3-Act Tasks, 6-8, Against the Norm, Cheese Mover, Intellectual Need, Measurement and Data, Modeling
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...
K-2, Making Math Accessible, Math Tools, Measurement and Data, Number Sense, Strategy Development, Teacher Content
It’s never been a secret that Superman fears Kryptonite. But I think the same can be said for many 2nd grade teachers and the way they feel about teaching money. There’s no way around it…teaching money to students is hard. With money comes a level...
Making Math Accessible, Measurement and Data, Modeling, Patient Problem Solving, Teaching in a Context
I had the 2nd grade names and the information I needed, so I created this table and asked the students WDYN? Immediately students recognized the names of their 5 classmates and the perplexity session began! Lots of different ideas and “noticings” were...
Against the Norm, Intellectual Need, Measurement and Data, Teacher Content
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 graders give for area and perimeter are: Perimeter: you...
Making Math Accessible, Measurement and Data, Patient Problem Solving, Teaching in a Context
Our 3rd grade team has been working on area the past few days. This team of teachers is awesome to work with because (A.) they put up with me and (B.) their willingness to try “new ideas” and push themselves as educators. Some lessons have gone really...
