Mathematical Mindsets: Chpt. 5

August is here! Thank you for stopping by. This week we are talking about rich mathematical tasks from Jo Boaler's, Mathematical Mindsets.

Teachers are the ones who can create exciting mathematics environments, give students the positive message they need, and take any math task and make it one that piques students' curiosity and interest. ~Jo Boaler (57)

Key Takeaway: Mathematical tasks should be challenging but accessible to students. The tasks should be engaging and require students to think about math visually and numerically.

Classroom Connections:

• When giving students problems to solve, pique curiosity and prime their brains for learning by giving students the opportunity to explore problems even before the methods to solve the problem have been explained to them. Yes, you heard that right, even before they know the methods to solve. Through exploration, students may come to a point when a method needs to be explained for them to progress further in solving the problem. At this time, the method can be introduced in response to students discovering the need.

• These are six questions that can help guide in creating and offering rich mathematical tasks (90) to students. These are great questions to have nearby when planning.
• Can you open the task to encourage multiple methods, pathways, and representations?
• Can you make it an inquiry task?
• Can you ask the problem before teaching the method?
• This is a definite one to try out! Pose the problem first. See where students take the problem. Be sure to ask them to be able to justify their thinking!
• Can you add a visual component?
• Drawings can put a new lens on a math problem for students!
• Can you make it low floor and high ceiling?
• Tasks can be created so that they are accessible to students of various readiness levels while offering extensions to those you are ready.
• Can you add the requirement to convince and reason?

• Flipping questions found right in textbooks is a starting point for creating rich mathematical tasks. Starting slow is key. In this way, you can begin to build a bank of rich tasks that parallel the standards you need to teach.
• Here are some websites to peruse for additional ideas. It is important to consider your students when choosing problems. Raise the ceiling and see how high your students can soar!
• Youcubed
• NCTM Illuminations
• NRich
• Estimation 180

As the new school year is upon us, let's consider ways to transform the types of math problems/tasks students see in the math classroom.

Resources for Teaching Math

Here is a snapshot of some math resources you should know about. What I really like about these resources is that they have resources for many grade levels. So please check them out. You may find something you can use in your classroom next week.

The first resource I share with you is Illuminations by NCTM ~ Resources for Teaching Math (K-HS).

If you visit this site you can search for activities based on a grade range of activities or the following math strands: numbers & operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, and data analysis & probability.

Once you sort by grade band, you can skim and scan the activities to find an activity that fits your goals and objectives.

Might you find an Illumination's activity that might work with your students?

Another resource I wanted to share is Inside Mathematics (K-HS). If you click in the box in the upper right hand corner, shortcuts by grade or strand, you could narrow your search to what would be most beneficial to you and your students.

Here you can see I searched for numbers and operations in base ten. Then I clicked on second and third grade. Here you can find different problems of the month and performance assessment tasks. Use these activities to encourage math talk in your classroom. Adapt the activities to fit the needs of your students.

There are video resources available at Inside Math that can be helpful as well to the teaching of mathematics.

The final resource I am going to share is K-5 Math Resources. You can search for activities by grade level band and strand: number, geometry, and measurement/data. You may some free resources here.

As you can see, I searched third grade activities in the number strand. The standard comes up along with possible activities. If you click the link, you can print off a PDF to use with your students.

Here is another example if I searched second grade activities in the measurement and data activities.

As with any resource, you have to evaluate the activities based on the needs of your students and the goals you hope to accomplish.

I would love to hear what math resources you use for your students. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you can add some ideas you found on these sites to your math toolbox.