in the classroom Anderson’s Endless Zeroes 12 Apr 202512 Apr 2025 Who makes the mathematical laws? Autodidact Abraham Lincoln managed to become a lawyer in spite of his lack of a formal education. After serving one term in the US House…
curriculum… Purposeful Number Choices: Fraction Subtraction 24 Jan 2024 Today, I introduced Number Boxes (blog #1, blog #2, blog #3) to a fifth grade class. (Read blog #1 for the rules to the game.) The teacher was looking to…
games… Fraction Addition: Playing a Game With Many Shades of Fluency 5 Jan 2024 Today in grade 5, we played Addition Compare with Fractions (Investigations, Grade 5, Unit 3). Students draw fraction cards, calculate the sum, and compare sums. My description there is deceptively…
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…
#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… Windows and Mirrors: Fair Shares for Eid al-Adha 2 Aug 20212 Aug 2021 A man's true wealth is the good he does in the world. Hadith attributed to Prophet Mohammed (ra) Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha was a little over two weeks ago. It…
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. $latex \frac{1}{4}\times \frac{1}{3}$…
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…
in the classroom You’re Both Right: Examining and Honoring Mathematical Assumptions 21 Mar 201922 Jun 2021 Even from across the room, there was no mistake: Jacob and Ian were deep into a mathematical debate. Jacob had pulled his chair up to Ian's desk, and they were…
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…
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,…
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 