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 Where’s the Action: Kindergartners Representing Stories in Math Class 28 May 202428 May 2024 Over the years, I've come to call word problems 'story problems,' even though the story can be pretty weak. "There are 5 balloons. Three are blue, and the rest are…
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.…
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…
in the classroom “It Has All the Numbers on the Clock”: Context and Connections 2 Oct 2023 I'm fascinated by how student ideas are shaped by context: what are the big ideas in our current unit? How did we launch the activity? We make connections -- constantly!…
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…
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.…
in the classroom Peas and Carrots… and Beans 9 Feb 20238 Feb 2023 Last year, our first grade team had the opportunity to work with Investigations authors from TERC -- the inimitable Karen Economopolous, with Megan Murray in absentia. To prepare for our…
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.…
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… What Will Help Plan for Tomorrow? 31 Mar 2022 What do I need to know about student thinking today before I teach tomorrow? Towards the end of a math lesson, this refrain plays in my head. ______ In third…
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 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 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…
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…
in the classroom… Digging in the Closet: The Return of the Museum of Rarely Used Math Manipulatives (MoRUMM) 18 Nov 202112 Dec 2021 My officemate and I have an embarrassment of riches -- in the form of math materials. In the first district where I taught, manipulatives were hard to come by. My…
curriculum… Making Space to Listen and Observe 29 Sep 2021 My school recently adopted TERC's Investigations in Number, Time, and Space. The cornerstone of this curriculum is listening to, centering, amplifying, and leveraging student ideas. Many of the embedded assessments…
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.…
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…
Jenna Laib 