Grace Culbreth

12-1-14
Math Minutes
Math Minutes
5) In this math lesson we are dealing with subtraction. I found the childrens books
If You Were a Minus Sign by Speed Shaskan. I thought this book would be helpful
because it introduces the subtraction sign. A book I found that introduces
subtraction is The Action of Subtraction by Brian Cleary. I thought this book would
be helpful to read before the lesson to introduce the subject to the students. Another
book I found was Subtraction Action by Loreen Leedy. This book would be helpful
during this lesson because there are math story problems in the book. This will help
introduce story problems to the students. I thought all of these book would be a
great resource to use with the lessons I have observed being taught. They do a good
job of introducing subtraction subjects to the students while being entertaining. I
have seen my teacher use books such as these to get the students excited and
involved before teaching a lesson.

7) I have seen my teacher give one formative assessment to her students while I
have been at Trace. Mostly she does assessments by observing the students. The
time they took a formative assessment she had the students sit quietly and work
with no help from their friends. Some students struggled with this because they are
used to relying on their peers. She is able to see who is doing well on their own and
is ready to move on through this assessment. She can also tell from observing

because she sees which students who are getting help from their peers and who
understand the problems.

10) 1. Did the teacher encourage higher-level thinking? If so, what were some of the
teachers actions? Cite specific examples and strategies (Questions posed, tasks
presented, etc.)
My teacher does encourage higher-level thinking in her classroom. She asks
the students how they found their answer. She asks the students if there is more
than one way to find that answer. She always adds extra questions to her worksheet
to ensure that if the student is succeeded they will be challenged by a harder
question.
2. Did the students make conjectures or engage in mathematical arguments? Were
they expected to defend or support their arguments and conjectures? How do you
know? Describe the students actions in this lesson.
Whenever a student answers a question in my class at Trace they are always
asked to defend their answer. They must show how they got their answer and
usually by them explaining their answer they can see what they got wrong if their
answer is incorrect. The students are always eager to answer and share their
answers to the class. They enjoy it especially when others in the class use hand
signals to indicate they got the same answer as well.

3. Circle any of the verbs below that you think describe the activities students were
asked to do during the lesson.
Explore

investigate

conjecture

solve justify represent

discover

construct

verify explain

describe

use

predict

formulate

develop

4. To what extent were all students expected to use higher-level thinking? In other
words, when a question or task was posed, what did the teacher do to ensure all
students were thinking about and answering the question? How was the classroom
structured so that all students were engaged?
All of the students were seated in a semi circle around the teacher. She would
call on all students not just those who raised their hands. All of the students were
excited about answering so it was not very hard to keep all involved during the
lesson. She uses the students as examples for the problems, which helps them get
excited about doing each problem.
5. What tools (technology, manipulatives, visuals, etc.) were used to support higherlevel thinking?
My teacher at Trace often uses the smart board during her lessons to show
examples of problems. She also has the students use the markers and the white
board to demonstrate how they were able to figure out the problem so the rest of
the class can see what they were thinking as well. She uses beads to demonstrate
word problems, as well as counters. Each student also has paper numbers from 0-10
that they use to show how they can make bigger or smaller numbers. They use these

as a class and it helps the students see what others were thinking and all the
different ways to make numbers.

9) Teacher Interview
1. Describe how a typical lesson is organized. What is your role? What is the
students role?
We start with number talks, quick images, number fans or number lines. After that
we move into the lesson focus or a review of the day before which includes an I do,
you do , we do most days. Sometimes instead of I do we do you do I reverse it and
see what you already know what go from there with the lesson. After the lesson the
students practice on their own and transition into math workshops. The students
run the lesson and I just facilitate.
2. How do you decide how much time to provide learners to explore math?
Its different with every kid. As long as they are engaged I feel great about giving
them more time. If they get frustrated I know I need to change what they are doing
and see what they need to be doing instead.
3.How does the way youve arranged the room affect the students learning
mathematics?
I have lots of visuals, anchor chats, and the room need to be a tool to the students.
Maniplulatives are on their level exactly where they can get to them when they need
to use them.

4. How important do you think it is to use real contexts or problem situations in

teaching a math concept or skill? How do you use contexts or situations to develop
mathematical skills and proficiency?
You have to make it authentic for them to understand. Approach through story
problems. Make the story about them by using their names or by using situation we
have experienced as a class. Let the students drive the lesson. If they take it
somewhere go with it, if not dont push it.
5. What do you do about the learner who says that he or she doesnt like math or is
anxious about doing math?
Its all about knowing the students. Making it real, showing with cubes or acting it
out, finding their interests. Know what they enjoy. Choice is so huge. How they learn
and what they learn.
6.Do learners ask questions or make conjectures during your math instruction? Do
you encourage this? How?
Number talks, hand signals, have the class guide the discussion. Sharing their
thinking with the group.
7. What do your learners do that helps you understand that they are making sense
of math? How do you foster and encourage those actions?
Being able to reason and justify their thinking. Explain how they know happens in
number talks. Assessments at the end of the unit to monitor where they are and
ongoing assessments daily that are observed.

2) I would say that my teacher at Trace is a constructivist. In our textbook it

describes a constructivist teacher as one who believes children construct their own
knowledge. She focuses on what the students know and their thinking rather than
their answer is right. I struggled with this at first. My teacher had to explain to me
that it is okay for the students to get the wrong answer. She has the students sit in a
circle and discuss their answers as well as how they got their answers. This helps
the other students see their peers see the problems, and focus less on how whether
or not the answer is right or wrong.

11)
Strategies for
Orchestrating Discourse

Evidence

Teachers Role

Record teacher statements or actions in the appropriate box

Pose questions and tasks

that elicit, engage, and
challenge each students
thinking

My teacher at Trace always asks the students to defend their

answers. She asks them how they got their answer and expects them
to explain to the class. She also has the students turn and talk to
their partners and then explain what their partner was thinking as
well.

Listen carefully to
students ideas

She listens to the students state their answers and then she asks
them to show the class on the board or with their fingers to show
how they got their answer.

Ask students to clarify and

justify their ideas orally
and in writing

She gives the students worksheets to show their work and illustrate
their thinking. She also has them explain orally how they figure out
their answer to explain to the entire class what their thinking.
Sometimes she ahs them come to the front to illustrate their answer
with manipulatives or on the board.

Decide when and how to

attach mathematical
notation and language to
students ideas

She normally only does this at the end of the lesson. She has the
students think of how to word it mathematically to see if they
understand how to do that before telling them how to do it. If the
students do not figure out how to say things in mathematical
language she will explain it to them towards the end of the lesson.

Strategies for
Orchestrating Discourse
Monitor students
participation in
discussions and decide
when and how to
encourage each student
to participate

Students Role

Evidence

All of the students in my class at Trace participate all the time. They
love to raise their hand and give their answers even if they are
unsure. My teacher normally calls o everyone in the class and has
them work in partners and randomly call on different people in
different groups to ensure that everyone is paying attention and on
track with what they are suppose to be doing.
Record student statements or actions in the appropriate box

Listen to, respond to, and

question the teacher and
each other

The students are put into groups and they discuss with one another
their thinking on how a problem should be worked out. They then
answer to the teacher their thinking or their partners thinking based
on the question the teacher has asked.

Use a variety of tools to

reason, make
connections, solve
problems, and
communicate

The students use manipulatives such as cubes to find their answers

to various problems. They also use illustrations to figure out how to
solve a problem. They also use their fingers to count if they need.

Initiate problems and

questions

The students use hand signs to show the teacher and their peers if
they have a question, if they agree, and if they do not agree. This
helps everyone else see what their classmates are thinking, and
helps the teacher see who is understanding and who is not.

Make conjectures and

present solutions

The students raise their hands and discuss with the class their
answer and their reasoning. After this they present to the class how
they found their answer using the board or manipulitives.

Explore examples and

counterexamples to
explore a conjecture

When a student disagrees with another student they then explain

why they got a Different answer and support why they think their
peer may have gotten the wrong answer.

Try to convince
themselves or others of
the validity of particular
representations, solutions,
conjectures, and answers

They talk the answer out loud and talk through how they found the
answer. Through doing this they then can fix their mistakes if they
got the answer wrong. They also let their peers know if they agree
by using hand signals.