This week: #TBT Flashback and a Few Challenges

Edited By Sahar Khatri @khatrimath

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Last week, Kent Haines (@mrAKHaines) presented A Conceptual Approach to Teaching Integer Operations. Keep-Change-Flip isn’t cutting it. We explored a unit of instruction on integers that involves games, visual models, vertical number lines, and open number sentences. View the recording here.

Flashback: Throw Back Tuesday #TBT

This week we go back within the archives of #MTBoS and present a few challenges moving forward.

Flashback: A Mathematical Exploration with Mysterious Manipulatives

This week Jamie Duncan tweeted about having purchased one of my favorite mathematical manipulatives for her classroom.

The reason why I love cuisenaire rods is, that not only are they a mathematical manipulative, but they have inherent algebraic properties. Quantity and number comparisons are a natural fit, whether talking whole numbers or fractions. There is seemingly no structure to these mysterious manipulatives until you discover their fundamental pattern. The white is a unit and so on.

This reminded me of one of my favorite blog posts by Simon Gregg about the Hundred Face Activity. First dig out your cuisenaire rods, do Simon’s (and Malke’s) activity, and then tweet about it under #HundredFaceChallenge!

My other challenge for you is to grab your favorite mathematical manipulatives and as the year winds down, find or create a fun and mathematically challenging activity for your students to do with them! And then let us know about it! Have fun and do some math!

~by Andrew Gael (@bkdidact)

Flashback: A Joe Schwartz Scissors Classic

A great post is timeless, whether posted recently or last year. Last week, Joe Schwartz tweeted one of his blog posts from last year, titled The Standard Formerly Known As 4.2.3D.2.a

Joe does a beautiful job exposing student weaknesses with measuring objects to the nearest quarter inch. Poor kids!

Wanna know why? They’re using that confounded ruler with inches and quarter inches!

So in true Joe fashion, he got out his scissors and started cutting square inches and strips of quarter inches. That’s right. Now measure that key and pencil kids! Read his post.

My challenge to you this week: make something in your math class more tangible and meaningful with your scissors this week. Tweet me about it.

~ by Andrew Stadel (@mr_stadel)

Flashback: Because whenever we look back, moms are the best!

This week in honor of Mother’s Day, Her Mathness, Wendy Menard reblogged a very moving post from July 2013 commemorating her mother, who passed away 6 years ago. Also a teacher, her mother cared deeply about her students and left a lasting legacy at the school where she taught. Great reminder that we’re not just teachers of content, the importance of building relationship, and a reminder of #whyIteach. Here’s a piece of the post, but make sure to read the post in its entirety.

“Six months after my mother died, the school she taught in actually dedicated a classroom to her. Many of her former students and colleagues came to the dedication, brought home-made treats and read letters to her. They were eager to meet the grandchildren my mother used as examples in her lessons almost daily (my teenagers just LOVED that). It was a beautiful occasion, and the poem on the dedication plaque was written by one of her students.”

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers and our deepest positive thoughts to all missing their mothers.
~Sahar Khatri (@khatrimath)

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