A Great Giveaway!

One of my fellow Class*y Collaboration authors is celebrating a BIG milestone with an even bigger giveaway!!

You definitely need to get over to Learning with Mrs. Leeby to check it out. I can't even believe the amount of great prizes she's got and you'll be even more impressed by her great blog.

Math Workshop Series- Written Communication

Math Workshop Series- Part 1

Math Workshop Series- Part 2

Math Workshop Series- Part 3

Math Workshop Series- Part 4a

Math Workshop Series- Part 4b

Math Workshop Series- Part 5

As I've been working on this series of posts I've also been taking an  Additional Qualifications course on teaching math to primary and junior students (I think I mentioned it before). For this current unit I have been researching using writing in the math class and I am LOVING what I am learning. Not to mention that I am getting all sorts of ideas for products and freebies I plan to create!

These are a few of the resources I've been looking at:

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/oct04/vol62/num02/Writing-in-Math.aspx

http://www.mathwire.com/writing/writing1.html

http://mathsolutions.com/documents/1995_Writing_in_Elem_Grades.pdf

Making Math Meaningful to Canadian Students, K-8 by Marian Small

And here's what I've learned:

Written Communication 

There are 6 types of written communication in math:

• personal writing
• descriptive writing
• process writing
• creation of word problems
• creative writing
• explanatory writing

When can you use writing in math?

• before studying a concept to see what students already know 
• during the unit to add to their previous writing
• at the end of a unit to revisit what they learned
• use writing when a student is confused as the task of writing can often clarify thinking
• in journals or logs
• ask students to write about a classmate’s solution or a discussion that took place in class
• to explain their thinking after solving a math problem
• after solving an open-ended math question, ask students why there could be so many possible answers and why it is important to look at things from a variety of perspectives
• to explain a mathematical concept
• to write about their learning process (metacognition)

Criteria for Written Communication

• should be co-created with the students and hung where students can access it
• create a checklist of criteria

Strategies to Help Incorporate Writing in the Math Classroom

• discuss the purpose for the writing
• discuss who the audience for their writing may be
• model how to use details and how to explain their thinking
• give students time to discuss their ideas before starting to write
• have a math word wall of useful vocabulary
• give students a prompt to help them get started
• scaffold and support as needed
• share in small groups or pairs
• keep writing in a portfolio to assess growth over time

Do you use writing in your math workshop or math class? I'd love to know more about it and how you incorporate this important skill into your planning. 

Leave a comment below!
The series continues...
What topics are you most interested in reading about?
POSSIBLE OTHER POSTS - Planning for Guided Math Lessons - Problem Solving - Math Games and Independent Activities - Math Journals/Notebooks - Math Vocabulary - Math Calendar - Interactive Math Notebook Ideas - Using Manipulatives - Anchor Charts

Math Workshop Series....continues with a FREEBIE!

I don't know about you all but I am really enjoying this series on Math Workshop! 

I do hope you are enjoying it....not bored yet? 

I have started to look into my Reader's and Writer's Workshops and plan to do a series on each of those as well. So if math isn't your cup of tea, stay tuned!

Math Workshop Series- Part 1

Math Workshop Series- Part 2

Math Workshop Series- Part 3

Math Workshop Series- Part 4a

Math Workshop Series- Part 4b

Throughout this whole process I have been taking an online class through one of the Teacher's Colleges here in Ontario on Teaching Math to Primary and Junior students. As part of the course I have been conducting an independent research project on differentiated learning in math, open-ended questions and parallel task, writing in the math class and connecting math to real life....so I still have so many ideas for posts in this series! 

I have also been putting together a series of lessons using the three-part lesson plan. I have used the three-part lesson quite often in my math class and thoroughly enjoy the process with my students.

I wanted to put together a simple template that can be adapted to any state or provincial curriculum so that all of you can try the three-part lesson in your own classes. There are many templates out there on the web but most are very cumbersome, cluttered and not what every day teachers with little time on their hands would use. 

At least, not me!

I hope that this template will inspire some of you to try the three-part lesson in your own class, or for those of you that are already using this teaching strategy the template will be a useful tool in your planning. 

Click on any of the images below to grab this freebie.

While you're over visiting my TPT shop (so fun to say!) I'd love for you to check out my Number Sense and Numeration Pack. This is a set of 24 cards that can be used as exit slips, task cards, math journal prompts or math stretches.

They are completely customizable to your students...meaning that the basic math question is there but I have left the numbers out so that you can decide which numbers will work best for your students. Differentiation made easy!

Thanks for visiting today!