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Embrace the Challenge

The Blog of a K-8 Math Specialist

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Tag: making connections

games…

Facilitating Number Boxes, Part 2 – Supporting Reasoning with Representations (Learning With Students)

15 Dec 20223 Feb 2023
"Hmm.. 8 + 3. Let's put the 8 in the ten frame. If we add 3, will it be more than, less than, more equal to 10?" Kyleigh missed parts…
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…

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…
in the classroom

Five Little Pumpkins: Kindergarten Conjectures

31 Oct 202231 Oct 2022
It's Halloween! This morning, the kindergartners were reciting and acting out "Five Little Pumpkins." Five little pumpkins, sitting on a gateThe first one said, "oh, my, it's getting late."The second…
#tmwyk

Rush Hour Conversations

8 Aug 20227 Aug 2022
The highway was crowded. All four lanes crawled slowly northward, each car taking its turn to move a few precious feet before slowing and stopping. Idling. I must have read…
education…

100 Posts

20 Jul 202220 Jul 2022
This post is the 100th on my blog! 🎉 With all due respect to any of you beautiful and talented people reading this, I write this blog, first and foremost,…
formative assessment…

Secret Squares and Stop Signs

28 Jun 2022
I wrote a deeply sad post today. As I went to publish it, I hesitated. Yesterday was my last day of school, and instead of ending with sadness, I'd like…
Uncategorized

How Many Birds: Mathematizing “Two Many Birds” In First Grade, Part 2

28 Apr 202227 Apr 2022
I have been reading Allison Hintz and Antony Smith’s Mathematizing Children’s Literature (Stenhouse, 2022), and it has disrupted how I think about the use of children's literature in math class. In my…
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.…
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…
five practices…

“Look! I showed my work!”

8 Sep 20218 Sep 2021
It's surreal to be back at my school, in person, after 18 months away. I feel a tremendous sense of vertigo when I look around at this place that is…
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…
#tmwyk

Kids Mathematize the World: Arrays

30 Jul 2021
It's fascinating to observe how my children mathematize the world! Where do they see mathematics? How do they interact with it? Doing Puzzles in a Ballgown This morning, my 5yo…
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…
assessment…

Choosing a Story to Tell: Examining a Lesson Close in 1st Grade

28 Aug 20196 Feb 2022
I had planned to spend my first time in Room 12 observing the classroom teacher and getting to know her students. Instead, the teacher texted me the day before to…
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…
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…
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…
five practices…

Leading Act 3: Using the 5 Practices & Intentional Talk To Deepen Discourse About the “Whopper Jar”

3 Oct 201727 Oct 2022
The books 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions (Smith and Stein, 2011) and Intentional Talk (Kazemi and Hintz, 2014) have helped me transform how I facilitate discussions. I try my best…

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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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