Posts Tagged ‘math’
Communication is at the Heart of Mathematical Literacy
Mathematical literacy has become a serious problem in the United States. Computation, drill and practice have often been the means to a less than stellar mathematical end. Mathematician Keith Devlin says, “The problem many people have with school arithmetic is that they never get to the meaning stage; it remains forever an abstract game of…
Read MoreEstablishing an Environment for Mathematics
Look around most elementary classrooms, and you’ll see evidence that language arts learning is taking place. The question then becomes do you see evidence that mathematics is just as important. Probably not. Most classroom environments are literacy rich and mathematics poor. A mathematics rich classroom is a place where students are surrounded by math…a place…
Read MoreMath Stretches
Runners stretch before a race, so that their muscles are warm and ready to perform at optimum levels. Just like those athletes, our students need to warm-up to get their brains focused and ready for quality thinking and learning. Math Warm-ups are an important component of Laney Sammons’ Guided Math framework. When we give our…
Read MoreRegister NOW for the 2016 K-5 Guided Math Institute!
K-5 Math Institute Using the Guided Math Framework to Promote Deep Mathematical Understanding with Laney Sammons and Donna Boucher July 25-28, 2016 Click HERE for the REGISTRATION FORM Event Details Pricing: The cost of this workshop is $600.00 per person and includes the following: • Breakfast each morning • Lunch each day • Workshop materials…
Read MoreMath Talk = Deeper Understanding
Creating a classroom environment where students are immersed in real life math tasks and quality math talk is essential for creating deeper understanding of mathematical concepts. The first Standard for Mathematical Practice is to Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. Daily math talk puts this standard into practice and creates a safe setting…
Read MoreMath Anxiety? Here's an Idea to Help
Did you read ERG’s blog about there’s no such thing as a math gene? Do you as a parent dread helping your child with math homework because you are unsure of your math skills? Are you looking for something to help you and your child gain skills and confidence in math? Then the answer may…
Read MoreSites to Support Math
After reading one of those brightly colored teacher mugs that said, “3 out of every 2 people have trouble with math,” we quickly recanted – It doesn’t have to be that way! Getting our students excited about math and creating genuine understanding is something we can achieve. Here are a few resources that might help…
Read MoreDrawing Pictures/Counting Fingers
The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple. -S. Gudder What a true statement! While we need to learn math facts and rules, they are not an end unto themselves. Math is about discovering new ways to think about numbers. Counting fingers and drawing pictures are…
Read MoreMath Conferences are Noteworthy
Math conferences are instructional tools that allow us to connect with our students, follow their reasoning, and determine their mathematical understanding. These one-on-one interactions allow us to find out comprehensive information about what a student truly knows and what areas need to be addressed. Conferences can be brief and informal, but are time well spent…
Read MoreQuick Ways to Assess in Math
Assessment is a vital part of teaching. Without feedback teachers don’t have the information they need to see if a child “gets it” or not. However, most educators think of assessment in terms of tests such as those from the state, district, or school. In math daily quick assessments can be easily done without much…
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