Chapter 10- Building Mathematical Comprehension

This is chapter I have been looking forward to the MOST!

I really tried to implement Guided Math in my classroom this past year and while it worked for awhile, I found it difficult to keep up as I was teaching a new grade for the first time. 

Next year though!!!!

<div class="Primary Inspired" style="margin: 0 auto; width: 200px;"> <a href="http://primaryinspired.blogspot.com/p/guided-math-book-study.html"> <img src="http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m605/primaryinspired/9bcea6c1-e4bb-4cd5-9b02-8e175843492e.jpg" /> </a> </div> </a> Here are the final hosts of our fabulous book study! Thanks to everyone who participated.
Adventures in Room 129
Learning in Progress get the InLinkz code

Chapter 9- Building Mathematical Comprehension

Monitoring Mathematical Comprehension

<div class="Primary Inspired" style="margin: 0 auto; width: 200px;"> <a href="http://primaryinspired.blogspot.com/p/guided-math-book-study.html"> <img src="http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m605/primaryinspired/9bcea6c1-e4bb-4cd5-9b02-8e175843492e.jpg" /> </a> </div> </a> I think this is going to be one of the most important chapters in the book. Now that we've learned all about teaching using literacy strategies in Math...how do we make sure our students are getting it?
This chapter's hosts are...
Primary Inspired

Toad-ally Exceptional Learners

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Building Mathematical Comprehension- Chapter 8

This chapter is all about synthesizing....hmmm! Sounds deep. 

<div class="Primary Inspired" style="margin: 0 auto; width: 200px;"> <a href="http://primaryinspired.blogspot.com/p/guided-math-book-study.html"> <img src="http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m605/primaryinspired/9bcea6c1-e4bb-4cd5-9b02-8e175843492e.jpg" /> </a> </div> </a> Here are this chapter's hosts. Don't forget to show them some comment love!
Second Grade is Out of This World

Pam's Place

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Building Mathematical Comprehension- Chapter 7

Determining Importance

I think this chapter is going to be a biggie! The fun starts tomorrow so don't forget to visit the host blogs. 

<div class="Primary Inspired" style="margin: 0 auto; width: 200px;"> <a href="http://primaryinspired.blogspot.com/p/guided-math-book-study.html"> <img src="http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m605/primaryinspired/9bcea6c1-e4bb-4cd5-9b02-8e175843492e.jpg" /> </a> </div> Here are the fabulous hosts for Chapter 7.
Curls and a Smile
Stories by Storie

Littlest Superheroes

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Building Mathematical Comprehension- Chapter 6

Is it possible for this book to get any better?

Amazing so far, that's how I can sum up this reading experience. If you haven't got the book yet or were hesitant in joining in....no worries, get the book now and start reading. You won't be sorry. Plus the linkies will be active for a whole year so you can join in and link up with your thoughts at any time! We'd love to have you join us.

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We have some fabulous bloggers joining us as the Chapter 6 hosts and I am very interested to hear what they have to say about Making Inferences and Predictions. This is always one of my favourite strategies to teach in reading so I am excited to learn some new ideas that can also be applied to my math program. 

Here are our fabulous hosts!

Lucy is also offering a freebie with her post!

As always, link up with your fabulous thoughts and posts!

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Chapter 4 and 5... And so, so, so late to the party

I vow I will never again move on the last day of school while pregnant! Even now, a full week later I can hardly believe I survived. It's been a long crazy week full of boxes, boxes, and more boxes. Attempting to unpack and move things while being yelled at for unpacking and moving things while pregnant. A sick 2 year-old daughter- fever spike, lukewarm baths, Tylenol, coughing fits. Then to top everything off... I got sick myself. Two full days in bed. 13+ hours of sleep each night. Barely able to hold a book, let alone read....and that, my friends is the story of how I am a full 2 chapters behind in the very book study I helped to organize. I apologize profusely but as many of you know, life is what it is. We roll with good and the not so good.

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The better news is that I have caught up on reading Chapter 4 and Chapter 5  and I am ready to post. I am working on getting through and hope to be caught up with Chapter 6 ASAP. Fingers crossed, of course. 

Here are the other wonderful posts written about these 2 chapters.

Chapter 4


Chapter 5

These are the fabulous blogs that hosted Chapter 5 over the past few days.



And now...finally, my post.

As many of you have written, each of these chapters is yet another " why didn't I think of that before" moment and Chapter 4 was no different for me. Questions! In math! Of course!! 

Increasing Comprehension by Asking Questions

Here are some things that struck out for me as I read:

- Sammons writes that "students become more engaged and learning is more rigorous" (page 116) when we teach them to ask questions

- I love the idea that the root of questions is quest!

- it is our job to encourage students to become mathematical text critics...how fun is that?

- I am interested in designing a lesson around the the 5 things students need to know about asking questions for mathematical comprehension (page 120)
- How fun would it be to track our spontaneous questions and the ones that result from reflection during a unit of study...hmmm, T-chart perhaps?
- I am excited to brainstorm with my class all the reasons that mathematicians ask questions
- On page 126 Sammons writes about valuing the questions posed by others in the math class and the importance of respecting each other's questions, I think this would be an important lesson and anchor chart to have in the classroom
- I have done a lot of work with students one the types of questions in literacy and science/social studies but again I never thought of doing the same in Math...duh!
- I wonder what a Math specific q-chart would look like? Would it look different?

My biggest "aha" from this chapter was the idea of a strategy lesson that is outside of a math concept lesson. What a great idea to incorporate into your guided math rotations....and a great way to assess your students based on the 4 categories of achievement.  This is definitely something I want to come back to and spend more time thinking about. 

Lastly, I can see so many ways of incorporating this strategy into my math journals. From having an ongoing page of thinking stems for questions, taking ideas from their math journal and sharing them on a Wonder Wall, to recording question webs in their math journals. So exciting!!!

The Importance of Visualizing Mathematical Ideas

My "aha" moments while reading:

- on page 152-153 Sammons talk about encouraging students to represent their math ideas in a way that makes sense to them, even if it is not conventional (I've done an activity that is similar to this called talking pictures, check it out here)
- I love the steps that will help students build their ability to create mental images, I think this will be a page I refer to again and again (page 154-155)
- it's always good to have a refresher on how to guide students through the steps of gradual release of responsibility and I appreciate that Sammons included it in this chapter on visualization, I especially like the last step of conducting a think-aloud individually with a student as part of a conference for assessment! What an "aha" moment! Why have I never done this?
- the Visualize, Draw and Share learning task described on page 162 sounds like a lot of fun for guided math groups, especially for those who may be struggling with a concept or conversely, students who are ready to be pushed a little farther

Lastly, I was very disappointed that I didn't do more poetry with my students this year and vowed to remedy that in the future. I really like the week-long plan set up by Sammons on page 167 and this I could adapt it so that it works within my Book of the Week lessons or even guided reading as well. Gotta love integration!

Whew.

I made it....just barely.

Chapter 4- Building Mathematical Comprehension

Chapter 4- Increasing Comprehension by Asking Questions

<div class="Primary Inspired" style="margin: 0 auto; width: 200px;"> <a href="http://primaryinspired.blogspot.com/p/guided-math-book-study.html"> <img src="http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m605/primaryinspired/9bcea6c1-e4bb-4cd5-9b02-8e175843492e.jpg" /> </a> </div> </a> Head on over the check out the posts by this chapter's hosts! I am excited to read more of this great book and all of your thoughts.

Keep on linking up with your own ideas!

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Here's the schedule for our upcoming chapters. 

Making Mathematical Connections- Chapter 3

I'm a little late to the party this week but I promise you it's for all good reasons...

1. The heat! Oh my goodness, my portable was 89 degrees at 8 am one day.
2. I am still teaching. Yes, at the end of June. No, it's not fun.
3. We are moving to a new house tomorrow and I am packing as well.
4. I'm pregnant and just like to sit down and watch TV at the end of the day! LOL

But, this is it..one more day and then- FREEDOM!!!

Chapter 3- Making Mathematical Connections

<div class="Primary Inspired" style="margin: 0 auto; width: 200px;"> <a href="http://primaryinspired.blogspot.com/p/guided-math-book-study.html"> <img src="http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m605/primaryinspired/9bcea6c1-e4bb-4cd5-9b02-8e175843492e.jpg" /> </a> </div> </a> This was another HUGE chapter. So many great ideas and so much to think about.

Here are some things that really stood out for me:

- it's important to integrate the Math strands to help students see the connections between the Math concepts and their own lives
- I would like to create a checklist to help me track my student's connections during class discussions, perhaps with a space for anecdotals?
- students need to be guided towards "assuming the responsibility of constructing their own understanding of mathematics" (page 87)
- there are 3 types of prior knowledge- attitudes, experiences and knowledge (this was an interesting part of the chapter, I enjoyed it)
- I love the idea of using current events and taping into my students ability to make math-to-world connections, this is definitely going to be a focus for me in my future math program
- planning is key when modeling and doing a think-aloud for the class, I hope to create a script/template to help myself plan and get better at this
- I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the one-minute schema determiner (page 98), how powerful!
- I need to use How Did My Family Use Math Last Night? as a more regular stretch, I dropped the ball on that this year
- back to the current events math- this would be a great place to integrate media into my class and cover 2 curriculums at once...it's all about integration!
- on page 104-105 Sammons talks about anchor charts and previewing a concept- I already do this!! Yeah!!
- I'm going to use the example from page 106-107 to help create my script/template
- I need more pictures books that relate to Math


Okay!! I did it. Loving this book.

What were your stand out moments?


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Building Mathematical Comprehension- Chapter 3

Today is PACKING DAY!!! We have dropped our daughter off at my sister's house and we are packing everything. We move in 6 days....on the last day of school. CRAZY.

So, I plan to post about chapter 3 in a day or 2 but until then we have some great hosts that are taking the book study and running with it. I hope you head on over to check out their posts and then link up yourself.

The Chapter 3 Hosts

Sabra has a freebie too!

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Building Mathematical Comprehension Chapter 2- Part 2

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I know that Chapter 3 starts today but I have some more thoughts on Chapter 2 that I want to share and I've been trying to get back to post all week long! To give you an idea of how my life is going lately here's some numbers:

20 weeks pregnant
9th classroom in 10 years (!)
7 days until we move to our new house
4 school days left
1st ultrasound on Monday

Needless to say, sleep has become my best friend. As soon as I sit down in the evening, I'm done for.

<div class="Primary Inspired" style="margin: 0 auto; width: 200px;"> <a href="http://primaryinspired.blogspot.com/p/guided-math-book-study.html"> <img src="http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m605/primaryinspired/9bcea6c1-e4bb-4cd5-9b02-8e175843492e.jpg" /> </a> </div> </a> So before you head over to start reading about Chapter 3, I have some things to share.
Choosing Mathematical Terms to Teach
This is a tough one! There are so many good words to know. Important words! Fun words! I like that Sammons quotes Duffy on page 55 and talks about the difference between content words and function words. We have a mental picture for content words and function words serve a grammatical purpose. There are three types of words we should focus on teaching (pages 56-57): 1. Words students that students already have in their oral vocabularies 2. Words that are not in the student's oral vocabularies but are somewhat familiar 3. Words that relate to new concepts
I am interested in putting together a list of words according to my province's curriculum and then seeing how it relates to the common core? Perhaps we are focusing on different things? Similar? It would be interesting for sure. Engaging Students in Learning Mathematical Vocabulary
Sammons quotes Murray on page 59 and makes the point that vocabulary shouldn't be viewed as some more to teach but as a way to teach. That's an interesting idea. In my class I try to include as much mathematical discourse as possible and strive to have my students use the correct math vocabulary in their discussions. By including more explicit vocabulary instruction in the future, this can only improve my student's ability to speak using mathematical terms and words. 
Mathematical Writing to Reinforce Vocabulary Knowledge It is definitely a goal of mine to have my students write more about their math learning. It's such a strong way to have students use the vocabulary that they know and to assess their understanding of a math concept. 
I started Math Journals this year and we did some writing in their but a lot of the time they were used for examples, lessons and diagrams. I planned to include a vocabulary section but like with other things, the time got away from me. I am wondering if I should keep the math vocabulary as part of our Math Journals in the future or just have a vocabulary journal and use it for all sorts of vocabulary with an emphasis on Math words? Hmmmm, something to consider.  I'm thinking of a vocabulary notebook with  dividers for each of the different subjects?
Math Word Walls
This is something I did not do enough this year. I would like to organize my word wall by math strand and hopefully, keep the words up all year long. 
Graphic Organizers
I love a Frayer model!! What a great way to organize your thought about a concept. Venn diagrams are great too. I think these two organizers will become big staples of my math program in the future. 
These Are/These Are Not is a new idea for me but I can see the possibilities of using it in a lot of different areas. 
And lastly...Games!
I got off on the right foot using a lot of games in my math class this year as I tried to implement Math Workshop. Again, the time got away from me and it became too much to keep up with as I struggled to get my feet underneath me in a new grade this year. I can definitely see the benefit of them and would like to work math vocabulary games into my future math workshop rotations. 
Okay...Chapter 3!! Here I come!
Can't wait to hear your thoughts on Chapter 2 and the chapters to come...plus, I'll have a FREEBIE for you in my Chapter 3 post. 

Building Mathematical Comprehension- Chapter 2 -- PART 1

Okay, I'm back and ready to talk about Chapter 2 of this fabulous book. I'm loving it, aren't you?

If every chapter is like the first two we are going to be talking about this book for quite some time. 

<div class="Primary Inspired" style="margin: 0 auto; width: 200px;"> <a href="http://primaryinspired.blogspot.com/p/guided-math-book-study.html"> <img src="http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m605/primaryinspired/9bcea6c1-e4bb-4cd5-9b02-8e175843492e.jpg" /> </a> </div> </a> I hope you've had a chance to visit the other hosts for this chapter, Still Teaching After All These Years and My Second Grade Journal. And have you seen how many people have linked up already? (Scroll to the bottom of this post!) Maybe I'll wait a day or two from now on, reading through the other's posts have really helped me cement my own ideas.

Alright, on to the chapter- Recognizing and Understanding Mathematical Vocabulary.

I have always made this a priority in my math class because when I first started teaching math not so long ago I came to it from the perspective as a literacy teacher and it helped me feel more comfortable using strategies I was familiar with...little did I know it was such a good thing!

As I started to read through this chapter the first thing that came to mind, and which actually comes to mind no matter what subject I am planning for or thinking about is- How do we help students who lack the vocabulary they need? Sammons cites many references and studies that show students with a greater vocabulary do better in school and I'm sure this isn't new information for most of us. The question is- how do we help?

Thankfully I kept reading the chapter and found out!

I especially liked on page 46 when Sammons states that "we should consider every student a mathematics language learner regardless of his or her level of English language proficiency." This is something I have noticed in my classroom firsthand. All students require support when dealing with the vocabulary that comes with learning mathematics. 

Sammons goes on to talk about Direct Vocabulary Instruction and 8 research-based characteristics! Wow..that was good reading. I am excited to start planning ways to teach more math vocabulary next year and to involve my students in the process. One of the eight research-based characteristics calls for students to "represent their knowledge of words in linguistic and nonlinguistic ways" (page 50). I can imagine a colourful display or colourful math journal pages filled with math vocabulary drawings!

Another of the eight characteristics calls for students to have the opportunity to play with words. Wouldn't this make for a great math workshop rotation? Combine Word Work from The Daily 5 with math! Oh the possibilities!!

I loved, loved, loved that Sammons discussed Marzano and Pickering's six-step process for teaching new words! (page 53). I can see that this page will be viewed again and again by me as I plan for math vocabulary instruction in the future. Perhaps a planning template is needed as well? :) I was gratified to read that sometimes it's good to teach the vocabulary after the concept has already been taught or explored in class as this is often something that I do...isn't nice when you find out you've been doing something right? LOL

Oh...there's so much in this chapter!! 

How can I ever post about it all?

I'm going to stop here and come back another day with my thoughts on the remainder of the chapter. This post is already super long and I feel like my head might explode with excitement...and yes, I do know I am a nerd. I've come to embrace it!

I am hoping that you are loving this chapter as much as I am and want to link up with us below!

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#getyourmathon Challenge!

Hello to all the Building Mathematical Comprehension book study participants! I have an Instagram or Twitter challenge for you.

Post a picture of you reading the book and answer the following question-

Do you highlight or take note IN the book? If not, how do you track your learning?

Don't forget to use the hash tag

#getyourmathon

Happy Reading! 

Grab the book study button here!

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Building Mathematical Comprehension- Chapter 1

It's here!! The book study is starting!

Don't forget to use the hashtag 

#getyourmathon

for Twitter and Instagram.

I have been anxiously awaiting the start of this book study and can't wait to hear what you all think of this book. 

Brenda from Primary Inspired and I are hosting Chapter 1, so make sure you check out her post as well. 

I started peeking at Chapter 1 pretty early and immediately regretted not having a highlighter or post-it notes at home. I texted my husband and asked him to grab some on his way home! Crisis averted. LOL

As someone whose background is in literacy I can't believe that I never even thought of using the same comprehension strategies in my math lessons. The first thing that really stood out for me as I started to read through Building Mathematical Comprehension is the debate about core teachers vs. rotary teachers. It's a debate that's going strong at my school right now and one that I have changed my opinion about.

I started my career teaching only Language Arts, History and Geography and was terrified at the thought of Math. However, when I switched from Grade 8 to Grade 3 & 4 teaching rotary was no longer an option and I was faced with...Math! I must say, now I love teaching Math, I feel like I know my students so much better than I did when I taught rotary and reading this book has helped me cement my ideas on this subject. 

The BIG idea that I have come away with is that all teachers are reading teachers.

On page 22, Sammons displays a chart that shows the similarities between good readers and good mathematicians. It's very interesting to see how similar the two actions really are. I especially liked when Sammons wrote "Mathematics requires not only the construction of meaning related to mathematical concepts, but also comprehension of the written text that is so often required for problem-solving tasks." (page 23) I have found that many of my students have a great knowledge of math but when it comes to problem-solving, or communicating their thinking they stumble. (This was the focus of a 6-week intensive unit in my classroom this year that you can read about here)

I really like the idea of discussing math problems as a genre! What an amazing idea...I have also noticed the amount to which Sammons references Mosaic of Thought by Keene and Zimmermann. I have not read this book but really want to now. I think it would make for a good companion read as we work through the book study. Has anyone read it? Can they recommend it?

I also enjoyed reading about explicit instruction and modeling how to perform the strategy. I am glad that Sammons took the time to go through the steps involved in the scaffolding process because I think it's always an important reminder for us/me. I am especially bad at letting my students contribute when I am modeling and I want to make a conscious effort to get better in this area. 

Lastly, I am interested in integrating math texts into my guided reading more often. Wouldn't it be interesting to read a math problem and discuss it in a similar fashion to a narrative story? Author's purpose? Author's message? Etc

Some questions I had after reading this chapter are:

On page 26 Sammons writes that teachers should be aware of how they frame their expectations or goals for students in both reading and math but doesn't give an example of a good goal or expectation. I am wondering what one would look like? Maybe it will come up later in the chapter?

What was the most interesting part of Chapter 1 for you?

Now it's your turn. Link up below with your post about chapter 1 so we can get this book study rolling. 

Would you like to display the linky on your own blog? Grab the code!  get the InLinkz code

Book Study...Button! Schedule! Hashtag! Giveaway! Oh my!

The book study is coming! I am so excited that we are going to start discussing this fabulous book in just one week. Hopefully you've had a chance to get your copy or sign up for the giveaway.

The giveaway ends in one day!!

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Now for some news about the book study!

Here's the amazing button created by Brenda from Primary Inspired. 

Click on the image to go to my Professional Reading (Summer Book Studies) page. All information about the book study will be updated there as we go along. 

Plus, you can look back on past book studies!

We've got a dedicated group of bloggers signed up to help host the chapters as we work through the book together. The image below will take you to the google doc that has live links to  each of the hosts. Click on the picture to download the schedule so you don't miss a single minute of the action. 

For all the bloggers out there, we will be having a linky party/blog hop for each chapter during the book study so you can participate as often as you like as well. 

Post away! Link up! Create some freebies! 

If you are on Instagram or Twitter and plan to participate in the book study we would love for you to use #getyourmathon for anything  you post!

The action starts on June 8th...can't wait.