to a class, stopping briefly when inspired to ask a question or a student raises their hand.…
curriculum…

The Learning that Led to Today

19 Apr 202219 Apr 2022
"You aren't these kids' first teacher, and you won't be the last."-Jennifer N. When I was an early career teacher, teaching 4th grade, I wanted to teach my students everything.…
curriculum…

Making Space to Listen and Observe

29 Sep 2021
My school recently adopted TERC's Investigations in Number, Time, and Space. The cornerstone of this curriculum is listening to, centering, amplifying, and leveraging student ideas. Many of the embedded assessments…
curriculum…

Reducing Bias & Desmos

17 Aug 202117 Aug 2021
When I am teaching in person, I circulate around the room. When I first started teaching, I would circulate in similar patterns, winding my way through the desks and rows…
curriculum…

Windows and Mirrors: Fair Shares for Eid al-Adha

2 Aug 20212 Aug 2021
A man's true wealth is the good he does in the world. Hadith attributed to Prophet Mohammed (ra) Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha was a little over two weeks ago. It…
curriculum…

Reflections on the Problem-Based Learning (Symmetry Mini-Unit)

10 Jan 20206 Feb 2022
This is the last post in the series on experimenting with problem-based learning in Claire's fourth grade class. The other posts in the series are: Getting Started with Problem Based…
curriculum…

Problem Based Lesson #3: Learning From One Another in Grade 4

9 Jan 202026 Jun 2020
This is a post in a series about problem based instruction in fourth grade -- centering on a series of lessons classroom teacher Claire* and I taught about symmetry. This…
curriculum…

Problem Based Lesson #1: Launching Symmetry in Grade 4

7 Jan 202026 Jun 2020
This is a post in a series about problem based instruction in fourth grade -- centering on a series of lessons classroom teacher Claire* and I taught about symmetry. Part…
curriculum…

Getting Started with Problem Based Learning in Grade 4

6 Jan 202026 Jun 2020
What are the conditions that inspire teachers to take on problem based instruction? This isn't a story about how you can determine when a teacher -- novice or experienced --…
curriculum…

Using Diagrams to Build and Extend Student Understanding

16 Dec 20196 Feb 2022
Co-authored by Kristin Gray (@MathMinds) Originally published on the Illustrative Mathematics Blog (November 25, 2019) Take a moment to think about the value of each expression below.  $latex \frac{1}{4}\times \frac{1}{3}$…
curriculum…

Using Instructional Routines to Inspire Deep Thinking

21 Oct 20195 Feb 2022
Originally published on the Illustrative Mathematics blog (October 13, 2019). We want students to think about math deeply. Creatively. Analytically. Instead, what often happens is that students race towards quick solutions. So…
curriculum…

Mathematical Connections in a Kindergarten Science Unit

18 Mar 201915 Mar 2019
"I'm sorry, we're only loosely doing math today," Jessica apologized as I walked into her kindergarten classroom. "We're deep into our structures unit in science, and I'd like to keep…
curriculum…

“Why is the math teacher here for social studies?”

16 Jan 20196 Feb 2022
I slipped quietly into Room 304, trying not to distract the fourth graders, who were finishing up a writing assignment. I set up my laptop to project to the white…
curriculum…

#TeamBlankSpace

3 Jan 2019
Every time a child says, 'I don't believe in fairies,' there is a fairy somewhere that falls down dead.J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan (1904) When a work page is overly rigid…
curriculum…

Cultivating a Listener’s Mindset: A Case for Curriculum

2 Jan 2018
In the last few weeks, I have seen articles about "mental load" circulating around social media again. The "mental load" refers to the invisible but burdensome job of orchestrating of all the…
curriculum

Coherence and Telling the Story

6 Sep 201719 Sep 2017
The more I teach, the more I realize the importance of coherence. Beyond serving as a guiding principle of the common core, coherence shines a light on the pathway towards…

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Recent Posts

  • Using Slow Reveals to Illuminate Tiny but Powerful Details in Graphs 2 Jan 2023
  • Facilitating Number Boxes, Part 2 – Supporting Reasoning with Representations (Learning With Students) 15 Dec 2022
  • I Don’t Speak Russian, But… 13 Dec 2022
  • “What Are You Hoping For?”: Facilitating the Number Boxes Game to Develop Reasoning – Learning with Teachers 8 Dec 2022
  • Would You Believe Me? #tmwyk 26 Nov 2022
  • How do we measure change in data? 25 Nov 2022
  • Turtle Time Trials & Leveraging Creativity To Deepen Mathematical Understanding 13 Nov 2022
  • Seventeen Pumpkins 2 Nov 2022
  • Five Little Pumpkins: Kindergarten Conjectures 31 Oct 2022
  • Restless Teachers 13 Oct 2022

Archives

Upcoming Conference Presentations & Workshops

February 26, 2023
Build Math Minds’ Virtual Math Summit 
(online, free registration!)
“Using Clinical Interviews in the Math Classroom: Learning from Students”

March 25, 2023
RIMTA Conference (East Providence, Rhode Island)
“Slow Reveal Graphs: An Instructional Routine to Promote Sensemaking About Data”

March 30, 2023
ATMIM Conference
(Worcester, MA)
“Games that Promote Equity and Mathematical Brilliance in the Upper Elementary Classroom” (with Louisa Connaughton)

RECENT SPEAKING

December 1 – 2, 2022
NCTM Regional
(Baltimore, MD)
“Rethinking Pre-Assessments: Gathering Data with Equity in Mind”
“Games that Promote Equity and Mathematical Brilliance in the Upper Elementary Classroom” (with Louisa Connaughton)

November 5, 2022
WMMP Fall Institute (South Hadley, MA)
“Slow Reveal Graphs: An Instructional Routine to Promote Sensemaking about Data”

September 2022
NCTM Annual Meeting (Los Angeles, CA)
“Rethinking Pre-Assessments: Gathering Data with Equity in Mind”

READ MORE…

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#tmwyk access centering students ideas child study clinical interview desmos division education equity five practices formative assessment fractions games geometry grade 1 grade 2 grade 3 grade 4 grade 5 grade 6 grade 7 identity illustrative mathematics intervention Investigations (Inv3) kindergarten listening making connections mtbos notice and wonder problem-based instruction problem-based learning productive discussions race remote learning slow reveal graphs student thinking student work tech tools writing
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