Today we went to Henry Park Primary. This school of 2000 students has a focus on character development. We learned so many great ideas from them to take back to our school!
1) Explicitly weaving into instruction the development of Math attitudes, such as beliefs, interests, appreciation, confidence, and perseverance.
2) Integrating Math into Learning Journeys (which is probably the best term for field trip I’ve ever heard!!), to reinforce skills and demonstrate the real-world applications of skills. Some examples included going to the supermarket and totaling a groceries trip or taking a math trail on campus counting different things around the school.
3) At HP, the banded math classes based on ability are different sizes. The class with students who struggle more is fewer students (as few as 10) to give them the support they need.
4) MATH JOURNALS!! We were so lucky to be in a P5 class when they were reviewing what makes a good math journal (because we didn’t know!). According to the class, a good math journal includes:
a. Math vocabulary
b. Examples!
c. Words, numbers, pictures
d. Strategies
e. Questions
f. Focus (in that the entry is focused)
g. Feelings/opinions
5) Pupils in one class were given a Student Self-Assessment Checklist. Here’s the gist of it:
a. Complete answer
b. Math language
c. Charts/diagrams
d. Connections
6) Polya’s 4 Steps to Problem Solving: After several teachers mentioned Polya, I finally asked one of them to spell his name for me. After we got home, I researched his 4 principles to problem solving:
a. Understand the Problem: ask yourself the following questions:
b. Devise a Plan: use a strategy! Some examples are:
c. Carry Out the Plan
d. Look back
7) In one class, the following prompt is connected to a figure as a Do-Now:
“Write the question that a student could use to draw this figure.”
“Write the question that a student could use to draw this figure.”
The lessons we observed had many activities that we could do with our students at home to promote both critical thinking in problem solving and mental math. Here are some examples:
*"You have 7 sticks- How many triangles can you create?" Sts were given 7 toothpicks and went to work recording each configuration. Some made figures that included 19 triangles...awesome!
*Brainpop quiz- something we also use in the US, its fun and engaging
*Mental Sums Challenge- teacher flashes 10 questions for a designated about of seconds (depending on level but normally SUPER FAST). Students record their answers in notebooks and later go through the answers with the teacher. This structure starts in the second half of P1- it was impressive!!
*Logical Reasoning Questions- the teacher displayed a series of information points students had to use logical reasoning to figure out who married whom and on which day.
*Lastly, a teacher gave students certain parameters to draw a geometric figure (ex. draw a figure with 5 obtuse angles). When one student shared his and did not do it correctly, the teacher took it as a learning opportunity and had the class help him fix it.
(see pictures below from these lessons)
There were so many instant take-aways from Henry Park. I am really excited to get back and try some of these ideas (especially Math Journals!). Thank you so much!!
7 Stick Challenge
Student recording 7 stick formations
Mental Math Sums Challenge (10 questions total)
Logical Reasoning Question
Students drawing figures with parameters set by both teacher and peers
Helping a student change his figure to be able to meet the parameters (his whiteboard projected while others adjusted the lines on the class whiteboard)
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