Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Guided Math in Action Book Study- Chapters 1 & 2


I am linking up with Sarah and Courtney today from Adventures in Guided Math to discuss chapters 1 and 2 of the book Guided Math in Action by Dr. Nicki Newton. This book is a great read, if you can I would encourage you to read it. It is already opened my eyes to new ideas regarding guided math.

My thoughts on stretching your own pedagogy fall in line with Dr. Nicki Newton's from the book.In the book she says that " This really means that teachers reflect on their usual practice, take notes about what is working and what is not working, and then stretch out of their own zones of comfort in order to devise new and engaging ways to help everyone learn." I am a firm believer in reteaching and finding different ways to teach until the students get it. There is a nothing more rewarding for me than to see when students reach that aha moment.

Perseverance in my classroom is promoted through number talks, encouragement, and positive reinforcement. Last year was the first year that I implemented number talks on a daily basis. Through the number talks the students were able to persevere through using different strategies and being able to explain how they solved the problem using that strategy. It also promoted positive communication among the students by the end of the year they were able to correct and defend each other.

Chapter 2 begins with a scenario of a little girl giving an answer to a math question but is unable to prove why her answer was right. At the beginning of the year last year I noticed that my students could not prove  their answers either. Explaining your thinking is hard! Sometimes I struggle justifying my thinking as an adult. One way we overcame this in the classroom was by using math thinking stems as mentioned in the text. 

I create a numerate environment in my classroom through the use of:
*anchor charts
*math vocabulary
*math journals/interactive notebooks
*number talks
*math mentor texts
*calendar
*number of the day


2 comments:

  1. I am interested in Number Talks. I'd love to know more about how you use them in your classroom. Do you use your own format od love to know more about how you use them in your classroom.
    The Traveling Teacher

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  2. I live for those "Aha!" moments as well! I, too, would like to know more about your number talks... :0) Thanks for linking up!

    Smiles,
    Sarah

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