math teachers blog

There are many problem-based lessons in mathematics today.  Good problem-based lessons, such as those found  in Investigations in Time, Data, and Space  are ones that students find challenging, yet approachable.  A problem-based lesson includes a launch, a way to get started into the lesson; an explore, that part of the lesson where students are engaged in a rigourous, engaging problem with multiple entry points and where many ways of solving the problem are evidenced; and the summary, the portion of the lesson where the whole class reassembles and discusses the strategies that were found during the explore.  Understanding and refining the elements of a problem-based lesson make your teaching more focused.  To take a closer look learn at the three parts of a good problem-based lesson, click here: Elements of a Problem-Based Lesson

Monitoring during the explore time presents  many problems.  What should I monitor for?  Who will share out during the summary?  What order will they share? What will I  emphasize in the summary discussion?  How can I use my monitoring notes for small groups or number talks?  The article below will be published in Middle School Mathematics and is in draft form here.   Use it  for discussion with another math teacher or just to get you thinking on your own: Orchestrating discussions article

Once you have read about the elements and how to monitor, you are ready to plan!  The template below can help you plan your lesson and anticipate the responses that you will want to include in  your summary.  Annie Shelby, teacher leader at Montview Elementary, uses this template to organize her class. She cut and pasted her entire math class in the smallest font possible into each block of the “why” column.  As she monitors during explore time, she highlights the students who are using a particular strategy and circles the student(s) who will share out in summary.  Later, she can use the list of students from each response group to plan small groups for reteaching or extenting learning, or for parent conferences. lesson planning template 1