Fake Fact Fluency, Time with Daddy, & Timed Tests...

I grew up taking timed tests. As a child, my Daddy would sit at the kitchen table every Thursday night and quiz me on my multiplication facts in preparation for "Fact Fluency Friday." Decades later, I cringe at the thought. Was "Fact Fluency Friday" REALLY about fact fluency? Nope.

As a matter of fact, it could have been renamed, "Fake Fact Fluency Friday," or "Memorization Madness." You see, I had my facts memorized, and I made good grades on my timed tests. However, practices such as this came with a cost. In exchange for lots of memorized "times tables," and good grades, this is what I paid...

1. Wasted time! I spent hours doing rote recall when I could have been doing something else more worthwhile. The only time benefit I got from it was time with my Daddy.
2. Stress! There was a looming 5-minute test to answer 50 questions the next day.
3. Deficiency! I had complete memorization, but no strategy. Honestly, I did not develop true and usable strategies until later in my matriculation.
4. Counterproductivity! I had lots of "times tables" memorized, but I was unable to quickly and accurately apply a variety of strategies to solve problems in multiple ways.
5. Quality! In this case, as in many other situations, quantity trumped quality.

Teachers, parents, loved ones...please help our children to develop authentic number sense. They will thank you for it. Check out this article!  Article: Timed Tests and Anxiety

This "New" Math & Teaching the Parents

"We need math books."
"I didn't learn math this way."
"I don't get this new math."

How many times have you heard a parent say one of these statements?  In my heart, while statements such as these sound like criticisms, I like to consider them cries for help.  Most parents truly want their children to be as successful as they can.  So, if we are not teaching with textbooks, worksheets, and flashcards, why give them to parents as they work to help their children?

On that note, I would like to send a "shout out" to a 2nd grade teacher at my school, Mrs. Valarie Amerson.  It all started with a homework assignment.  One of her students refused to solve a problem using the standard algorithm at the request of his parent.  So, Mrs. Amerson decided use part of her parent-teacher conferences to engage parents in authentic, standards-based minilessons!  This is what she had to say...
"During my parent teacher conferences, I have been teaching parents how to do math. I have been teaching them how to use the empty number line and modeling using base ten. I also tell them that students have to be able to explain their thinking. We also talk about how the students are expected to use mental math to solve problems and I show what that looks like. Many of them are shocked at how much math has changed."

 

Wouldn't it be more powerful to engage parents in experiences like this that give them what they need to truly understand the math and help their children to be truly successful with Common Core Mathematics?  There are several sites and resources that would give parents exposure to meaningful math.  Some are included as links on the right side of this page.  Here are just a few more:

• www.georgiastandards.org/Common-Core/Pages/Math-K-5.aspx - an all inclusive bank of Common Core standards, lessons, activities, tasks, assessments...(Hey!  It's what we teachers use!)
• www.khanacademy.com - FREE tutorials, lessons, and activities
• www.teachingchannel.org - videos and explanations
• www.k-5mathteachingresources.com - grade-appropriate activities, problems, tasks by standard
• www.mathpickle.com - videos, demonstrations, activities

I believe that knowledge is power.  As we educators work to build solid mathematical foundations with our students, let's give our parents a taste of the "Math Kool-Aid!"  Trust me, the parents and your students will eventually thank you for it.

P.S. I have decided to start doing Number Talks with the parents who come to my lunch and learn session!  ;)

2nd Grade Teacher Drinks the "Kool-Aid"...and LOVES It!

A 2nd grade teacher at my school began to slowly accept "The Math Movement." She took baby sips of the "Math Kool-Aid" at first. Now, she's gulping it in large quantities! Boy, do I feel like a proud Mama! Kudos to you, Melanie Henderson! Stay thirsty! Here is one of her "lightbulb moments" below!

Standard Algorithm Lightbulb Moment!

"Today, after my class finished math corner and we moved on to the number talk, I brought up how it's important for us to use different strategies to make math problems easier to solve. It was interesting because after I said that, one of my kids said, "Mrs. Henderson, I know why you don't teach us to solve problems with the standard algorithm. If you did, that's the only way we would solve problems instead of using all of these different strategies that we know!" So cool that a seven year old was able to recognize that!! :)"

Need a Laugh?

A fellow math coach sent this to me.  Thanks for the laugh, Mike W!

So...how much was the tip?

More Football...Bucky the Badger!

The Georgia Bulldogs just lost.  What is going in with football in this state?  So, here is another football problem for you to try and share. 

"Bucky the Badger" was first shared with me by a beloved colleague of mine a year ago (Thanks Graham!).  Engaging with this problem led me to Dan Meyer.  This man is PURE Awesomeness.  Check out his TED Talk and blog!  Dan Meyer's perspective is fresh, clear and simple.  Teach quality math, and the rest will come.   One of the problems on his site is the "Bucky the Badger" problem.  It comes with a video, and questions in "workshop friendly" format.  Share this with your students and see how they do!
*Click the title to see the actual lesson and resources.

"Bucky the Badger"

 

It's Football Season...Those Darn Falcons!

This is how I feel about my "great seat" tickets right about now. 

I am an Atlanta Falcons ENTHUSIAST.  As an Atlanta native, I am a true "Dirty Bird", win or lose.  After a dazzling season last year, I was terribly disappointed at this year's 0-4 record (so far).  So, I stumbled upon a problem I could share with some of my teachers to investigate in their classrooms.  Maybe listening to some of the students' brilliant observations will help me to not be such a "sore loser."  DARN FALCONS!

Do Teams That Spend a Lot Win a Lot? 

*Credit: www.yummymath.com                  

First ask students to look at the table below.  What do you notice?  What does it make you wonder?

Team	Team Payroll	Wins	Sport	Season
N.Y. Yankees	$223,302,212	95	MLB	2012
Oakland A's	$59,493,290	94	MLB	2012
Philadelphia Flyers	$71,072,500	47	NHL	2011 - 12
New York Islanders	$29,573,500	34	NHL	2011 - 12
Minnesota Vikings	$123,553,646	10	NFL	2011 - 12
Jacksonville Jaguars	$92,768,120	2	NFL	2011 - 12
New York Knicks	$117,024,192	36	NBA	2011 - 12
Charlotte Bobcats	$38,032,540	7	NBA	2011 - 12

In this activity students compare team wins with team salaries in the four major North American sports … the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL.  Students use data from recent seasons to create scatter plots comparing wins and salaries for each sport.  You can run the lesson anyway you wish.  

Practice Standards or Content Standards?

So on my journey, I began to notice that teachers would jump right into the content standards and neglect the practice standards. They were so focused on getting the content covered within the time allotted on the pacing guide, they placed all (or most) of their eggs in the "content standard basket." Personally, I feel "some kind of way" about rigid pacing guides, but that's a topic for another day. So, I do understand my teachers' struggles. I have been focusing a lot of my professional learning on the importance of the 8 Standards for Mathematical Practice, and I have even rolled out a student engagement initiative here at my school. We have been implementing ways to help students to experience mathematics from a quality vs. quantity perspective, and teachers are gradually implementing patient problem solving practices into their instruction. The realization that true and meaningful math instruction is more than checking off a list of standards covered is alive and well here at SES. On that note, as I was researching (as I often do), I came across this graphic that another math coach uses to help her teachers to make sense of it all. It is a beautiful illustration, actually, so I thought I would share it. Shout our to Donna Boucher at http://mathcoachscorner.blogspot.com/ You are my hero!