Building Mathematical Comprehension–Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Increasing Comprehension By Asking Questions

I am one of the bloggers hosting! So excited!

I guess this post is more of a reflection on the specific topics/concepts the author develops.  Since I am moving to a new grade, I am rethinking how I teach math and how to apply some of these ideas in second grade.

I was really interested in this chapter because my district advocates for an Inquiry Based Teaching Method.  However, I am finding, at least at this point with the CORE Standards and a new math series, we are not as focused on inquiry .  In the last year we have really implemented the CORE full time and the focus was overwhelmingly on building basic fact fluency and content skills. In the long run, I think my students struggled with applying content to problem solving requirements on the state test.  I know that I want to work more on applying the content next year.

We \split our students across the grad level into more heterogeneous classes fro math and we have 55 minutes a day.  It has drastically changed the way I teach because I only have these students for 55 minutes and most of them are not in my homeroom. It puts a lot of pressure on to use the time wisely and efficiently.  It does not promote inquiry based teaching and that is really disappointing to me. I think some of the ideas in this book will really help me to make math more connected to the rest of the day for the kids, despite the fact that we form different classes for this subject.

Here are the concepts presented and my reflections:

Math as a Social Process

On page 119, Laney Sammons refers to math as a “social process”.  I guess I have never seen math as a social process. I think I do need to have my students interact with each other more frequently during math.  Maybe next year, since I  will not be in a testing grade, I will be able to have a little bit of freedom to mix it up.

Asking questions before, during, and after working with a math problem. 

Of course I think of this in reading, but not in math.  It refines what I had been trying to do with my students this year and will help me support my students in developing thinking skills in math with more consistency. 

Asking Questions Before Working to:

• Activate Prior Knowledge
• Develop problem solving strategies

Asking Questions During Working to:

• Determining missing information

Asking Questions After Working:

• Determining if an answer makes sense
• If the problem has been solved

Reasons to Ask Questions in Math

I like the idea of brainstorming reasons for asking questions during math – page121-124. This would be a great chart to kick of the year in math next year.

QAR

I also love the QAR reference! I think this would be really helpful to teach students for supporting problem solving, especially when approaching word problems.

Right There:

• Conceptual Questions - Using resources
• Problem-solving Questions - Information from the problem

Think and Search

• Reasons for using/learning concept
• Gathering information to solve the problem.

On my own

• How to use in real life
• Determining strategies and if a solution works

Thick an Thin Questions

Quick answer versus “Why” questions - I think teaching students the difference between computation type questions and more concept based questions would be really helpful.  This would also help students to make more connections between what they are learning and to reflect on their thinking when problem solving.

Strategy Sessions

The idea of teaching small groups was a goal of my last year, but I never felt like I had the time. This will be a goal for me next year.

Wonder Walls

I use this idea in the other content areas, but need to open up my thinking to use it in math.  I can see having a wonder wall and giving my students post-its to add as class ends.

"What’s the Question"

Again, another great idea!  I think that teaching students how to create questions given a specific set of ideas or perimeters would really support test-taking skills.  If they learn to be in control of creating questions to answer, the kids may better understand how to approach a question on an assessment.

I created a little freebie with 2 general posters, 2 strategy posters, and student bookmarks.  I think they will be helpful for my students next year.  Leap on over to my Teachers Pay Teachers site for your download!

Check out my co-hosts at these lovely blogs!

Also – don’t forget to follow on Bloglovin’! Click below to follow!

New Freebie–2 Hours Only!

I made a fun new freebies because I have summer on the brain!!! Check out this fun little watermelon craft to help your students share their plans for summer vacation.  The set includes patterns, blackline master, and a list of suggested summer books.  And…it’s free on TPT for 2 hours!  Check it out by clicking on the link!

Spring Freebie Linky and a Spring Break Sale!

Oh, my!  I am finally on spring break and am beyond exited about it!  10 whole days of sleeping in.  I plan to spend a lot of time working on the mega research project for my college class, but it is actually fun, so I don’t mind too much.

In celebration of spring break, I am having a 10% off sale in my TPT store until Monday!  Stop by for a visit and see if there is anything that interests you!

Teacher Tam’s Educational Adventures is having a Spring Freebie Linky Party!

I have had a nice start to my TPT store and am excited at the chance to share couple freebies!

I was suddenly inspired to create this freebie especially for this party and it turned out pretty cute!  Click on the images to check it out!

My Kindness Chains have been a pretty popular download.  They inspire random acts of kindness in the classroom.

The Spelling Freebie is one of the sample pages from my Spelling Activities for Any Unit.  The freebie page is a syllable sorting page.

Please check out some of these freebies and my other items if you are interested!

Have a wonderful weekend!

First 12 Linky and a Freebie

Lorraine from Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies is having a linky party to look back at the first 12 post of 2012 and reflecting on them.

 

• Randomness and Giveaways! – Haha!  complaining about going back to school after the break.  I guess nothing changes!  I did do come work before going back last year.  I WILL NOT feel guilty about that!
• Clutter! – I joined the Clutter-Free Classroom Project.  Well, that was a giant fail considering I packed my whole classroom.  It did help reduce the things I packed.  I think I need to go through that again because the number of things in my little classroom keeps growing!
• Blog Updates! – Oh!  I had made some updates to my blog!  I think it is time again.  I like to overall look, but want to redo my button.
• Leibster Award Love! – Ahh!  An award.  I love them because it means someone is still reading.  But, goodness they take forever to follow up on. Sad to say, the awards thing just wore me out last year.  I stopped following up after a while. 
• Go-To Books Linky Party – This was a great linky party  I t really helped me to think about what books influenced my teaching and I found some that I wanted to reread.
• Thank You! – Another award.
• A Few Random Things – I shared some organizational tips and a Valentine’s printable.  I still use the math organization and it is a blessing with the departmentalization of math this year.  It helps everything stay speedy!
• Pinterest Tips – I loved this post!  I use the search function to look up pins from my favorite blogs all the time.  The printing of your board is also really helpful!  I need to try that again!
• Clutter-Free Classroom Project…and Other Stuff – Again, the Clutter-Free project.  They were good rules.  Maybe I need to take a look at them again.
• Currently Linky Party – Hmm!  This currently was during a really busy time!  I was planning a baby shower, negotiating to switch grades, and applying to go back to college.  What was I thinking!  I always look back and think that, if things were that crazy then, I have no reason to complain now! Oh, I forgot about the 50th anniversary party and defunct reunion I was planning too…
• My Rules for Purging – Clutter-Free Project
• Organizing Centers – Hmm!  I wonder how I should start to organize my centers now?  After all, it took my five years to get them down in first grade!
• Wow! – haha!  I topped 100 followers!  I’ve been holding around the same number for a long time.  I try not to focus on that.
• New Toy! – The file bag!  I just pulled that out again..  Great tool – need to use it more consistently!

This was a fun linky party! I actually listed 14 posts because that’s how many I had in January last year. Check out any of the old posts if they interest you!

I also make a quick freebie.  We have departmentalized math classes and this is a huge adjustment to me.  I have been having a tough time tracking everything when 3/4 of the class is from another homeroom.  At any rate, I am not too much of a stickler for homework - only if I notice that it never gets done.  I am stepping up my game and created an "Oops Slip." Believe it or not, my teachers in elementary school used these to remind us to bring our homework back.  After 3 slips, we lost recess or had to have our parents sign the slip.  If it is something you can use, feel free to print.

On the Rebound

Well, this week has been so much better! I posted the other day with a Debbie Downer mentality.  I am still feeling a little bit not myself, but have rebounded.  Today is feeling better and I had a few things go well (knock on wood!) We also had a day off yesterday because of the weather on the East Coast!  Talk about a day to gather my wits!

In math, I have adapted my "Fact Clubs" to today's third graders.  Ten year ago, it was not a big deal to give basic fact quizzes and post the progress of the students in the classroom in a "club" format.  Today, that does not seem to be P.C., so I have revamped the idea with a race car focus.  My students are taking basic facts quizzes and tracking their progress in their math folders.  Each time they achieve 30/30 problems on their basic fact test, they move up to the next race, reducing their time by a minutes.  If they do not get 30/30, they "race" again at the same time and they LOVE IT!  I think I might actually post something on Teachers Pay Teachers!

My guided reading groups are on the rebound!  I started out with 5 chapters books and was driving myself crazy!  I used to know the books I used really well and after 10 years, that skill is just not there any more.  I had become so used to reading shorter, focused books with students who were reading aloud or sub-vocalizing, that reading with older students was throwing me for a loop!  I moved into a non-fiction text that was connected to our science unit and shorter texts.  I'm still figuring out what to teach and how to teach it best with third graders!

As an aside to the reading, I have decided to go back to the Beanie Babies for reading.  They were HUGE in first grade, but I was concerned they would be too babyish for third graders. I am planning to put the posters up in my classroom right next to my reading table to support the vast variety of skills my students are working on in the different groups.   The source for the posters took them down a few years ago, but I had saved the files to my computer.  There are many great posters inspired by those originals out there on the web.   I think these will be critical to my groups this year and plan to put them up as well.  A few years ago, I made posters with BBs for vocabulary and fluency. Click on the image to snag your own copies.

Have a great Halloween!

Freebies Galore!

I felt bad that I didn’t have any new freebies for followers.  The whole moving classrooms and grade levels has taken a lot out of me.  It’s like moving and redecorating a whole house.  I still wanted to participate in the Freebie Friday and I know that I have a few new followers, so I thought I would link up all my past freebies for folks to snag.

Writing Workshop Status of the Class Clip Chart:

Daily 5 Classroom Constitution:

Voice Level Clip Chart:

Beginning of the Year Class Puzzle:

Beginning of the Year Writing Activity:

Creative Writing Activity:

Grammar Roll, Say Keep:

Journal Bookmarks:

Planning Sheets: (Click on any picture to get the set.)

Supplies for Next Year/Student Supply Lists	Monthly Planning	Weekly Planning
Weekly Ideas/Centers	Volunteers Jobs

 

Problem and Solution Puzzle:

Sign for Retelling Popsicle Sticks:

Beginning, Middle, End Flap Book:

I hope you find some useful things!  Enjoy!