Questioning My Metacognition

In recent months, I’ve received a lot of questions asking how I create the progression videos. Here’s how it all goes down.

Step 1: Research

There are so many great resources available for early number concepts but I continually found myself coming back to Clements and Sarama for this progression. Their research is highlighted throughout Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics (PreK-2).  

I also leaned on the work of Cathy Fosnot and Kathy Richardson.  Every time I revisit their work I’m reminded how much room for growth I have as an educator. They keep me hungry.

Step 2: Sketch a draft progression

Step 3: Set the stage 

Lay out the manipulatives in order.

Adjust the high-tech overhead video capturing hardware system.

Roll out the butcher paper.

Step 4: Go Time

It never turns out right the first time…or the fifth time for that matter. The toughest part is that it all has to be done right in one shot.

 I jam out to music while working on the videos.

Step 5: Video Editing

I mute all the sound and speed up the entire video. I’ll slow roll small pieces where I need to verbally flesh out more understanding. The turtle and rabbit show where I played with speed.

I use Apple Motion for most of my video editing but for the progression videos, iMovie does the trick.

Step 6: The voiceover

I’ll highlight one or two things on index cards and let the rest flow. The toughest part is always the first 15 seconds.  That usually gets a full card so I don’t sound like a blundering fool. Although some may say that I still do.

Once the notes are scribbled, I open up Quicktime, start a new screen recording, play the video full screen, and do the voiceover.

Step 7: Publish and share

Here’s the published version of the Progression of Early Number and Counting. If you or your students give this a try I’d love to check it out.  If you have any questions just let me know.  All of us are smarter than one of us.

Cheers!

On Monday night I had the pleasure of presenting the webinar 3 Act Math Tasks: What They Are & Why You Need Them in Your Class.  The webinar was hosted by my good friend Christina Tondevold and focused on the implementation of 3-Act Tasks in the elementary grades.

Christina is doing some pretty amazing things within her online community, so I was more than honored when asked me to present.

Next month I’ll be presenting a 2-day workshop in Anaheim, Califonia hosted by Grassroots Workshops. The workshop will take place January 25-26 and is open to all K-5 teachers, coaches, and administrators.

Over the course of 2 days, we’ll examine the progressions of learning through the lens of 3-act tasks and other meaningful activities. For more information check out the video below or the workshop landing page at Grassroots Workshops.

There’s one more day until the holiday break and maybe this could be a learning gift from your administrator. There will be lots of takeaways which will make our time together, the gift that keeps on giving.

I’m excited to share the 4th installment of the Making Sense Series which explores meaning, equivalence, and comparison of fractions.

Fractions are the gatekeeper of algebraic thinking and probably a big reason why we suffer from arithmophobia as a society.  I’m hoping this progression helps provide some relief and courage moving forward.  Let’s make sense of fractions together.

Happy viewing and stay thirsty.

For the second year running, we tackled Ignite Talks at Georgia’s Math Conference.

Mike Wiernicki

Katie Breedlove

Jenise Sexton

Karla Cwetna

Carla Bidwell

Brian Lack

We recently finished up our state math conference here in Georgia. Last year I shared our Ignite Talks in this space and plan to do the same with our 2016 session.  As I edit the videos and prepare to release them, there’s one talk I’ve watched multiple times.

Carla Bidwell’s talk was a gut check and really spoke to me as a white educator. I hope it does the same for you.

All of us are smarter than one of us.

It’s tough to make a case for the analog clock in our digital world. I’ll leave the debate of its relevance up to the professionals. Nonetheless, the analog clock remains a staple in the majority of math curriculums.

Let’s take the following standard for example:

MCC2.MD.7 – Tell and write time from analog and digital clocks to the nearest five minutes, using a.m. and p.m.

One could say that this standard applied to a digital clock inadvertently supports the work of rounding in 3rd grade.  8:04 is nearest to 8:05.

But in the same breath, I can hear the conversations taking place when students try to apply the same understanding to the analogue clock.

“Which one is the minute hand? The long one is the hour right? No wait. Which one is the hour hand?”

What if we asked students to estimate the time with the hour hand and completely ignore the minute hand? Then, once they own the estimation of time using the hour hand we introduce the precision of time using the minute hand?

This is not a new idea and I’m definitely not the genius that thought of it. Patricia Smith and John Van de Walle have both tackled the issue of time well before this post.  I just figure the more that know the better.

So let’s give it a try…About what time is it?

Time we go to specials.

Recess time.

Time to go home.

Bed time.

A friend in my district reminded me of a conversation we had last year about using a one handed clock and it’s almost that time of year for 2nd and 3rd grade.

Share these pictures with your class and ask “What do you notice?”  Turn them into some kind of Time Talk and report back. I’d love to hear how it goes.

Does EVERY student need this clock? Not at all. It’s just another way to make learning accessible.  Remember what Dan said “You can always add to a lesson, you can’t subtract.”

The same applies for clocks as well.