Topic: Math

The more opportunities students have to practice using the language of mathematics through conversation, the deeper their understanding will be. As students engage in brief discussion, they have the chance to hear and practice providing explanations, multiple representations, and solutions.

Conferring is built on learning what students are doing and how they are thinking. In the first stage of a math conference, the teachers looks, listens, and asks with the goal of building an interpretation of student thinking.

How does a conference work? What do teachers think about? What do they say? A conference is not simply a venue for students to report on their thinking. A conference is a shared opportunity for teachers and students to learn together in the moment.

Whether before school, embedded in the school day, after school, or at home, games offer engaging, active learning, and meaningful math practice. Here are some quick tips for successfully implementing math games!

Struggle is how we learn. Rich tasks provoke productive struggle, during which students actively struggle through a problem as they work to make sense of it.

Understanding what the whole is, what the parts are, how they are related, and what might be missing in a particular problem are all critical aspects of numerical fluency.

Math has moved on: now, instead of merely memorizing multiplication tables, students are expected to know what multiplication means and use more than one strategy to solve, then explain their thinking to peers and teachers. Let’s talk about why that is and how parents can help.

Just as conferring is one part of the readers’ and writers’ workshop and could not be implemented in isolation, conferring in mathematics must take place on a broader instructional stage. But if tasks in the classroom don’t demand deep thinking, we’re left with thin conversations about answers.

There are six identifiable processes that support the development of numerical fluency. these processes are not unique to numerical fluency−in fact, the same processes are essential for the development of spatial sense, algebraic reasoning, and other big ideas in mathematics.

There is a pervasive belief in our culture that being good at math is an innate ability. As teachers, we need to reinforce a growth mindset in our students. Here's where you can start...

There is an unacceptable chasm between traditional mathematics instruction, that rarely works for more than one-third on our students, and this kind of mathematics instruction, that truly empowers nearly all students.

A wrap up of the PLC series posts from 2017-18 year.

As teachers, we must cultivate the structures and beliefs in a classroom community that lay the foundation for the mathematical growth of our students. Our foundation is built on a set of nine key beliefs.

Rarely does an argument fully develop out of a few well-organized thoughts and statements. Rather, an argument is often the result of several extensions, clarifications, and elaborations of a few seed ideas.

While the formality and form of these arguments will vary across grades, all students need to be able to develop, understand, and interpret arguments appropriate to their level of expertise in mathematics.

Math is useful, but that’s not why I teach it. I don't endure the things that teachers have to endure just because I want my students to quickly calculate a 10 percent sales tax.

Teaching elementary school math can be unpredictable and challenging, but you're not alone. Here are a few tips and tricks that keep us going when the going gets tough!

The practice of building mathematical arguments, including informal justifications, is not always at the center of mathematics instruction, particularly in K–8 grades. With this book, we hope to help you incorporate argumentation into your own teaching.