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Category Archives: Intellectual Need
3-Act Task: A 5th-grade lesson captured
A while back I shared a kindergarten lesson and I was really happy with the way it turned out. The 5th-grade lesson below, not so much. The students did great but there are definitely some things I need to improve. We recently finished up … Continue reading
Posted in 3-5, 3-Act Tasks, 6-8, Estimation, Fractions, Intellectual Need, Math Progressions, Modeling, Teacher Content
14 Comments
The Task Graveyard
It’s where my ideas go to die. But like the mighty phoenix, I have one idea for a task that keeps rising from the ashes. It just won’t die. If Bruce Willis was a math task, I’ve seen his face. … Continue reading
I’m Placing a Hit on the Pseudo-Context
This robs students of everything mathematics should be… The “real world” connection The step-by-step procedure Circle the numbers you need to solve the problem The pseudo-context word problem. Lesson 19.2 infers that this unit is front-end load with procedures and formulas … Continue reading
Beginning a Unit with a 3-Act Task
I’ve recently spent a lot of time visiting 3rd grade classrooms as they begin to dive into division. Here’s what I encountered on one of my first visits which was a crippler for everyone involved. Saw this today & was crushed. For … Continue reading
Get Your Model On: Modeling in the Elementary Grades
Dan Meyer’s work on mathematical modeling has been instrumental in shaping my own understanding. I’m super thankful for Dan’s commitment to SMP #4 over the years. So when he recently posted that he was shifting gears, I was bummed. It was like … Continue reading
Perplexity Drives Productivity
I think about the question mark every time I teach a lesson. I’ve been so carefully to get to this point. Yet sometimes my question mark comes from a path that looks like this. The opening part of the lesson is over … Continue reading
Posted in 3-Act Tasks, Intellectual Need, Modeling, Patient Problem Solving, Planning
Tagged 3-Act tasks, assiimilation, Dan Meyer, Open Middle, perplexity, Robert Kaplinsky
3 Comments
The Algebrafication of Kindergarten
Counting and cardinality is critical in kindergarten. Without it, all math fails. With that being said, counting can be extremely boring which causes many students to quickly lose focus. One thing I’ve tried to do this year is identify ways to engage … Continue reading
Posted in counting, Intellectual Need, Making Math Accessible, SMPs, Strategy Development, Teacher Content
Tagged Fawn Nguyen, manipulatives
3 Comments
Teaching Keywords? Forget About it!
I received an email from a principal in my district last Tuesday: Please send me info on why teachers should be careful about teaching kids to pull out keywords from word problems as a key way to define what operation to … Continue reading
Using Ten Frames: A means to modeling math
Grinding through testing season and I found a minute to get back in the classroom. Today, I was able to make it in a kindergarten class to wrestle with something Dan Meyer mentioned during his NCSM Webinar (my world rocked @ 7 minutes and 15 seconds). Dan said … Continue reading
Posted in Intellectual Need, Teaching in a Context
8 Comments
Chicken or Egg? Area or Perimeter?
I took some time last night to look through 3rd grade units from all over the map. I was amazed to see that about 95% of them suggested teaching perimeter first. Why is that? The two most common definitions 3rd … Continue reading