I often go to PD sessions where I learn new strategies to use in the classroom or am even reminded of things I used to do but for one reason or another haven't in awhile. However, often I write them down in my notebook and forget to implement them in my class.
Thanks to an ELL session I was at last night I had inspiration to do a placemat activity in Math. My grade 3 & 4 class have been doing multiplication for the last month or so. There is quite an array of learners & number sense in the classroom. Today I asked the students to write down all they know about multiplication using words, symbols, pictures and numbers in the placemat format. My students were absolutely silent working away in their own sections on the piece of paper. Some students even asked if they could look at their books to show examples of strategies that work for them. Others used the anchor charts in the classroom as inspiration. Afterwards we did a gallery walk and had a discussion on what they noticed about each other's work. One of the comments was that a lot of people used doubling. Someone else suggested that maybe doubling is a strategy that is easy for them. I hope that this activity gave voice to how my students think about multiplication as well as give them ideas of new ways to look at multiplication. Join me on this 31 day journey for the month of March with twowritingteachers.org and their 10th Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge. #sol17
3 Comments
3/16/2017 04:53:20 pm
I like all of the writing included in this activity. I will need to share this with our math teacher.
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Adrienne
3/16/2017 05:03:27 pm
What a great activity that allowed them to show you their strengths when it comes to multiplying. Very powerful and postive.
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AuthorI am a grade 3/4 teacher in Calgary, AB, Canada. This is a space for my reflections as an educator. ArchivesCategories |