Uncategorized “Is zero a number?”: Interviews with a Whole Class of Kindergartners 19 Sep 202319 Sep 2023 When I first became a math specialist in my district, I was assigned to work with upper elementary, middle school, and... kindergarten. I had never worked with kindergartners in an…
Uncategorized Featured in EdWeek: “Graphs Are Hard for Students to Digest. Can a ‘Slow Reveal’ Help?” 28 Aug 202330 Aug 2023 Last May, EdWeek journalist Sarah D. Sparks contacted me regarding an upcoming article about data science in K-12 education. I was immensely flattered that she wanted to schedule a time…
Uncategorized Eight Cupcakes #tmwyk 27 Aug 2023 How can we arrange 8 cupcakes in a pan that has space for 12? In my last post, I wrote about a conversation I had with my 7yo daughter, S,…
#tmwyk 55 Points at the Arcade #tmwyk 16 Jul 2023 How many different ways can you spend your prize tickets? My daughter, S, just finished first grade, where she worked on composing and decomposing both shapes and numbers. (Here are…
in the classroom The Desmos Art Project 29 Jun 202313 Feb 2024 In the last week of two of school, the 8th graders worked on Desmos art projects. It is a glorious capstone to their K-8 math experience at our school. The…
assessment… Seeing the World through One Kindergartner’s Eyes 18 May 2023 Sometimes I see Hassan, a kindergartner at my school, at the local mosque where my daughter attends Sunday School. I always wave brightly: "salamu alaykoum! Good to see you, Hassan!"…
education… Fractions in Fractions: Sparking Creative Mathematical Thinking 9 May 2023 Third Grader Owen was ready for third grade math a while ago. I only met him recently, but I'm guessing he was ready in... second grade? First? It's unclear. Something…
in the classroom “Teachable Moments,” and a Tale of Two Detours 27 Apr 2023 Throughout my preservice teacher program, there were many conversations about "capitalizing on the teachable moment." They were mystical -- cinematic, even. At some point, good fortune would smile on you,…
curriculum… The Case of the Impossible Triangles 3 Apr 20233 Apr 2023 The first thing I noticed when I walked into Caitlin's third grade class was that every student was, with bowed head, focused on writing in their math notebooks -- even…
#tmwyk Bugs Jump Really High #tmwyk 1 Apr 20231 Apr 2023 "Mama! Bugs can jump so high!" I turned my head quickly, expecting to see a large insect launching itself into the air. Nothing. It turns out, five year old N…
Uncategorized How We Listen: Astrid’s Thinking about 5 x 6 27 Mar 202327 Mar 2023 "Clinical interviews are an opportunity to listen closely," I caught myself telling a colleague recently. But... is that enough? How we frame the act of listening changes our entire experience.…
#tmwyk… Ramadan Pizzas: Mathematizing Children’s Literature #tmwyk 22 Mar 2023 Tonight marks the start of Ramadan! To honor it, I went to my daughter's first grade class to read the book The Gift of Ramadan, written by Rabiah York Lumbard…
in the classroom “It’s as fat as it is tall”: Language and Concept Development with Quick Images 7 Mar 2023 Some days, things just go sideways. It's the reality of teaching. I watched as Grade 1 teacher Rachel led her students into the classroom fifteen minutes later than usual. Rachel…
assessment… Listening to Understand: Visualizing Adrian’s Thinking about Comparing Fractions 26 Feb 202326 Feb 2023 Marilyn Burns recently blogged about a 38 second video clip that I probably spent 380 seconds watching. (click on the image below to read the post -- but then come…
curriculum… Preserving Equality — Algebraic Thinking Across Grade Levels 13 Feb 202313 Feb 2023 Equality is a fundamental concept of mathematics. The way that we can play around with values -- adjusting numbers slightly -- but maintain equality is fascinating, and differs between operations.…
in the classroom Peas and Carrots… and Beans 9 Feb 20238 Feb 2023 Last year, our first grade team had the opportunity to work with Investigations authors from TERC -- the inimitable Karen Economopolous, with Megan Murray in absentia. To prepare for our…
in the classroom Creating Practice Opportunities with Games 8 Feb 20238 Feb 2023 In my district, we are fortunate to have core curricula that provide meaningful learning opportunities, that have helped us build coherence in terms of both content and practices across K-8.…
in the classroom Using Slow Reveals to Illuminate Tiny but Powerful Details in Graphs 2 Jan 2023 This blog post was originally published on SlowRevealGraphs.com Last week, a middle school social studies teacher and I co-planned a slow reveal graphs lesson to launch a project about current events…
games… Facilitating Number Boxes, Part 2 – Supporting Reasoning with Representations (Learning With Students) 15 Dec 20223 Feb 2023 "Hmm.. 8 + 3. Let's put the 8 in the ten frame. If we add 3, will it be more than, less than, more equal to 10?" Kyleigh missed parts…
assessment… I Don’t Speak Russian, But… 13 Dec 2022 My mother-in-law speaks three languages fluently -- and none of them are English. Her speech dances between Arabic and French and Algerian, and I do my best mental gymnastics to…
Jenna Laib 