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…
five practices… Stenhouse Blog Post: Using Student Work as an Anchor for Mathematical Discourse (Something to Talk About) 11 Jan 20221 Jan 2022 This blog post was published on the blog for Stenhouse Publishing, as part of a series on classroom discourse. You can read the complete post on the Stenhouse website. While…
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…
education… 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.…
curriculum… 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…
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…
in the classroom The Cookie Recipe: Learning Math from Students 1 Apr 201919 Mar 2024 Fourth grade teacher Alicia and I have a beautiful habit of doing math together when planning. We try out problems, and anticipate ways we think students. (It is rare that…
five practices… Leading Act 3: Using the 5 Practices & Intentional Talk To Deepen Discourse About the “Whopper Jar” 3 Oct 201727 Oct 2022 The books 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions (Smith and Stein, 2011) and Intentional Talk (Kazemi and Hintz, 2014) have helped me transform how I facilitate discussions. I try my best…
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…
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…
Jenna Laib 