SMP 1- Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
Grade 2, Friday, September 16
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Even after his teacher told the class to put their journals away, this student continued to work on a self-created broken calculator problem. I was impressed with the way he challenged himself, his determination, and the willpower he showed not to use the broken key. |
SMP 2- Reason abstractly and quantitatively
Grade 4, Thursday, September 15
The fourth graders were presented with the above problem. Because they were in the middle of a unit on estimation and rounding, all students obediently rounded each of the numbers to the nearest hundred. They added 500 + 200 + 300, got 1,000, and answered yes.
All, that is, except for this student:
All, that is, except for this student:
SMP 3- Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
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Is there an easier way to incorporate this practice than Which One Doesn't Belong? I've used this prompt countless times, and never once has a student explained that the basketball didn't belong because, "It's the only one that bounces. If you try to bounce the other ones they'll get smushed." Gotta love those first graders! |
SMP 4- Model with mathematics
Grade 3, Tuesday, September 20
Multiplication and addition equations, pictures and number lines. Same problem, many paths, many models:
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SMP 5- Use appropriate tools strategically
Grade 5, Monday, September 19
Volume time again. I described this project here. Calculators and rulers are the tools of choice.
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SMP 6- Attend to precision
Grade 5, Monday, September 19
Estimation on a number line. Too low, too high, and just right. Which student attended to precision?
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SMP 7- Look for and make use of structure
Grade 3, Wednesday, September 14
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This student is using the structure of the hundreds grid and what he knows about place value and patterns to help him fill in missing cells. |
SMP 8- Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
Grade 5, Wednesday, September 21
Deriving the formula for finding the volume of a rectangular prism.
Some reflections:
- I'm fortunate to work in a position that gives me access to a wide range of grade levels. The fact that I was not able to get into a kindergarten classroom doesn't mean that there isn't great math work and thinking happening there, because there is.
- I realized there were two practice standards I didn't fully comprehend. My friend Graham Fletcher helped me with SMP 8, which he describes as "algebrafying." The other was SMP 2, and I'm still not totally sure my example fits.
- I found many activities and tasks with overlapping standards. For example, the volume project that I used to illustrate SMP 5 could also fit with SMPs 1, 3, 4, 6, and 8.
Most days I find myself lost in the content standards: what they really mean, how they fit together and progress across grade levels, whether or not our curriculum really does align, how we can do a better job engaging kids and hitting them with meaning. Pulling back for a week and viewing the math in my school through a practice standard lens was refreshing, and made me realize that I was missing the forest for the trees. Lesson: don't miss the forest for the trees.