Monday, March 20, 2017

What's the problem?





Problem solving is a key component to student growth and understanding in math.  As teachers, we want to find times to allow our students to engage in rich problem-solving activities with their peers.  This helps to develop math vocabulary, reasoning, and perseverance.

 Below, I have listed some story problems which might work well in your classroom.  Unlike the 3 Act Tasks that I have spoken to many of you about, these problems tend to be more open ended and focused on persevering through the problem. I find perseverance to be an area for development for many of our students.

 I know we often feel that we are under the gun to get through our EM4 curriculum, but I think we could maybe still find some times in our learning to build these in.  Students should work in small heterogeneous groups to solve these problems.  

 Maybe... 
  • you can choose to have it be a piece of your workshop?  
  • it will fit in on a day right before or after a long weekend or break?
  • it could be part of a day when you are reviewing for a test or going over the results of one?
  • it could be an opening or closing activity?
  • it could be done on a Friday as a break from the regular routine?
Please let me know if you would be interested in collaborating to implement more problem-solving like these into your classroom.  I would be happy to help or lead your class for a day while giving one of these a go.

These come from two websites that I depend on quite a bit--youcubed.org and nrich.maths.org.  You can find printable pages and explanations for you and your students at these sites. I have identified them by grade level, but many of them could work in other grades, so feel free to check as many out as you wish!








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