Saturday, October 27, 2012

Mathematical Thinking

The post below was cross-posted on my classroom blog. It was written for parents but I thought it might provide a good follow-up to my previous post here about math.

Mathematical Thinking











  1. Lack of number sense is the biggest challenge that HS math teachers face. I love what you've done. I know that many (most?) of my Geometry and Algebra 2 students didn't have someone who did those activities with them (or they didn't do them enough).

    I looked back on your previous math post and saw the books that you referenced. All listed as elementary material. K-<6.

    What do we do with 13-18 year olds who still don't have that number sense but have made their way to these levels of high school math? I did the SET puzzle of the day today and was thinking about how good that and MasterMind and the like would be for my students. But how do we do that in the midst of our already packed curriculum? And if we DO choose to spend a few minutes here and there on things like this, how do we make them not seem to 'babyish'?

    1. I wish I knew how to make number sense activities not seem "babyish" to older students. I teach first grade now but I taught 8th grade math and algebra for the biggest chunk of my career - at the beginning of my career. I think that is why I am so passionate about doing number sense activities with my first graders. I know how important it becomes as they move through the years.

      The basic idea of a number talk would probably not be to "babyish" for older students. You would just need to adjust the numbers that they work with to more grade level appropriate ones. There would still be many ways to think about or solve a problem and lots to discuss. Not sure if this helps but it is one idea. Thanks for reading.

  2. What a great explanation of why we teach subitizing! The parents of your students are lucky to have such a thoughtful, informed teacher for their students.

  3. Jill, I too have been doing something very similar with my students after reading Number Sense Routines by Jessica Shumway this past summer. Her book is filled with simple ideas just like this that get to heart of important concepts in mathematics. I love how you compared it to sounding out every word in reading and I'll be using that with my students too. Thanks for sharing. Karen

    1. Karen,

      I do love finding ways to make connections between the content areas. It is almost a hobby for me. :) Thanks for reading.