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… The Case of the Impossible Triangles 3 Apr 20233 Apr 2023 The first thing I noticed when I walked into Caitlin's third grade class was that every student was, with bowed head, focused on writing in their math notebooks -- even…
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.…
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…
curriculum… The Learning that Led to Today 19 Apr 202219 Apr 2022 "You aren't these kids' first teacher, and you won't be the last."-Jennifer N. When I was an early career teacher, teaching 4th grade, I wanted to teach my students everything.…
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 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…
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…
in the classroom Coherence, Round 2: The Power of Connecting Instructional Routines 20 Sep 201720 Sep 2017 For a million reasons, I love, love instructional routines*. They engage students, active thinking and discourse, and, with the structures in place, students are given the freedom to focus on…
Jenna Laib 