equity – Embrace the Challenge

I Don’t Speak Russian, But…

My mother-in-law speaks three languages fluently -- and none of them are English. Her speech dances between Arabic and French and Algerian, and I do my best mental gymnastics to…

“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…

in the classroom

More Peas, More Carrots: Student Agency in Representations While Problem Solving

Today, the first graders revisited "Peas and Carrots." They had spent several days exploring part-part-whole thinking in the context of games like "how many are hiding?" and "counters in a…

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…

Pushing the Edge: Podcast with Greg Curran

6 Jan 20216 Jan 2021

I am supremely honored that Dr. Greg Curran invited me as a guest on his most recent season of his podcast, Pushing the Edge. Greg is an incredibly thoughtful and…

An Open Letter to the Seattle School Board

28 May 202026 Jun 2020

Last night, I sent off a letter to the Seattle School Board in support of Tracy Castro-Gill, the head of Seattle's Ethnic Studies Program Manager, who was recently removed from…

Blindspots

5 Mar 202026 Jun 2020

---originally published on slowrevealgraphs.com -- In January, I chaperoned a field trip to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. We took in the larger-than-life portrait of George Washington and troops crossing…

Assessments: Capturing a Moment in Time

20 Feb 20205 Feb 2022

It can be tempting to overgeneralize what we learn from an assessment. See how that second grader drew tally marks to solve 54 + 28? He's a direct modeler. He…

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…

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…

Problem Based Lesson #2: Making Connections with Symmetry in Grade 4

8 Jan 20205 Feb 2022

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…

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…

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 --…

The Story of Fibonacci, and the Math Ethnic Studies Framework

17 Oct 201917 Oct 2019

In the late 12th century, a young Leonardo Bonacci -- better known as Fibonacci -- traveled with his merchant father from their home in Italy to Algeria (North Africa). They…

When Our Beliefs Become Compromised… (part 1)

30 Jul 201928 Aug 2019

When are the times in my own teaching that my belief in kids and communities is compromised? - Cornelius Minor (@MisterMinor) Heinemann Teacher Tour, July 27, 2019 Cornelius isn't a…

in the classroom

Daysha at the Board: Assigning Competence

2 Mar 20195 Feb 2022

"Sit down, Daysha... Daysha." Six-year-old Daysha shot me an icy glare while she leisurely pumped hand sanitizer onto her open palm. The rest of her class was all sitting on…

“I see the same hands”: Dealing with Discretionary Spaces

12 Feb 201912 Feb 2019

The teacher frowned as she looked out at her 25 students, only 3 of which had their hands raised -- the same three students who always had their hands raised."I see…

What does it mean to be “struggling” in math class? (Eduardo’s Story)

5 Feb 20195 Feb 2019

It was a sea of dots. Eduardo's work for 47 + 27 Over and over again, for both computational and story problems, third grade student Eduardo drew dots. Eduardo's work,…

“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…

in the classroom

No More Mathematical Matchmaking: The Return of the Inaba Place Value Puzzles

26 Nov 201827 Nov 2018

When I first started teaching, I believed in being a mathematical matchmaker. I thought that differentiation meant giving students different tiered assignments -- it seemed much better than pushing every…