Tangrams in STEM?

I used tangrams in the classroom along side Grandfather Tang's Story. I loved watching the students make the animal shapes. I told them the legend of tangrams and how on the way to meet the Emperor the tile fell and broke into 7 pieces. 

I did all that for years and then I learned about the importance of spacial awareness while attending Thinking Math training.  Our trainer gave us the pieces and asked can you take 2 smaller triangles and make a larger triangle? Can you take 2 triangles and make a square? Can you take 2 triangles to make a rhombus? The 2 large triangles make half of a square. Use the other 5 pieces to make a perfect square. 

The value of all this? Using shapes in this manner at early grades contributes to the development of perseverance, perception and visualization. picturing things in space helps handwriting and distinguishing between letters such as "b" and "d." Upper grades may use the square to have students help figure out what fractional part of the square each tangram piece is.

CCE students are in the video making shapes using tangrams. It is not easy for all students but to see them try to reason and manipulate them is telling. It was really eye opening to see the 4-5th graders make the square. One interesting thing I saw was a student place the pieces on top of the 2 large triangles that made half the square. The student moved them around until they fit on top and then flipped them over to make the other half of the square. 

Periscope our #numbertalks

AFT's Thinking Math Common Core K-2 course changed my teaching and still impacts me today.  I have seen first graders explain their math thinking and convince me of a more efficient way to see simple math and they can still make me say WOW~I have been teaching for 23 years.  Each day we work through 5 mental math problems.  We look for patterns, connect to previous learning, and pose alternate strategies to showcase there is more than one way to solve math problems.  It truly is a highlight of my day.  When I first heard about Periscope I thought that is how I can showcase my class and impact learning for teachers and students across the globe.  So I took the plunge and here is our 1st Periscope.

I love these mathematicians!  They are using known facts, related facts, compensation, doubles, counting on, and making ten to name a few.  You don't get to see and hear all that in a worksheet!  If you are into Periscope make sure to follow @teachjwright @wrightsrippers @malloryclutter or #numbertalks  I plan on more Periscopes and set up https://katch.me/teachjwright today so you can watch them outside the 24 hour time. I hope you can use them to watch for strategies.  Maybe watch as I record their thinking or practice your own recording skills. Maybe use with your team to set a goal to try out #numbertalks.  Maybe show your class so they can hear how they can too talk through their thinking.  We are all in this together and I am so thankful for Amy Spies, Becky Pittard, Heather Williams, Diane LeJeune, Stephanie Hajdin, Cassy Jurgensen, Liz Lily, Christina Rajcoor, Mallory Clutter, Karen Lassiter, Kym Whitehurst, and the math mom for us all, Alice Gill for helping me realize my potential in sharing math.  Thank you to AFT-Alice Gill, VTO-Andrew Spar & Primrose Cameron Hall, and the Teaching Channel for helping me to really learn math and sharing it with the world.  More to come so watch for us...

Measurement Introduction

Recognizing when an object is longer, shorter, or taller than another object.  What better way than to take photos on the iPad and compare lengths.  I gave the friends a popsicle stick and sent them on their way.  The language they used was incredible and the objects they used were varied.  It promoted so much conversation and an anchor chart of words to use when describing objects.  Great job!

80s day

80 days smarter and oh what an 80 days it has been.  Hard to believe today starts 2015.  Two weeks ago today we need 2014 with a pj day but more about that to come.

We have a regular math routine and counting the number of days is a favorite part.  We talk about our next Zero sighting, 1 more, 1 less, 10 more, 10 less etc.  How can we emphasize and see the importance of 10 and decades? We have super fun filled LEARNING days when those decades come up and oh the fun you can have on the 80^th day of school with an 80s day.  Honestly my parents are the BEST just look at these cutie pies!  We had fun counting and learning all about the 80s.  They loved the big hair and oh the moonwalk dancing we attempted.  I can’t wait to see they look like on the 100s day.  Make sure you check back to see those pics. 

The kids got to have a little fun posing with friends for the end of year scrapbook.  I couldn't pick just one so made a slideshow of them all.  Check them out here.  Which one is your favorite?

Amazing Mathematicians at Work…

We have used ten frames from day 1 and 70 days later I wanted to see if it would transfer over into larger numbers so why not use those DigiBlocks… 

I had my daughter empty out over 500 ones into a copy box lid and you should have seen the firstie’s eyes while I was telling my story. I asked for a guess and one friend said 100 so I asked how many thought less than 100, 100, or more than 100 and thankfully most chose more than 100.  We will have to get some estimating and guessing going but that will be another blog post.

 I asked them to find a way to count them and let me know how many.  There was some talk counting and then a friend said that would take too long.  Put them in groups of ten came up next so I showed them how the DigiBlocks will only close when there are 10 units enclosed.  They quickly found a way to put 10 ones into a ten and then someone figured out putting the tens in the hundred to fill it up.  This time lapse took less than 3 minutes to film and I wish I recorded the ah-ha moments.  It was amazing!  I did record the discourse after so you could hear some magic.

There was a follow up to this lesson the next day.  In the past 64 was 6 tens and 4 ones.  Today we walk through other ways to see 64.  64 doesn’t have to be 64 it could be 54+10, 44+20, etc. depending on what you need to make the math work for you. Let me explain. 

I asked the firsties to make 64 and most made it with 6 tens and 4 ones.  Noah decided to use 5 tens and then count out 14 ones to make 64.  We checked that and counted it and sure enough it made 64.  We talked about other ways to see the same number and most thought let’s turn the numbers around like 14+50=64.  I was hoping for something else and then one friend chirped up “Wait just open the ten and take out the ones.” YES!! 

  We did it and then counted.  64 and I didn’t take anything away or add any more.  We continued the pattern and I recorded for later reference to notice patterns.

One very important ah-ha I found was Victoria counting the tens and ones.  At one point she counted the ten ones-arranged like a ten frame as tens and we had to stop and talk about when they are separated they are no longer a ten even though they are 10 ones.  It was an ah-ha for a few other students and then one friend explained the difference between tens and ones-and what they loo like.  It was a beautiful moment. We made some great discoveries today and I am proud of these firsties.  Can’t wait to see what comes next…

Where is our side of the story?

Summer? WOW I have to catch up on so many events but that will have to wait.  I need to get this story out as soon as possible so sit tight and read this story. I think you need to know how sad and disappointed I am…

A few months ago a reporter from the New York Times interviewed me over the phone to talk about parents, the Common Core, and math. EXCITED-yes! I was but I kept calm and talked from my heart about what I have learned over the past three years.  

I gave her stories about kids' misconceptions I would not have found if they merely completed worksheets.  For example, I asked one day “Cameron wants to share his cookie with Logan.  Who gets the bigger piece?” The kid responses: "Cameron does because it is his cookie."  "Logan does because Cameron will give him the whole cookie.  When my mom tells me to share I have to give it to my brother." and another,  "Wait if they are sharing they have to have the same size piece."  This was 2 years ago and I have taught fractions in some shape or form for 17 years. I had students complete hundreds of worksheets but had no idea this might be a misconception shared by children.  This is just one of many times I learned from talking to my students to think about math and become mathematicians and not just calculators.  

Being a Mathematician, that means something in my classroom.  It means being a problem solver, discovering a strategy to make numbers easier to work with, and seeing the relevance of math in our everyday world.  Math time is joyful in our classroom.  Yes, we struggle with why?, word problems/situational stories, and bigger numbers but we are working on really understanding math concepts and not just procedures for a better foundation. What about the parents?

My parents have questioned Common Core and how we are implementing it in the classroom.  How could they not when all they read are stories bashing the Common Core and how parents can't do the kid's homework? My thought-Parents shouldn't be doing the kid's homework. I conference with parents and show them samples of their child's thinking.  I explain pitfalls and provide strategies so they see the relevance and most important I ask them to talk with their child.  Talk about money-earning it, spending it, estimate how large or how long it would take to do something, about how 10 is such a powerful number and building on that helps add and subtract double digit numbers in the 1^st grade and yes they regroup with understanding and not borrowing.  Borrowing means you are giving something back and that is not the case in double digit subtraction.  I had parents upon parents willing to talk to Ms. Rich but they were never called.  Parents have told me:

• Wow finally a way I do math and now my kid can do math a different way than a book.
• I wish my 2 older children would have learned math this way because they have no idea why they do the steps they do and rely on a calculator.
• I am so excited to learn right along with my child because I see math differently.

Not everyone has a Common Core bashing story but you rarely hear about the success.  Common Core is here and we are learning, teaching, collaborating, and creating as a community.  We need to hear success stories so I beg you read this story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/us/math-under-common-core-has-even-parents-stumbling.html?_r=0

After, know our story and send this reporter a comment in support of Common Core.  By the way after 30 minutes of praises and stories I did invite her to visit and she said she would talk to her editor.  We never heard from her again. Maybe she would rethink that visit to Cypress Creek Elementary in Port Orange, Florida.  Sad…

Mathematicians use strategies!

Yeah, but we don’t even know what strategies are?

Mia you are so cute but really we have been learning them since day 1 of 1^st grade.  Let me explain.

Cameron has 9 Legos and some fell on the floor.  How many does he have to look for...there are 5 on the table.

Kids were given a whiteboard and a marker.  We reviewed what we knew and what we needed to find out.  Then I let them use any “strategy” they felt could best solve for the number of Legos.  Some drew pictures, some used subtraction, and some even used addition to find the missing Legos. 

So Mia here drew 9 and then drew circles with lines through them like she “sees on signs” to subtract 4.  She then walks through how she minuses 4 to get to the 5.  She even uses a related addition fact to help solve.

Shaner uses his knowledge of the 10 frame to help him find the missing addend. He knows that 5 and 5 would make a ten frame. He also knows that 5+4 would equal 9.  5 is the number of Legos on the table and there’s 4 on the floor.

I am so proud of these kids and their ability to reason.  They are using connections to things they know from their world, like how Mia sees it on signs and Shaner knows 10 frames.  We will continue to keep working on their reasoning and explaining to justify their answers. Make sure to check back and see how we grow as mathematicians!

Kids Know my Favorite Number is 10

In first grade we spend quality time grounding the students in the number 10.  10 is my favorite number and they KNOW it!  We talk about all the combinations of ten and how 10 is a foundation number.  Let me explain.  If a child can get to 10 they can get to a decade and that is a beautiful thing when adding or subtracting larger numbers.  I know why now when it is only the 23rd day of 1st grade?  I am laying the foundation or the progression for when we work with larger numbers.  Each day they identify mystery numbers on a blank 100 chart. This day we just happened to be talking about 18, 48, and 88.

How many until the next friendly number?  "2" and "how do you know that?"  "I can count 2 boxes." or "2 more and I get to 20, 50, and 90."  YES!! now why? After some questioning someone pointed out... well check out the video and see why.  Aren't they the best mathematicians ever?!?