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Finally!

It was a short summer compounded by the fact that it never really happened here in Calgary; we went from spring straight into fall and now we're doing a back step into a summery autumn. I don't mind because we're experiencing the most spectacular fall I've seen in a long time. The leaves are turning all shades of yellow, orange, and red. It's beautiful. And, in the midst of such beauty I am searching for a routine with my students. I am particularly focusing on constructing a math workshop with clear and efficient procedures and routines that allow me to be more effective at teaching math in Spanish to monolingual English speakers at the same time that I support my students' nascent math understandings. I think I've almost got it.

To help me sort this out, I am reading Guided Math by Laney Sammons which has given me new ideas and a fresh look at math workshop and small group instruction. I have developed a math menu and will be testing it out with the children this week. I'm also working at making numeracy more visible in my classroom in the same way that literacy is virtually all around us. Simple additions, like a "Math is Spoken Here" wall and easier access to manipulatives will go a long way towards making sure that the children realize that math is everywhere and not just in school. And, of course, I will be making adjustments with feedback and suggestions from the children as to how it's going.

More in the next post.

Comments

Bernadette Rego said…
Hello Elisa,

Over the summer I read "How Big is the Moon? Whole Maths in Action" (Baker, Semple, Stead). It is a great read, discussing planning, implementation, evaluation, and the learning environment.

Best of luck and please keep us posted on your progress!
18 October 2010 at 10:03
Unknown said…
Hi Bernadette,
Thanks for the recommendation. I have heard of this book but have never read it. I will have to look it up.
Take care,
Elisa
19 October 2010 at 07:12
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