Jenna Laib // Blog

@jennalaib

Embrace the Challenge

I am a math specialist near Boston, MA. Find me on twitter @JennaLaib. For the last few years, this blog has served as a way for me to process and reflect on my work. Scroll down to check out my latest posts, or use the menu to browse by category.…Continue reading “Embrace the Challenge”

five practices…

Which Shape Covers More: Orchestrating a Sixth Grade Math Debate

27 Sep 202022 Jun 2021

First, we must mourn for the loss of the Way We Used to Teach. I love my work. If I let you scroll through the photos on my phone, you'd…

Back to School PD: Sharing Participant Thinking

12 Sep 202011 Sep 2020

Last week, I facilitated a few PD sessions for elementary teachers in my district. There were some predictable -- and wildly unpredictable! -- tech hiccups. I stumbled over some words.…

#tmwyk

Caterpillar Math

20 Jul 202020 Jul 2020

This spring, my children fell madly in love with insects. Ants. Bees. Butterflies. We read books. We went exploring outside with magnifying glasses. We developed elaborate pretend play rituals based…

Crime and Punishment: A Tale of Changing Beliefs

26 Jun 202028 Jun 2020

"Man is what he believes."-Anton ChekhovWhat happens when those beliefs are unintentionally racist -- and never examined? This is a story of how I changed a belief I once held…

An Open Letter to the Seattle School Board

28 May 202026 Jun 2020

Last night, I sent off a letter to the Seattle School Board in support of Tracy Castro-Gill, the head of Seattle's Ethnic Studies Program Manager, who was recently removed from…

#tmwyk

Making Meaning with Arrays: More Preschooler Division

20 Mar 202020 Mar 2020

While my 2 year old napped, my 4 year old and I baked some chocolate chip muffins. "You know, mama, there are 4 people in all," she announced, while swirling…

Blindspots

5 Mar 202026 Jun 2020

---originally published on slowrevealgraphs.com -- In January, I chaperoned a field trip to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. We took in the larger-than-life portrait of George Washington and troops crossing…

Assessments: Capturing a Moment in Time

20 Feb 20205 Feb 2022

It can be tempting to overgeneralize what we learn from an assessment. See how that second grader drew tally marks to solve 54 + 28? He's a direct modeler. He…

Everyone Gets A Handful: Preschoolers Explore Division

28 Jan 20205 Feb 2022

One bag of cheese puffs. Four hungry children. My two children -- ages 4 and 2 -- had been playing with friends -- ages 4 and 8 -- when my…

in the classroom

Debate in Kindergarten: Building Appreciation for Ten Frames

20 Jan 202020 Jan 2020

If we want students to harness the power of visual representations -- to own them -- students need to understand why that representation is important. Visual representations can be elegant…

Reflections on the Problem-Based Learning (Symmetry Mini-Unit)

10 Jan 20206 Feb 2022

This is the last post in the series on experimenting with problem-based learning in Claire's fourth grade class. The other posts in the series are: Getting Started with Problem Based…

Problem Based Lesson #3: Learning From One Another in Grade 4

9 Jan 202026 Jun 2020

This is a post in a series about problem based instruction in fourth grade -- centering on a series of lessons classroom teacher Claire* and I taught about symmetry. This…

Problem Based Lesson #2: Making Connections with Symmetry in Grade 4

8 Jan 20205 Feb 2022

This is a post in a series about problem based instruction in fourth grade -- centering on a series of lessons classroom teacher Claire* and I taught about symmetry. This…

Problem Based Lesson #1: Launching Symmetry in Grade 4

7 Jan 202026 Jun 2020

This is a post in a series about problem based instruction in fourth grade -- centering on a series of lessons classroom teacher Claire* and I taught about symmetry. Part…

Getting Started with Problem Based Learning in Grade 4

6 Jan 202026 Jun 2020

What are the conditions that inspire teachers to take on problem based instruction? This isn't a story about how you can determine when a teacher -- novice or experienced --…

Using Diagrams to Build and Extend Student Understanding

16 Dec 20196 Feb 2022

Co-authored by Kristin Gray (@MathMinds) Originally published on the Illustrative Mathematics Blog (November 25, 2019) Take a moment to think about the value of each expression below. $latex \frac{1}{4}\times \frac{1}{3}$…

Building Mental Representations

25 Nov 201917 Nov 2019

"Sabrina is fascinating. She will look at a problem for three minutes, not appearing to be thinking about it at all, and then come up with the correct answer," her…

Cultivating Mathematicians… of All Ages

21 Nov 201921 Nov 2019

Original published for @autismplusmath 's Guest Blogger Week at: cake.co/c/kyVnSVj"I mean, you know... I'm not a math teacher," said Jessica*, who teaches Kindergarten. She didn't whisper this confession in an…

Using Instructional Routines to Inspire Deep Thinking

21 Oct 20195 Feb 2022

Originally published on the Illustrative Mathematics blog (October 13, 2019). We want students to think about math deeply. Creatively. Analytically. Instead, what often happens is that students race towards quick solutions. So…

The Story of Fibonacci, and the Math Ethnic Studies Framework

17 Oct 201917 Oct 2019

In the late 12th century, a young Leonardo Bonacci -- better known as Fibonacci -- traveled with his merchant father from their home in Italy to Algeria (North Africa). They…