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”

formative assessment…

“Which is Greener?”: Connecting Fractions, Percents, and Ratios in Sixth Grade

16 Jun 201719 Sep 2017

Math should tell a story -- through the structure of units, and the structure of a year. There is no singular correct narrative; instead, I find joy in weaving different…

in the classroom

Making Connections during Number Talks

All hands shoot up in 1M, a first grade classroom. The students strain their arms, employing arched eyebrows and pursed lips to entreat me to call on them. Of course, once I…

Breaking the “100 Barrier” with Jamal

10 Mar 201727 Nov 2018

“98, 99…” Second grader Jamal and I had worked for a full month -- one-on-one, four days per week -- to develop his sequencing skills and mental number line. Every time we made it…

in the classroom

Inaba’s Place Value Puzzles: Making Connections and Asking “What If”

21 Feb 201713 Feb 2019

Last week, my sixth graders helped me make connections between a puzzle I used in third grade and their current work with place value, specifically multiplying and dividing by powers of…

formative assessment…

The Intersection of Fraction Talks & Clothesline Math: Formative Assessment and the Five Practices

8 Feb 201722 Jun 2021

My sixth graders are weary of pre-assessments. No matter how many times we discuss the goal of a pre-assessment – for me to learn more about their current strategies and…

in the classroom

There Are Only Two Ways: Making Conjectures in Second Grade

27 Jan 201723 Feb 2017

Today, I led a quick "finger math" warm up in a second grade classroom. In honor of reaching "half way day" -- the half way point in the school year! --…

Counting to 10 in Danish: Learning from Students, Colleagues + the #MTBoS

23 Jan 201727 Nov 2018

I started this post yesterday, and then read a blog post by Kyle Pearce that filled in some of the gaps in my own thinking. Once again, I feel indebted…

Response to Michael Pershan’s Essay, Part 2

13 Jan 201723 Feb 2017

Read Michael's essay, "Missing Factors: On Learning What You Don't Know." Read Part 1: Counting with Celine, about a student I worked with for five years. It was bittersweet to…

Counting with Celine / Response to Michael Pershan’s Essay, part 1

13 Jan 201723 Feb 2017

I read Michael Pershan’s essay, "Missing Factors: On Learning What You Don't Know," twice. He described a familiar experience: when students seem stuck with operational fluency, in spite of our…