Math Problem Solving in Context: Part 2

Last week my second graders and I spent our math instructional time trying out a new system for working through math story problems with a partner (Math Problem Solving in Context: Part 1).  It was amazing!  There were definitely some challenges for all of us but, in the end we persevered.

I introduced the Math Buddy Chat system to students on Monday.  We worked with our math buddies to figure out the number of family members that would be attending our upcoming Wax Museum.  Step 1 (independently read the problem, identify important words and numbers and underline the question) went smoothly for each group.  Step 2 (Talk with your math buddy and make a  plan to solve the problem and decide how you will show your work) really through them for a loop.  They all wanted to start solving the problem right away.  I helped them through this step by removing all writing utensils and they reluctantly discussed their plans.

This was a challenging problem because students had 14 numbers to deal with.  Students used a variety of strategies to solve this problem and some chose math tools such as 100's charts, base 10 pieces and unifix cubes to do their figuring. When students finished step 3 (solve the problem on your own, double check your answer) they moved on to step 4 (check your answer with your buddy, if you got a different answer look to see what you did differently and rework the problem if necessary).

After the math buddies discussed step 4 the entire group took a look at each pair of students work and discussed which strategies they used to help them solve the problem.  We began to notice that each group used more than one strategy to solve the problem.  This entire lesson took one hour and twenty minutes.

The following day we used the Math Buddy Chat system again to figure out another problem that was important to us.  We wanted to know how many packages of cookies we would need to purchase if each guest that came to our museum were to have two cookies each.  Students had to figure out how many total cookies we would need and then figure out how many packages we would need if 10 cookies came in each package.  This was a doozy and every single student (struggling to excelling) worked diligently until it was time for lunch!

The second lesson is where I imagined the input/output tables coming into play.  After we looked at discussed each groups strategies I showed them how we could put the information into a table and then we named it.  It was a brief, but powerful introduction.

Things I would do differently next time:

1. Introduce the Math Buddy Chat system with a simpler problem.  Although my students persevered I think it would have been better if they had learned the system with an easier problem first.

2. When students are asked to do step 2, discuss the problem and come up with a plan, make sure they cannot write anything down.  This planning part seemed to be difficult for them to grasp and every single one wanted to skip the discussion piece.

3. Have both partners explain what their plan is before they get started (just until we get the hang of this partnership thing).

And that is it.  I learned a lot about my students understanding of place value during these lessons.  I saw clear evidence that a student I thought had full understanding of place value still held some misconceptions and a student I thought did not really understand place value actually did!

Do you use a similar system for problem solving or have one that you think works well with second graders?  If so I would love to hear about it!

Scribble Press iPad App

Scribble Press is a great iPad app that my students have been using recently to publish personal narratives.  Before we ever attempted to publish with this app my second graders freely explored the app for approximately 3 weeks.  They became experts and their expertise made our publishing workshop a breeze! Here are two of the stories students from our class published.
AlligatorSwamp_Collin
CrazyLizards_David


When I purchased the app it was free.  It now has a fee of $2.99, but Scribble Press has released a new FREE APP that is even easier to use for K-2 students.  It is called Scribble My Story. Scribble My Story has a recording feature and is easier to navigate when creating additional pages.

Try them out.  You won't be disappointed!

Math Problem Solving in Context: Part 1

I am getting ready to teach my second graders about input/output tables.  Yes, in second grade! This is a new standard for us.  A standard I have not taught before.  I have been racking my brain all weekend trying to figure out how to teach this concept in a way that relates to the lives of my second graders.  

While reading the Teaching Addition and Subtraction Using Contextual Problems section in John A. Van de Walle & LouAnn H. Lovin's book Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics Grades K-3 I had an AHA! moment.  I LOVE those!  The authors tell us that in the United States we don't tend to go deep enough with math problem solving. That we have a tendency to have students solve a lot of problems in a single class period and the focus of most lessons is to get answers right (pg. 71). They suggest however,  that if we want our students to construct a rich understanding of subtraction and addition (or any other operation/concept you might be teaching) we should focus more attention on having students solve one or two problems and then give more time to classroom discussions on the "how" and the "why" rather than simply looking to see if the answer is right. This sounds A LOT, I MEAN EXACTLY, like what the new Common Core State Standards are asking us to do.

After digesting this section of text and thinking about what we are doing in the classroom right now I realized that we had the perfect context for some contextual story problems using addition, patterning and input/output tables.

Currently my second graders are working on a biography research project and are planning to construct a wax museum of historical figures in our gym on Thursday.  We have invited our families and they have returned RSVP's with the number of guests who plan to attend.  We are also planning to serve our guests cookies and punch to celebrate afterwards.  

My plan is to give students the numbers of family guests who plan to attend. I will ask them to work with a partner to figure out how many guests will be attending using the Math Buddy Chat system developed by Laura Candler.  After students solve the problem we will look at the different strategies students used and compare our answers.

On Tuesday I will ask students to help me figure out how many cookies we will need to have if we are planning to have enough cookies for each guest to have two cookies each.  This is where the idea for the input/output table came into play for me.  I will pose the problem to students and have them come up with a plan for solving the problem with their partners.  Afterwards we will analyze the problem solving strategies students used. I will guide students towards understanding how they could put this information into a table format to help them see the information more easily.  We will then name this strategy (make a table) and the type of table that we created (which of course will be the input/output table).

As I am typing this I am thinking of how we can continue problem solving within this context throughout the week.  For example, how many packages of cookies would we need to purchase if 10 cookies came in each package?  How much would this cost if each package cost $1.50?  Etc.

I am excited to try this with my students and see how this goes as an introduction to input/output tables.  I will post the results soon!  

Biography Math Problem Solving

It's the little things...

like returning to an iPad workshop after a long lunch with colleagues (who you rarely get to chat with) and finding mini chocolate bars scattered across your group table,  meeting new teachers who willingly share their creative ideas, someone you admire professionally paying you a compliment about the work you have done.  All of those "little" things got me thinking today and have inspired me to stop neglecting this blog!  Those "little" things reminded me that writing helps me reflect, remember and understand where I have been and where I am going.   It is that "big idea" or purpose of writing (reflecting, remembering, understanding) that I try to share with the handful of second graders I am lucky enough to teach each year.

In my classroom we have a Writer's Workshop.  I have been inspired by Lucy Caulkins, Regie Routman, Katie Wood Ray and Ralph Fletcher.  Recently I picked up a copy of Ralph Fletcher's book Boy Writer's: Reclaiming their voices.  10 of my 14 students are boys and for a while now I have had this underlying feeling that they were somehow different from the girl writers I work with.  I have also felt like I have shut down my male students enthusiasm for writing at times because I wouldn't honor a topic choice they had made (to violent, included weapons, a comic book with detailed drawings where they were just yelling "Agh!" page after page).  It happened just this month actually and I felt HORRIBLE about it.  I started wondering why it was that I can't get Theo to write about anything other than Mine Craft?  Does Phillip really need to spend two days of writer's workshop drawing & labeling various swords from a library book?  And what exactly is Black Ops?  It sounds so violent.  Should I really be letting Richard write a story about how he "sniped" his buddy at recess when they were playing "Black Ops?"  Should Timmy really end his personal narrative about hiking up at the lake with "Then my dad and I hiked back to the car because I had to take a poo."  In light of the recent tragedy at Sandyhook many of us may be thinking: ABSOLUTELY NOT! NO VIOLENCE! NO WEAPONS! VULGAR LITTLE FELLA! NO! NO! NO!

Well, Ralph Fletcher makes some really valid points in his book about allowing our boys to write about these topics.  Honoring their stories about the video games they love, the rough games they play, their "boy" world (which is not always violent or uncouth) and teaching them how to take those loves and write more deeply about them.  By the way, the little one who wrote about the end of his hike is one of my most dedicated writers.  He listens closely when I am teaching, he attempts the strategies taught during the mini lessons.  That was how his story really ended. I suggested he not end it that way. "But, that is how is how it really ended." he said, staring up at me with his big, serious, blue eyes. 

In Boy Writer's Ralph Fletcher says in regard to writing, "It is a life skill, a lifeline we throw out at the darkest, as well as the most triumphant, moments of our lives."  I want the writer's in my classroom (boys and girls) to understand that writing is a tool to help them reflect, remember and understand themselves.  That it is a tool they can use in their darkest hour or most triumphant moment their entire lives.  A tool they can use when they are inspired by the "little" things in life.

So how exactly will I teach my boy writer's to understand that writing is more than just a school subject you ask?  I will study them and give them opportunities to write about their interests.  I will discuss with them whether or not the weapons, blood, vomit or poo is enhancing their message or taking away from it?  I will give them lots of opportunities to talk.  I will listen. And I will continue to write myself.

Writing Prompts and Sentences

Last week a good friend of mine posted on Facebook that it was International Book Week and that I should grab the nearest book, turn to page 52 and record the 5th sentence on the page as my next post.  I loved the idea and tried it out.  I got addicted to the idea and proceeded to go through my bookshelf, turn to page 52 of each book and read the 5th sentence on the page.  In the middle of this frenzy it occurred to me that this could be an awesome way to come up with writing prompts and reinforce the idea of a sentence for my second graders!

My sweet little workaholics had been asking me for homework for several days (we are still in the honeymoon phase) so I made their wish my demand this week and created a homework packet that they could work on throughout the following week.  It included reading, spelling, math and writing activities.  For writing I gave them a similar assignment to the one my friend gave me. I asked them to collect 10 reading materials from around their house.  It could be books, magazines, newspapers, cookbooks, you name it.  They had to turn to page 5 and record the 3rd sentence.  My plan is to use these sentences as future writing prompts and homework assignments.  

Here are some of their "found" sentences.

Graphics by DJ Inkers @ djinkers.com

This is a secret between you and me.

"No electric blankets."

Rainbow Shiner, lookin' sharp.

"Why don't you go play with squirrel?

"Aha!"

The hard, woody stem is called a tree trunk.

The black widow is one of the few North American spiders whose bite can hurt humans.

I think they will make for some great writing prompts...

And just a little aside, I looked up International Book Week because another friend of mine questioned whether or not this was legitimate.  It turns out you can host "International Book Week" whenever you want...there is no designated week. :)

Teaching Conventions

This year in my second grade classroom we are beginning the day with a Morning Meeting.  We greet each other, go over our schedule, share and read a morning message.  During the first two weeks of school we just focused on the message.  During the 3rd and 4th week we started looking at the parts of the message that I always include (date, greeting, message, closing, signature).  This week I started leaving out punctuation, misspelling words, etc.  I ask students to read the message first and then tell me something I did WELL.  This was DIFFICULT in the beginning.  The mistakes are the first things they see and want to tell me about.  However, I feel strongly that we need to first look at what the writer has done well and then talk about the places the writer can improve.  After we share about all the things I have done well we begin to look at the areas I need to fix.  When a student comes up to show me what to fix I let them fix my problem and then ask them to explain why I should do this.

Student: "You didn't put capital letters at the beginning of your name."
Me: "Why should I do that?"
Student: "Because you always start a persons name with capital letters."
Me: "Oh, I see.  Thank you for teaching me that!"

This is something my students have discussed in kindergarten,  first grade and now in second grade.  I have never taught conventions this way, but wonder "WHY IN THE WORLD HAVEN'T I?"  I love the way this is reinforcing conventions and their importance and that the children are being empowered by helping and teaching me why I should use the conventions.  I am excited to see how this transfers to their own writing.  I will keep you posted.

Do you have any other ideas for teaching conventions in second grade?  I would LOVE to hear them.

I (Heart) Wordnik

When teaching students new reading strategies I like to authentically highlight and model how I use these strategies as a reader myself.  A few years ago my father-in-law sent my husband a subscription to the Wall Street Journal for his birthday.  The financial section, among others, has been a gold mind for me when modeling comprehension strategies and using prior knowledge, context clues and dictionaries to figure out unknown vocabulary and make meaning of what I am reading.


Tonight I discovered a new "dictionary" tool, Wordnik.  Wordnik is an online dictionary focused on how words are used today.  


I love the platform.  Simple.  You type your unknown vocabulary word into the search box and then click on the (I LOVE this part) "I ALWAYS FEEL LUCKY" button.

I was lucky each time I entered a vocabulary word tonight.  I received a straight forward definition (or 2 or 3) and several examples of how the word is used.


While I read the paper tonight I had my laptop open and within reach.  When I came across a word that needed some clarification I typed it into Wordnik and in the span of a few nanoseconds learned that a Charlatan was a person who makes elaborate, fraudulent claims, occluded was an adjective meaning closed or obstructed (I almost had this one with prior knowledge and context clues!) and that efficacy was the power or capacity to produce a desired effect.


I can't wait to introduce this tool to my second graders this fall!  


What kinds of online dictionaries do you use in the classroom?