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Embrace the Challenge

The Blog of a K-8 Math Specialist

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Tag: grade 4

assessment…

I Don’t Speak Russian, But…

13 Dec 2022
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…
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…
games…

“Oops, I Forgot”: Small, Beautiful Moments

2 Jan 20228 Oct 2022
I sat with fourth grade teacher Ms. Goldman in the back of her classroom as students cleaned up materials from the class. There were 15 minutes left in the school…
in the classroom

The Half-Triangle: Attending to Precision and Building On Others’ Ideas

12 Dec 202111 Dec 2021
From Investigations: Grade 4, Unit 4, Investigation 2, Lesson 2 "This shape fits my rule," said 4th grade teacher Ms. Cohen, moving the green right triangle to the left side…
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…
education…

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…
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 --…
games

One of Favorite Games: The Skip Count Game

30 May 20196 Jan 2020
This game is part of my "simple but high leverage" collection of games that are flexible, engaging, and easy to prep. Others include Number Boxes and the Answer Is... I've played the…
games…

One of My Favorite Games: Number Boxes

29 May 20193 Feb 2023
This game is part of my "simple but high leverage" collection of games that are flexible, engaging, and easy to prep. Others include The Answer Is... and the Skip Count Game. I…
games

One of My Favorite Games: The Answer Is…

28 May 20196 Jun 2019
This game is part of my "simple but high leverage" collection of games that are flexible, engaging, and easy to prep. Others include Number Boxes and the Skip Count Game. I have…
in the classroom

The Cookie Recipe: Learning Math from Students

1 Apr 20195 Feb 2022
Fourth grade teacher Alicia and I have a beautiful habit of doing math together when planning. We try out problems, and anticipate ways we think students.* *This work is made…
in the classroom

You’re Both Right: Examining and Honoring Mathematical Assumptions

21 Mar 201922 Jun 2021
Even from across the room, there was no mistake: Jacob and Ian were deep into a mathematical debate. Jacob had pulled his chair up to Ian's desk, and they were…
in the classroom

The Striped Snake Barbecue Puzzle: Exploring “Challenge” in 3rd Grade

4 Mar 20196 Feb 2022
Who gets to be challenged in class? How does the work we give students impact their status (or how they perceive their status) in the classroom? Meet Calvin You've probably…
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…
assessment…

Presuming Competence: Using Clinical Interviews to Support Classroom Instruction

13 Nov 201827 Nov 2018
"She's not on an IEP, but she's struggling in class. What should I do?" I don't know the student -- Alejandra, or Ali, for short -- very well, so I arranged…
education

The New Kid

16 Oct 201712 Feb 2022
In a nutshell: my district offers a fellowship grant each year for six teachers to spend a (paid) week writing about teaching over the summer. I am never fully certain…
assessment…

Anchoring Online Portfolios

10 Oct 201710 Oct 2017
When I was an elementary classroom teacher, my students built elaborate portfolios to document their thinking and progress. As a specialist, I carry components of this into my practice --…

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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

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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 5 practices for equity based instruction access assign competence blog centering students ideas child study claire clinical interview counting desmos discourse division education equity five practices formative assessment fractions games geometry grade 1 grade 2 grade 3 grade 4 grade 5 grade 6 grade 7 grade 8 identity illustrative mathematics instructional routines intervention investigations Investigations (Inv3) kindergarten listening making connections mtbos multiplication my first school notice and wonder number talks pedagogy presume competence problem-based instruction problem-based learning productive discussions race remote learning response slow reveal graphs student thinking student work subtraction tech tools visual prompt visual representations what if wonderings writing

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Tags

#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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