Who would have thought that 2/3 x 2 would have caused such a raucous with fifth graders? When I taught a math lesson on Tuesday, we came across this problem. The children had several different strategies for solving the problem as well as different answers. The students were so engaged in the math, that they were debating why their answers were better or right over other students’ strategies and answers. So excited were my fifth graders that I had five who could not stay at their desks. I turned around and had them standing around the board begging, and I mean begging, to demonstrate their approach and solution on the interactive white board. Others were standing at their desks, hands raised and mouths running about math.
Math.
They were talking, almost shouting, about mathematics. In all my years of schooling I do not ever remember a single day when we students got so excited over a math problem. It just never happened. We sat quietly and listened to the instructor teach us one correct strategy and solution. We copied it, memorized the procedure, and practiced it over and over again. Not much excitement there.
I hated those days and so I take a different approach, which seems to be working. Not only do I have a higher percentage of students participating in the process at any single given time (as compared to when I was in school), but I had a classroom of kids busting to talk about math.
It was not all sugar and spice. They are fifth graders and thusly have a hard time handling such excitement and energy. It did, indeed, get out of hand. They just could not contain themselves. So I have some modeling to do and discussions to hold, so that the students can deal with the excitement of mathematics in the classroom. They need to learn how to be excited yet controlled simultaneously. I would have it no other way. Children who are too excited about sharing their math strategies and solutions: That is a great problem to have.
(NOTE: Some of the student misconceptions revolved around turning the whole number “2” into a fraction. Some thought it should be 2/2 and others thought it should be 2/1. Makes a big difference in the solution. Others were drawing pictures (area models) to represent the math problem. They too, a few of them, had trouble dealing with both a fraction and a whole number.)
Math.
They were talking, almost shouting, about mathematics. In all my years of schooling I do not ever remember a single day when we students got so excited over a math problem. It just never happened. We sat quietly and listened to the instructor teach us one correct strategy and solution. We copied it, memorized the procedure, and practiced it over and over again. Not much excitement there.
I hated those days and so I take a different approach, which seems to be working. Not only do I have a higher percentage of students participating in the process at any single given time (as compared to when I was in school), but I had a classroom of kids busting to talk about math.
It was not all sugar and spice. They are fifth graders and thusly have a hard time handling such excitement and energy. It did, indeed, get out of hand. They just could not contain themselves. So I have some modeling to do and discussions to hold, so that the students can deal with the excitement of mathematics in the classroom. They need to learn how to be excited yet controlled simultaneously. I would have it no other way. Children who are too excited about sharing their math strategies and solutions: That is a great problem to have.
(NOTE: Some of the student misconceptions revolved around turning the whole number “2” into a fraction. Some thought it should be 2/2 and others thought it should be 2/1. Makes a big difference in the solution. Others were drawing pictures (area models) to represent the math problem. They too, a few of them, had trouble dealing with both a fraction and a whole number.)
Posts
3 comments:
I have an idea...in order to control their excitement, why don't you snap your fingers in their faces and "shhhhh" them :)
-Ms. Fat Jack
Ah, Skinny Kitty (aka Ms. FJ) you remember my other blog posts.
Hopefully I learned from that soon-to-be teacher. What not to do, that is.
I cannot tell you how glad I am that you are having a good classroom experience (especially after the last reading post about your, well, challenged classmates). Lessons like that don't come every day (even the next time, something they were SOOOOO excited about isn't all that great--or maybe that is high school). Cherish them.
Post a Comment