Minds on Math Book Study-Chapter 10 "Sharing and Reflection"

If this is your first time joining our book study please click on the button above and it will link to all previous posts.  Feel free to go back and add a link to any previous chapters.  You can link up your post on Chapter 10 at the bottom of this post.  Please visit the other bloggers who have linked up below and leave them comments.  Lots of great ideas are being posted on other blogs! Also check out previous chapters as links are still being added by other bloggers.

Twitter chat update:  Our first twitter chat for our book study Minds on Mathematics Using Workshop Model to Develop Deep Understanding in Grades 4-8 will be this coming Tues night July 30th at 7:00 PM CST, 8:00 PM EST.  We will use the hashtag #momathchat for our chat.  Please join in and feel free to invite any other math teachers.  Hope many of you are able to join in! If you have never joined a twitter chat please check out the following link explaining How to participate in a Tweet Chat.  Make sure you have a twitter account if you want to join the chat.  If you have any questions feel free to contact me.  I hope many of you who have been participating in our book study are able to join the chat and I would love for anyone curious about workshop model in math to also join in. Anyone is welcome to participate.

I am blogging early this AM because I have a grad class the next three days 8-4 on Math Workshop.  I'm really looking forward to being able to collaborate with my 7th Grade math team as we are all taking the class.  For today's post I will just be posting my thoughts on the chapter.  I did not have time to do a summary as I have been doing.

This chapter is so important because sharing and reflection is really key to making sure the learning "sticks" for students.  Metacognition gives students a chance to focus on what they learned and synthesize their understanding of the concepts.

The purpose of sharing is for students to think about their own ideas and to evaluate their thinking.  It's important for the teacher not to jump in and take away the student's chance of explaining his thinking.  We need to facilitate the students' sharing of ideas.

Reflection is the learner considering his own growth and progress as a mathematician.  The author gives some great reflection prompts on pages 162-163.  This reflection can be oral or written.  This reflection time is so important for the students to solidify their learning and to be able to justify their thinking to others.  This is such an important component to the workshop model and I can see how it is easy to run out of time when you only have a 60 min period (and some of you less) everyday.  I think I will need to have some sort of system in place to make sure we save enough time at the end of class for sharing and reflection.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this book study.  I have enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts and ideas.  Many people have posted new links to previous chapters that I still need to check out and encourage all of you to go back and check for new links so you can gain another perspective.  I hope you all are able to join our #momathchat tonight 7-8 CST.  I would also love for us to do some follow up posts this year as we implement the workshop model into our math classrooms.  I will continue to do blog posts as I develop this model in my classroom.

Minds on Math Book Study-Chapter 9 "Conferring"

If this is your first time joining our book study please click on the button above and it will link to all previous posts.  Feel free to go back and add a link to any previous chapters.  You can link up your post on Chapter 9 at the bottom of this post.  Please visit the other bloggers who have linked up below and leave them comments.  Lots of great ideas are being posted on other blogs!

Twitter chat update:  Our first twitter chat for our book study Minds on Mathematics Using Workshop Model to Develop Deep Understanding in Grades 4-8 will be this coming Tues night July 30th at 7:00 PM CST, 8:00 PM EST.  We will use the hashtag #momathchat for our chat.  Please join in and feel free to invite any other math teachers.  Anyone is welcome to participate.  Hope many of you are able to join in! If you have never joined a twitter chat  I will be sure to do a blog post (or link some resources) explaining how it all works.  Make sure you have a twitter account if you want to join the chat.

This chapter really gave me lots to think about as I plan to confer with my students this coming school year.  I did some conferring last year, but I didn't use a systematic approach and I did not do a good job of collecting data on students.  I collected data, but I don't think it was meaningful.

I look forward to implementing the three-step approach as I confer with students.  I like the idea of breaking the session into research, coach, reflect/record.  I need to spend some time thinking about the best record keeping system to use while conferring.  I don't know if it makes sense to go digital or not.  Has anyone used a digital system for conferring?  I would be curious to hear about the pros and cons.  I am visualizing that if I used a paper system I would maybe have a separate clipboard for each class hour.  I'm not sure if I would want a separate sheet for each student or not.  I have my workshop class this coming week Tues-Thurs so I will have some dedicated time to focus on everything we have been reading about in our book study.

I do have to say that last year when I conferred with students the class was great about not interrupting. I would have each student come up to the front table to meet with me.  If someone was at the table the other students knew they were not allowed to interrupt for anything short of an emergency.  The students handled it just fine, but I really only conferred on days they were working on the computer based MATHia program.  Doing it this year during work time on challenging tasks might be a different story.

I think it will be important for me to set up the guidelines and expectations for conferring in our classroom right from the beginning of the school year.  What excites me the most is making a connection with each individual students, especially that small percent that rarely volunteer in class.  I will be able to gain valuable information and data that will help me personalize learning for my students.  I think that is one of the key reasons for implementing a workshop model in my classroom.  I'm getting so excited to see how this all works our classroom this fall.

Minds on Math Book Study-Chapter 8 "Work Time"

If this is your first time joining our book study please click on the button above and it will link to all previous posts.  Feel free to go back and add a link to any previous chapters.  You can link up your post on Chapter 8 at the bottom of this post.  Please visit the other bloggers who have linked up below and leave them comments.  Lots of great ideas are being posted on other blogs!

This chapter was full of practical ideas and advice for how to best structure student work time during workshop.  One thing that really spoke to me was being really explicit in letting students know the what, why, and how of a task.  When I have students collaborate in groups I will assign them certain problems.  I always give examples of what I am looking for and we typically solve a similar problem as a whole class before they work in groups.  I like the idea of taking the time to make sure that students really understand what is expected of them while completing the task.

I need to work on structuring myself during this time to be conferring with students and gathering data. I loved the questions posted on page 134 for when students become "stuck".  I need to not jump in and give them the answer, but help guide them to discover it themselves.  I think it would be great to have these questions on a clipboard as I walk around the room during work time.

The section on planning for groups was interesting and something I really struggle with.  I will obsess for way too long trying to figure out the "perfect" group design.  I need to be more flexible in using different methods for creating groups.  Last year my students either worked in partners or table groups.  Table groups would be 4-5 students.  I really need to spend some time reflecting on the size of groups and how often I change them up.  I am curious to know how often people change around their groups.  From a seating chart stand point I usually change groups once a quarter.

When we did MATHia (which is our personalized computer component) I would group students by what unit and section they were on so they were working with other students at the same pace as themselves.  These groups could change daily as the students would progress though the software.  I do have to say that my students loved being in these groups and also that they were always being changed up.  It was easy enough for me to do these groups by running a report and then just highlighting groups to sit together.  Students still worked independently, but had the option of helping each other troubleshoot of they needed it.

I definitely need to spend some time looking through the tasks given in the Carnegie collaborative classroom text and doing some differentiation based on content, product, or process.  I also find it interesting that Ward Hoffer has made mention several times that you need to have additional responsibilities for students to attend to if they complete the assigned math workshop task.  She gives examples of possible tasks:  additional practice, supporting others, reading about math, or practicing basic skills games.  I have previously used learning stations in my classroom with great success.  I plan on incorporating these as some additional tasks for when students finish their workshop tasks.

I am trying to figure out where Ward Hoffer sees working on homework fitting into this workshop model.  You could obviously have students start working on a homework assignment once the work time task is done, but she has not alluded to homework, other than talking about not spending too much of your opening time correcting homework.  I will really need to see where homework figures into this model.  Hopefully some of you will have thoughts to share on this.

Thanks everyone for commenting or linking up below.  This book study have been so great and I have loved reading everyone's comments and blog posts that have been shared.

Minds on Math Book Study-Chapter 7 "Minilessons"

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This chapter did an excellent job of explaining the purpose of the minilesson portion of workshop and then also giving some great ideas of types of minilessons to do with your students.  I love the idea that your focus can vary from day to day when doing your minilesson.  The author gave some great examples of how to incorporate thinking strategies and the mathematical practice standards during this time.

I think that due to the fact that the minilesson is supposed to take ten minutes or less, it's really important to plan carefully what you want to accomplish during that time.  This is a shift from demonstrating procedures and showing students how to solve problems, to having them think like a mathematician as the teacher models reasoning processes and thinking.  We are using the minilesson to launch independent problem solving as students move into work time.

It's important for teachers to debrief with students at the end of the minilesson to help them take ownership of the problem solving process.  This is also a great time to implement some type of formative assessment to check for student understanding.  This formative assessment can help you decide if there are students that will need additional support to get started during work time.  That way you won't have students doing nothing during work time because they still aren't ready to complete the task independently.

Math Workshop Grades 4-8 Twitter Chat

I would like to schedule a twitter chat for our book study Minds on Mathematics  Using Workshop to Develop Deep Understanding in Grades 4-8.  If you are visiting for the first time you can click the button above to see all previous posts about our book study.  

Several people have expressed interest in doing a chat because it would be an easier way for everyone to connect and share ideas about the book.  Please continue to link up your blog posts for every chapter so they are there as a resource for anyone wanting to know more about the book.

Just leave a comment below on what days/times work best for you to chat on twitter or if you prefer you can leave me a comment on twitter @luvbcd  Remember that you do not have to be in the book study to participate in the twitter chat.  It would just help your understanding of the discussion, but everyone should feel free to join in.  We'd love to hear from anyone who has already done a workshop model in the math classroom.

We'll try and schedule a chat this coming week and see how things go.  Thanks for all that are participating.  Leave a comment with your preference for chat time/day.

*UPDATE*  Twitter chat for Minds on Math Book Study will be Tues. July 30 7-8PM CST 8-9PM EST.  Please join the chat by following #momathchat

Minds on Math Book Study-Chapter 6 "Opening"

If this is your first time joining our book study please click on the button above and it will link to all previous posts.  Feel free to go back and add a link to any previous chapters.  You can link up your post on Chapter 6 at the bottom of this post.  Please visit the other bloggers who have linked up below and leave them comments.  Lots of great ideas are being posted on other blogs!

I enjoyed Chapter 6 on the Opening.  I have always had a routine of students completing a warm-up while I circulate around the room stamping homework.  I know many times the warm-up might get cut out because of time or what we were doing that day.  I really need to make sure the opening is really setting the stage for what we are doing in class that day.  There are so many possibilities of what can be done those first five minutes.  The most important thing is that we want to get students engaged in and thinking about math.

I loved the table on page 95 where the author gave examples of how you can use the seven thinking strategies when working on a problem or when discussing a concept.  I really need to start implementing these thinking strategies as I continue to put greater emphasis on the Standards for Mathematical Practice in my classroom discussions (and workshop opening).

I think this chapter seems so obvious and common sense about the importance of the opening, but it's so easy for a busy teach to gloss over or skip this part completely.  We really have to establish this integral part of the workshop routine in our classrooms on a daily basis.  By carefully planning out those first few minutes of class we are sending a message to students about what we value, expect, and hope.

Thanks for joining in everyone!

Minds on Math Book Study-Chapter 5 "Discourse"

If this is your first time joining our book study please click on the button above and it will link to all previous posts.  Feel free to go back and add a link to any previous chapters.  You can link up your post on Chapter 5 at the bottom of this post.  Please visit the other bloggers who have linked up below and leave them comments.  Lots of great ideas are being posted on other blogs!

This chapter was filled with lots of great examples of how to promote effective discourse in your mathematics classroom.  It is so important to model for our students what we expect them to be doing during discussions.  One of my favorite sections in this chapters was on creating an atmosphere of respect for thinking.  I loved the example where the little girl said, "I disagree with myself".  We need to create a classroom culture where students take risks to share their ideas knowing that others might disagree or ask for clarification.  By inviting peer comments and questions students begin critiquing each others' work and thinking.

We need to be careful as teachers that we don't shut down the opportunity for great discourse by jumping in with an affirming comment, causing the students to stop sharing.  I know I have a habit of doing this and really need to work on keeping the discussion going by doing things like promoting questioning, inviting comparison, checking for agreement, and encouraging divergent thinking.  I like the idea of having sentence stems for students for students to explain their thinking of to respond to the ideas of others.

Taking time to uncover errors is another thing I really need to spend more time focusing on.  Students come to us with many mathematical misconceptions, some of which they hold on to very tightly.  It is worth our time and effort to analyze these errors which will lead to a deeper understanding of the concept.

Moving forward I see many strategies I will employ this year as I transition to math workshop.  I felt my students had very rich discourse this past year, but see so many areas where I can take them to the next level which will promote a much deeper understanding of the math they are learning.

Thanks everyone for joining our discussion on Chapter 5!

Minds on Math Book Study-Chapter 4 "Community"

If this is your first time joining our book study please click on the button above and it will link to all previous posts.  Feel free to go back and add a link to any previous chapters.  You can link up your post on Chapter 4 at the bottom of this post.  Please visit the other bloggers who have linked up below and leave them comments.  Lots of great ideas are being posted on other blogs!

I really enjoyed this chapter.  There were so many ideas that I really connected with.  I love the idea and completely agree that a learning community to be authentic is a culture you create in your classroom not a structure.  If we want students to behave like mathematicians then we need to establish a classroom culture where we treat them as such.  This was my big ah hah in this chapter.

This chapter has really given me a lot to think about as I plan to implement the workshop model in my classroom this fall.  I really agree with the author that you need to take some time the first few days of having students to create the culture of your classroom.  

My students worked in collaborative groups last year.  I was impressed with how well things went, but there is definitely lots of room for improvement.  One of the "yeah, buts" in this chapter was about about special needs students.  I saw some very impressive results in my special ed inclusion hours.  Students that would never raise their hands to answer questions would be able to discuss their answers as part of their small groups.  I really felt some students that I would normally never hear from if I taught to the large group, would give feedback in their small groups.  It was something to see.

I want to challenge you all to not underestimate what your students are capable of doing as far as collaboration goes.  I started out with my accelerated class because I knew they would do great and they did.  It took me a whole extra quarter before I finally jumped in with my regular classes (two of which are special ed inclusion hours).  I kept thinking it would not work in those other classes.  What I found was it worked great (maybe not as easily as with the accel, but great nonetheless).

This goes back to a previous chapter where Wendy Ward Hoffer spoke about all students being capable of brilliance.  We need to give them the tools to show us their brilliance and by building a strong sense of community in our classrooms we are doing just that.

Thanks for linking up everyone!  

Minds on Math Workshop-Chapter 3 "Tasks"

If this is your first time joining our book study please click on the button above and it will link to all previous posts.  Feel free to go back and add a link to any previous chapters.  You can link up your post on chapter 3 at the bottom of this post.  Please visit the other bloggers who have linked up below and leave them comments.  Lots of great ideas are being posted!

One thing about this chapter that perplexed me was the opening story about 7th graders rolling two dice to get the product and see if they were odd or even.  I am wondering if that was a typo because it seems more like a 2nd or 3rd grade task.  Did anyone else find that example to be odd for a 7th grade classroom?

This chapter was interesting for me because I feel like we have a very rigorous curriculum with deep and challenging tasks.  I have seen personally that you really have to have multiple entry points when you have a class full of diverse students with different ability levels and background knowledge.  I found these tasks worked so well in my accelerated math class, but were much more of a challenge for students and myself in my regular math classes.  All students do need to have access to these rich tasks so it's a matter of figuring out how give students the tools to be able to understand these challenging tasks.  I am looking forward to future chapters that will address these issues of how to use modeling, classroom discourse, and reflection to help with scaffolding these types of problems.

For those of you that do not have a strong curriculum with challenging tasks there are so many free resources available to you online.  You can check out my CCSS Pinterest board for links to many free common core resources where you will find challenging tasks.

Minds on Math Workshop Chapter 2- "Tools"

If this is your first time joining our book study you can click here to see all previous posts related to the book study.   Please remember to put the book study button shown at the right into your post and link your blog post at the bottom of this post so that other people can visit your blog and see your thoughts. If you missed Chapter 1 please feel free to link up your post on that chapter at any time.  The link will remain open.

I did not post any discussion questions for this chapter so feel free to discuss whatever you found interesting from this chapter as well as any wonderings you have.

I am very familiar with the CC Standards for Mathematical Practice.  I do use them purposefully in my classroom and model and share with students when we are using a particular standard in an effort to familiarize them with the standards.  I love the idea of deliberately adding a process standard to my plans when looking at my content learning targets.  I think embedding these tools into my lesson planning will make a stronger and more meaningful connection.

The thinking strategies will help students to construct meaning as they work to read through tasks and solve problems in the mathematics classroom.

I look forward to reading all of your posts.  Thanks for linking up!

Made 4 Math/Monday Made It- Classroom passes

This past year I decided to make some new passes for my classroom.  I had them coordinate with my pink, lime, blue color scheme.  I loved the way they turned out and laminated some extra so when they got all bent and curled from students manhandling them I could just throw them away and had new passes ready to go.

When a student gets called to the Main Office or Guidance Office they just grab the pass out of the bucket on my desk.  We use the Blue House passes during our last period of the day called Home Base.  During this time students are allowed to go to any teacher to get help.  For the encore teachers the students have the fill out a digital pass in advance and they don't even come to my classroom.  I check the digi pass list (on google as everything is at my school).  If students want to get help or need to see one of the other core house teachers (science, social studies, language arts) they just let me know and grab a blue house pass.  

I just realized that I could do a whole blog post on passes because in addition to those shown above we also have laminated library passes, yellow passes that have to be filled out, and student planner passes that the students fill out and teacher just initials.  Sometime this fall I will do a blog post dedicated to explaining our pass policies at the middle school.  

Here are some sneak peeks at a few upcoming projects I have in the works for Monday posts.  I assure you these projects are no further along than the photos I am posting today.  I feel by putting the pictures up it might motivate me to follow through on these projects I have had in the works for months (and some even years).

Please click on the links below the photos to join either of this great Monday link parties!

#Made4Math

4th Grade Frolics