Thursday, June 30, 2011

Math Work Stations Book Study

It has been so long since I put anything on here. The end of the year was crazy busy and we had several family graduation parties. Other than that, I have just been trying to unwind. I spent a week getting up at six before my vacation mode kicked in!

In the meantime, I have been trying to catch up with the Debbie Diller Math Work Stations book study. I am fascinated to learn more about what 1st grade teachers do to teach math.

My district does not have a book or series that we use to teach. We have a binder that has a huge collection of materials from all sorts of sources, but it was created when the primary way of teaching was worksheet-based. Now, with our move into inquiry and the growing demands on the curriculum, the binders are sadly out of date! I have wanted to post something related to the book study, but sadly have little to share at this point.

I have always been a literacy person and have avoided expanding myself in math because I myself did not have a talent for math. As I have been delving into the CORE Curriculum that was adopted and modified by my state, I have developed a new appreciation for it. I have been the grade level chair and one of the curriculum writers for both ELA and math. There is something so frustratingly beneficial about tearing something apart and building it back up that helps you to understand how everything fits together - well sort of. Of course, the grade level curriculum is our best guess at how to work the CORE into what we do and how it will work for us.

I have loved every minute of the book study and am toying with the idea of putting one together for my building next year. It has been too long since I have done any staff development and I am missing it!