education… Why Do I Love This Student Work: Examining Context & Bias 22 Oct 202423 Oct 2024 When we look at student work after school, long after the students have left the building, we make inferences -- guesses -- at what students were thinking. We ascribe meaning…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
curriculum… Turtle Time Trials & Leveraging Creativity To Deepen Mathematical Understanding 13 Nov 202212 Nov 2022 What if...? In a lot of tasks that we give students, there's an intended answer. Okay, sure, yes, I guess you could interpret the problem in this divergent way, but…
assessment… Restless Teachers 13 Oct 202213 Oct 2022 My favorite educators are restless. They have that itch. Nothing is ever completely satisfying. If you chat with them after a lesson, they'll tell you three things they would change.…
Uncategorized How Many Birds: Mathematizing “Two Many Birds” In First Grade, Part 2 28 Apr 202227 Apr 2022 I have been reading Allison Hintz and Antony Smith’s Mathematizing Children’s Literature (Stenhouse, 2022), and it has disrupted how I think about the use of children's literature in math class. In my…
formative assessment… Understanding Negative Numbers: In Praise of Tiny Games 1 Feb 202217 Jun 2022 "Is this right?" Inaya asked me, pointing to the equation she'd recorded on her paper: 5 + (-8) = -13 We are one week into our 7th grade unit on…
in the classroom More Peas, More Carrots: Student Agency in Representations While Problem Solving 16 Dec 2021 Today, the first graders revisited "Peas and Carrots." They had spent several days exploring part-part-whole thinking in the context of games like "how many are hiding?" and "counters in a…
in the classroom “Never Say Anything a Kid Can Say”: Peas and Carrots Edition 10 Dec 2021 Yesterday was an exciting day in first grade: the launch of peas & carrots! This is the first "how many of each?" problem in first grade. Students wrestle with two…
education… How Much Is Enough: Using Student Feedback to Reflect on Practice 28 Jun 202112 Jul 2021 Do students need to finish every problem? When I have asked this of colleagues, everyone has responding with a resounding no! Definitely not!Not every student needs that much practice.It's okay…
curriculum… 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. $latex \frac{1}{4}\times \frac{1}{3}$…
assessment… Choosing a Story to Tell: Examining a Lesson Close in 1st Grade 28 Aug 20196 Feb 2022 I had planned to spend my first time in Room 12 observing the classroom teacher and getting to know her students. Instead, the teacher texted me the day before to…
games… One of My Favorite Games: Number Boxes 29 May 20193 Feb 2023 This game is part of my "simple but high leverage" collection of games that are flexible, engaging, and easy to prep. Others include The Answer Is... and the Skip Count Game. I…
in the classroom The Striped Snake Barbecue Puzzle: Exploring “Challenge” in 3rd Grade 4 Mar 20196 Feb 2022 Who gets to be challenged in class? How does the work we give students impact their status (or how they perceive their status) in the classroom? Meet Calvin You've probably…
in the classroom Daysha at the Board: Assigning Competence 2 Mar 20195 Feb 2022 "Sit down, Daysha... Daysha." Six-year-old Daysha shot me an icy glare while she leisurely pumped hand sanitizer onto her open palm. The rest of her class was all sitting on…
education… “I see the same hands”: Dealing with Discretionary Spaces 12 Feb 201912 Feb 2019 The teacher frowned as she looked out at her 25 students, only 3 of which had their hands raised -- the same three students who always had their hands raised."I see…
assessment… What does it mean to be “struggling” in math class? (Eduardo’s Story) 5 Feb 20195 Feb 2019 It was a sea of dots. Eduardo's work for 47 + 27 Over and over again, for both computational and story problems, third grade student Eduardo drew dots. Eduardo's work,…
curriculum… “Why is the math teacher here for social studies?” 16 Jan 20196 Feb 2022 I slipped quietly into Room 304, trying not to distract the fourth graders, who were finishing up a writing assignment. I set up my laptop to project to the white…
Jenna Laib 