Wednesday, June 17, 2009
"But I thought this was math!?"
My math class just finished reading "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Baillett. It is the first year that I have done it (reading a novel in math). I teach a high group of 4th graders and I felt that it was the message that I wanted to send them away with: Be curious, be diligent, be bold. The characters are all of the above and more. The story includes a lot of logic, patterns, codes, and pentominoes. It took three weeks to read, but I balanced my class with more "traditional" math and left out the weekly challenges. I used the IGETIT approach, and let the kids discuss and figure things out, and the classes were perfectly unpredictable. It worked out better than I envisioned, (better next year, though) and suprisingly, I had no complaints from parents. Talk to me next week if you are interested in more info. I think the book is best for 4th-6th grade.
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6 comments:
Hats off to you Steve... for stepping out and doing something you were unsure of. As teachers, we have a tendency to want to predict every outcome and its path - and if we don't meet that criteria we feel we've failed somehow. It makes sense of course, since we have up to 30 kids we are responsible for .... who knows how what we do in any particular moment affects their lives in some way... it's a huge responsibility and we take it very seriously for the most part. But, one of the results of complete control over outcomes can be a narrow track, along which we train our kids to walk. Then we ask ourselves why they can't think.
Your math/literature lesson was the antithesis of that. Not only have you made a strong connection between the two, but your kids were engaged the whole way. And THAT makes for the sweet sound of learning. Another wonderful thing that happens is that you as a teacher are engaged. That's not a topic we talk about a whole lot, but is every bit as important in the learning process. When you are excited about anything, it transfers to those to whom you are speaking. The opposite is also true. So when you are planning an activity, always ask yourself " If I was my student, would I want to do it?" If you don't get a solid 'yes' on that, try to think of ways to turn it into a yes.
So... find an interesting investigation (like this novel) that engages both you and your kids, know specifically what your objectives are and how you plan to get there, be willing to allow those objectives to manifest in surprising ways and ... you have learning magic. Thanks for sharing your experience. I encourage you to try for another very soon to reinforce your budding awareness that good things come from these experiences.
I haven't read the book but have heard about it several times. I'll order it today.
Although the students that I have are not reading at the level of your kids, I frequently use "A Grain of Rice" with my third or fourth graders, in which a Chinese peasant chooses one grain of rice to be doubled for a period of time as a reward for saving the princess. The kids are amazed at how quickly it accumulates. I ask them to choose how they would prefer to receive an allowance as a follow-up.
It's a lot of fun to use literature with a strong math connection, from "The Grouchy Ladybug" to "Chasing Vemeer," and a great way to sneak in more math! It also strengthens the concept that math is all around us and is part of everyday life much as print material.
What a great idea, Steve! I'm going to check out the book, too. We've had a push to do more writing in all content areas, including math. I've done some journal writings in which the kids reflect on what they are learning. Next year, maybe I will try incorporating reading as well!
I haven't read the book Steve, but will look it up when I get to the bookstore. What grade do you teach Steve?
Great book huh Mary? A Grain Of Rice...., which I usually use to have the kids calculate the exponent and after the three or four digit multiplication they usually gave up!! The word exponential and exponentially usually create a dialogue/debate/arguments:), resulting in students referencing the dictionary, a skill direly needed to build their vocabulary! Then they need to determine the parts of speech and its usage. It is slow, but well worth it!!!
I also use the book : "How Big is a Foot?" as a segue (spelling?) into measurement, which I found in the Marilyn Burns' Math Kit. We would print our feet, measure them, and each of us would compare that with a ruler. This discovery usually become more competative to find out who has the longest foot and/or how many more inches we need to make a foot. Of course the centimeter came up, and then one of them would always bring in the yard stick out. This is how I "subversively" teach Math during my Read 180 program. Even in the Read 180 program the article, Fires Out of Control, is loaded with temperature and distances.
I just discovered Greg Tang's series of children's picture books which provide fun and creative activities to practice math thinking strategies for counting, adding or multiplying quantities. Most books are for ages 5-8 or 7-10 and are published through Scholastic.
I hope to use two of his books next year as follow-up activities to lessons in composing and decomposing numbers with my caseload of struggling first- and second-graders. "Math for All Seasons" is a riddle book exploring ways to count objects in different ways. "Math-erpieces: The Art of Problem-Solving" provides practice for analytical and creative thinking through the subject of masterpiece paintings and clever poetry.
These books look like great ways to incorporate problem-solving ideas into other areas of the curriculum and to provide a gateway for exchanging ideas about "using what we know to figure out something we don't know." What I've discovered this year is that kids need opportunities to discuss their mathematical strategies with others.
Has anyone else used Tang's books?
I love using literature in math as it gives kids a context. It also helps kids make connections throughout the curriculum-and helps us teachers who are so pressed for time! I did have a colleague pass that book on to me Steve as I will be looping to third grade next year. I haven't read it yet but sounds like it might be a challenge for third grade. Maggie I totally agree with your statement about the teacher's enthusiasm being a model for the kids. I am excited to teach a different grade next year (after 21 years!) and hope that my students will feel that excitement. I know I can always feel your passion for math as you teach us!
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