Accountable Talk Stems and Exceptional Collaborator Award
Kara creates a classroom environment that centers around collaboration. During this activity, Kara has her students work with partners to solve problems. This collaborative work enables students to provide support to their peers, accept support from their peers, and provide feedback. Kara provides students with accountable talk stems as a reference and conferences with students to ensure this collaboration is effective. In addition, Kara gives out an Exceptional Collaborator Award, to students who are collaborating effectively. These strategies promote collaboration and support students to appropriately and effectively work with partners.
- How could you create a classroom environment that centers around collaboration?
- What could be challenging about this strategy? How could you prepare to address any challenges?
- How could you support students to effectively collaborate and support one another?
- What references and tools could you provide students to support them in collaborating and helping their peers?
Math Partners:
Students continued working with the same math partners as yesterday. Even though students were working on their own slides, they'd often check with their partner before taking a picture of their representation. Also, some students needed their partner's support to take a picture. One student would hold up the computer or fraction model while the other student took a picture.
Different Starting Points
While many students were ready to begin representing fractions using the 1/8, 1/9, 1/10, and 1/100 presentations, others were still finishing up their representations of fractions from yesterday (1/5, 1/6, and 1/7). Students were able to advance when they were ready!
Monitoring Student Understanding
Once students began working, I conferenced with every student. My goal was to support students by providing them with the opportunity to explain their thinking and by asking guiding questions. I also wanted to encourage students to construct viable arguments by using evidence to support their thinking (Math Practice 3).
- How did you choose this tool?
- Is this tool working out for you?
- Have you run into any problems with this tool?
- Can you show me 1/8?
- How many units of 1/10 will it take to get to a whole?
- How do you know?
- Where is one whole?
- Can you explain your thinking?
- Which comment was the most helpful? Why?
Conferences
While conferencing with this student, Representing 1:10 of 20 Pencils, I tried to help this student use prior knowledge (an understanding of 1/10) to complete the equation.