Math Rocks Reflection

As our Math Rocks program comes to an end I have been ask to reflect on my experiences this year and what I have learned.  I really feel like I have become a better math teacher through this experience and interestingly enough I don't feel like I really learned a new program.  Instead I feel like how I think about teaching math has transformed, which can be a hard thing to do.

I feel like my relationship with math has changed because I really have started to think about teaching math in a different way.  Math Rocks has taught me different ways to spark curiosity with my students.  Before Math Rocks I felt like I was engaging my students, but after letting them explore math instead of just learning it I have seen the level of engagement increase and concepts are better understood.

Math Rocks has also helped me spark curiosity with better beginnings to my class.  We learned about Estimation 180, Which One Doesn't Belong, and Math Talks.  This year I really have made a point of starting each class with one of these "warm ups," and I have stuck with it!  My students really love these activities, and I have seen a great improvement in their number sense and reasonableness.

Math Rocks has really helped me grow as a math teacher; however this has just sparked my curiosity too.  I hope to continue this math journey!

Area & Perimeter Open Middle Problem

For my first try at an Open Middle Problem, I posed the following question:

At first, the students groaned and said that it was too hard, and they didn't get it.  I told them to calm down and think about what the problem was asking.  Once they drew it out, they started to figure it out.  Here is what they came up with.  I have a small class and they all came up with the same answer and agreed they used the same strategy.

I really love that they tried a solution and then checked to see if there were any other solutions that were greater.  This gave them more practice solving area in just one problem.  As you can see they had a picture of a square and a rectangle.  They decided that the area of the square was bigger (256 sq. units).  So, I drew both on the board with their areas and asked how could that be the answer if that is a square and not a rectangle.  We got into a great geometry debate arguing if squares are rectangles.  We decided that squares are rectangles!

For the smallest area they came up with 31 sq. units.

What was even better was that after we did this problem, one of my students made a generalization that in order to find the smallest area for any rectangle, they would have to make two of the sides equal to 1. She also decided that in order to find the greatest area they could just make a square.  I wish we would have had more time to test out her theory on some other problems (hopefully we will tomorrow).  I love how this problem really made them think and check if their solution was correct.

Multiplication Number Talk

My 3rd graders were starting to do 2x1 multiplication, so I decided before we even had a lesson I wanted to see what they would do with the problem.  So, I gave them 18x6 to see what would happen.  As you can see below, there were several answers with some errors.  However, I could see that they understood multiplication.

We did our lesson on different strategies in class, and as soon as class was almost over I had a student ask if they could do another Number Talk because they thought they would do much better.  So, I planned this...

We did this Number Talk two days later and this is how it turned out.

I could really tell that they had a better understanding of the numbers and were using some more efficient strategies.  The student that was justifying 166 used the standard algorithm, but changed their thinking as they saw it written on the board.

Right now, I am continuing with some 2x1 problems, but I hope to move them into some 2x2 because they are struggling with those problems in class.  I hope it will help them better understand 2x2 multiplication as we move forward.

Canva

Our school is participating in a TechBit Challenge. One of our challenges was to do the first design challenge in Canva.  I did that, then ended up making a collage about our class.  I am glad this was one of the challenges because I tend to always use PicMonkey, but this is also a great tool for design.

Estimation 180

In my math classes I am trying to build Number Sense by focusing on using Number Talks and Estimation 180.  I am just getting started with Number Talks, but we have done Estimation 180 quite a few times in class already.  Right now I have started from Day 1 on Estimation 180 and have worked our way through the days, so the students can use their prior knowledge to make their estimates.  In the future, I will probably try to be more strategic about the days that I pick.  However, I kind of like the fact that it doesn't necessarily go exactly with the lesson each day.  I feel like it gives us a chance to review or discuss other concepts in math that we may not be focusing on that day.  

For each day, we discuss estimates that are "Too High" and "Two Low," then we talk about their actual estimates and how they got to the estimates.  When we first started estimating, we had a discussion about "taking risks" with their responses.  I am happy to say my students really have been doing this, since initially I thought my students may not take risks with their estimates.

  I really enjoy having these low pressure conversations with my students.  It really lets me understand the way they think in math, and they really like doing it.  I have already noticed them trying to use other strategies another student may have used the day before.  I love that they are all sharing and trying new things.  This site has really brought a new dimension to my classroom!

Student's Feelings About Math

I took the challenge to survey my students about their feelings towards math.  My results were not too surprising, but I feel like my results are a little skewed since I surveyed my 3rd-5th gifted and talented math class.  Apparently, they don't think math is so bad, which makes my heart happy!!  Now we just have to get other students on board.  I feel that if we continue to talk about math as a learning and growing experience, and not about being right wrong or wrong, these feelings could change.

New Year in 5th Grade Math

Last year was my first year teaching TAG math, so I definitely needed to brush up on my middle school math.  That being said, I did not feel like I got off to the best start last year with teaching my 5th graders, but soon after that it was much better.  Our first unit is Rational Number Concepts.  This year I feel like I did a much better job setting this foundation for my 5th graders.  We started by discussing the different types of numbers and creating an organizer in their notebook, so they were able to see the different classifications and how a number could belong to more than one group.

To deepen the definitions, we did "Always, Sometimes, Never" by rolling dice to fill in the blanks with Rational, Natural, Whole, and Integers, and Irrational Numbers.  

Ex:  A(n) Integer is a(n) Natural Number.  

The discussion that came out of this activity really allowed me to see who truly understood the definitions of each group.

We then sorted several types of Real Numbers into an big organizer on the floor.  Again, it was great to see the teamwork and discussions as they discovered where the numbers belonged.

I feel like my students truly understand the different types of numbers, and I am already feeling much better about 5th grade math this year!!