education… Inputs and Outputs 20 Oct 2025 I recently returned from NCTM in Atlanta. It was a beautiful week of learning and connection (and late night karaoke -- priorities). "Let's See What You're Saying." On Friday, I…
in the classroom How Many Nivelsnorts: Assessing Silly Story Problems 7 Nov 2024 This morning in grade 4, we asked students to write a story problem and solve 104 ÷ 8. I told students that they could write what they want, but it…
curriculum… Estimating Products and Co-Planning in Grade 4 30 Jun 2024 How do we get students to make sense -- make genuine sense -- of numerical operations? In a Grade 4 Classroom One of the fourth grade teachers invited me into…
in the classroom Fraction Intervention: Sonata for Eighth Notes in E Flat Major 24 Apr 202424 Apr 2024 As we waited for others to arrive, Ava couldn't help gushing about her weekend. Her parents had taken her to Montreal for the weekend to see Olivia Rodrigo in concert.…
curriculum… A Tale of Two Division Contexts 17 Apr 202417 Apr 2024 A few minutes after publishing my last blog post, "A Third Grade Dilemma: Dividing by Zero," I received an e-mail about it from my father. (We are the cutest family.…
assessment… How Amalia Multiplies: Listening and Learning from a Fourth Grader 19 Dec 2023 It's hard not to let our own bias creep into teaching situations. For one, our decision making processes thrive on context: what thinking has this student demonstrated about this topic?…
Uncategorized How We Listen: Astrid’s Thinking about 5 x 6 27 Mar 202327 Mar 2023 "Clinical interviews are an opportunity to listen closely," I caught myself telling a colleague recently. But... is that enough? How we frame the act of listening changes our entire experience.…
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… Preserving Equality — Algebraic Thinking Across Grade Levels 13 Feb 202313 Feb 2023 Equality is a fundamental concept of mathematics. The way that we can play around with values -- adjusting numbers slightly -- but maintain equality is fascinating, and differs between operations.…
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… “What Are You Hoping For?”: Facilitating the Number Boxes Game to Develop Reasoning – Learning with Teachers 8 Dec 20223 Feb 2023 Number Boxes is one of my favorite games to play. The set up looks similar to an Open Middle problem, with empty boxes that you will place digits into. Open…
games… “Oops, I Forgot”: Small, Beautiful Moments 2 Jan 20228 Oct 2022 I sat with fourth grade teacher Ms. Goldman in the back of her classroom as students cleaned up materials from the class. There were 15 minutes left in the school…
in the classroom The Half-Triangle: Attending to Precision and Building On Others’ Ideas 12 Dec 202111 Dec 2021 From Investigations: Grade 4, Unit 4, Investigation 2, Lesson 2 "This shape fits my rule," said 4th grade teacher Ms. Cohen, moving the green right triangle to the left side…
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…
education… 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…
curriculum… 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…
curriculum… 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 --…
games One of Favorite Games: The Skip Count Game 30 May 20198 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 Number Boxes and the Answer Is... I've played the…
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…
games One of My Favorite Games: The Answer Is… 28 May 20196 Jun 2019 This game is part of my "simple but high leverage" collection of games that are flexible, engaging, and easy to prep. Others include Number Boxes and the Skip Count Game. I have…
Jenna Laib 