by natbanting 
The testing of a task went horribly right. Background: Graham Fletcher (@gfletchy) tweeted an Open Middle (@OpenMiddle) prompt for comparing fractions. The thread debated whether or not a representation on a number line would be best. Many people liked the number line better, but I decided to stick with the inequality signs because: Students see this …
by natbanting
I have been thinking about extending the Fraction Talk love ever since I wrote this initial post in June 2015. I have used them with my grade nine classes as the starter during units on rational numbers. I have taken the larger questions (such as “What possible fractions can be shaded using this diagram?”) as the …
by natbanting
I joined a middle years math community organized by my school division. I have a growing interest in the transition of students from middle school to high school because many of the tasks I use or create get at middle years content. I’m wondering what knowledge students come to my room with and what atmosphere …
by natbanting
“I hate fractions” – Everyone Today an amazing thing happened; students put aside the endemic disdain for rational numbers and had a conversation. I’d go further, they weren’t discussing their views on fractions, they were collectively conjecturing–the moves of the room enacted each other. I don’t think that a written document can capture the movement …
Continue reading “Navigating Collectivity: Grade 9 Fractions”
by natbanting
Discussion is one of the organic ways through which human interaction occurs, but not all discussion is created equal in the math classroom. The tone of discussion relies on the mode of listening (Davis, 1996). Most classroom talk focuses on an evaluative mode of listening. Students are expected to share, compare, and contrast solutions to problems.I do think that justification …
by natbanting
I have students in an enriched class that demand for me to give them more practice. I tell them that we practice mathematics with daily class activities. They don’t want practice, they want repeated practice. They are accustomed to receiving repeatable drills to cement understandings. I have learned to compromise with this demand. I do …
by natbanting
A while ago I wrote a post on embedding atomic skills into tasks so that the basic skills are developed and used as tools of mathematics rather than the ultimate goal of mathematics. I try to develop tasks that follow this framework. I want the student to choose a pathway of thought that enables them …
by natbanting
This week marked my baptism by fire into the twitter world. It was not long until I was neck deep in tweets, favorites, re-tweets, and followers. The eternal nerd awoke inside me when I was confronted with my first NCTM “Problem of the Day”. A simple, yet dangerously deep, question was posed. Wanting to cement …