Time. We need more of it.
How might we gain time without adding minutes to our schedule?
What if we mathematize our read-aloud books to use them in math as well as reading and writing workshop? Could it be that we gain minutes of reading if we use children’s literature to offer context for the mathematics we are learning? Could we add minutes of math if we pause and ask mathematical questions during our literacy block?
Becky Holden and I planned the following professional learning session to build common understanding and language as we expand our knowledge of teaching numeracy through literature. Every Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, and 3rd Grade math teacher participated in 3.5-hours of professional learning over the course of two days.
Have you read How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara, G. Brian Karas?
Learning Targets:
Mathematical Practice:
- I can make sense of tasks and persevere in solving them.
2nd Grade
- I can work with equal groups of objects to gain foundations for multiplication.
- I can skip-count by 2s, 5, 10s, and 100s within 1000 to strengthen my understanding of place value.
3rd Grade
- I can represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division.
- I can use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic.
Learning Progressions:
Here’s what it looked like:
Here’s some of what the teacher-learners said:
I learned to look at books with a new critical eye for both literacy and mathematical lessons. I learned that I can read the same book more than once to delve deeper into different skills. This is what we are learning in Workshop as well. Using a mentor text for different skills is such a great way to integrate learning.
I learned how to better integrate math with other subjects as well as push pass the on answer and look for more than one way to answer the question as well as show in more than one way how I got that answer and to take that to the classroom for my students.
I learned how to integrate literacy practice and math practice at once. In addition, I also learned how to deepen learning and ask higher thinking questions, as well as how to let students answer their own questions and have productive struggle.
I learned that there are many different ways to notice mathematical concepts throughout books. It took a second read through for me to see the richness in the math concepts that could be taught.
I learned that there are many children’s literature that writes about multiple mathematical skills and in a very interesting way!
How might we notice and note opportunities to pause, wonder, and question? What is to be gained by blending learning?
Experiments in Learning by Doing 