My Imagine It project is meant for the sixth graders that I will teach this year. I teach at a middle school in Chicago and it is made up of about 300 sixth through eighth grade students. My school is on the Southwest side of Chicago in the McKinley Park neighborhood and students are primarily of hispanic descent. I teach sixth grade mathematics and we are currently using the Go Math curriculum. The school environment is set up in one hour blocks and it is entirely departmental, therefore, I teach about four periods of math daily. I see the same students each day at during the same periods. I also have a homeroom that I am responsible for, which I also teach math.
My Big Idea is focused on bringing a more critical way of solving math in class. I would like to have students bring in the fact that they are mathematical thinkers and that their thinking matters. This comes from them having the ability to build from what they already know in math and their foundational skills no matter how big or small. Students need to build a confidence in math and that comes from their thoughts as well as their explanations. In my project, I want to include the following: transferrable building, making connections, critiquing misconceptions or inaccuracies, and also establishing prior knowledge in order to build upon new concepts. Students will also also be able to see that there is a process in math and not just an answer, and demonstrating the answer does not guarantee a true understanding of knowledge.
I plan on teaching my students the curriculum as well as incorporating this Big Idea into their daily learning. Using the Backwards Design of Understanding approach, I will have the opportunity to get to know my students and where they are in math. Once I learn their personal strengths and weaknesses I will group them with others so they can build and exceed and not feel overwhelmed or discouraged. As an educator, I have noticed that particularly in math if students are not successful at first, they tend to give up and think of themselves as unable to complete the tasks. I plan to allow students to see their mistakes but to also go back to them and learn from them explaining their answers and then why it is important to understand and build from what they already know.
Go Math is set up by modules and the topics are Integers, Factors and Multiples, Rational Numbers, Operations with Fractions/Decimals, Representing and Applying Ratios and Rates, Percents, etc. Some of the activities I plan to include in this project are pre and post assessments, scaffolding the math for my students in a guiding approach, also designing problems and projects that are innovative and interesting. There is also a real focus on building content vocabulary in this curriculum and in my classroom setting. Students are expected to use their vocabulary when they explain anything in class. The idea that students are making their thinking visible is huge for understanding, therefore, I would love to include a video presentation for students to explore, bringing in the technology aspect of STEM. I am currently utilizing the online resources available to me through the Go Math curriculum, Khan Academy and the use of SMARTboard technology. But giving students the opportunity to record their learning process using Ipads or Chromebooks, would take their classroom experience to a whole new level, bringing them to an appreciation of math while also making learning stick for the long run.
My Big Idea is focused on bringing a more critical way of solving math in class. I would like to have students bring in the fact that they are mathematical thinkers and that their thinking matters. This comes from them having the ability to build from what they already know in math and their foundational skills no matter how big or small. Students need to build a confidence in math and that comes from their thoughts as well as their explanations. In my project, I want to include the following: transferrable building, making connections, critiquing misconceptions or inaccuracies, and also establishing prior knowledge in order to build upon new concepts. Students will also also be able to see that there is a process in math and not just an answer, and demonstrating the answer does not guarantee a true understanding of knowledge.
I plan on teaching my students the curriculum as well as incorporating this Big Idea into their daily learning. Using the Backwards Design of Understanding approach, I will have the opportunity to get to know my students and where they are in math. Once I learn their personal strengths and weaknesses I will group them with others so they can build and exceed and not feel overwhelmed or discouraged. As an educator, I have noticed that particularly in math if students are not successful at first, they tend to give up and think of themselves as unable to complete the tasks. I plan to allow students to see their mistakes but to also go back to them and learn from them explaining their answers and then why it is important to understand and build from what they already know.
Go Math is set up by modules and the topics are Integers, Factors and Multiples, Rational Numbers, Operations with Fractions/Decimals, Representing and Applying Ratios and Rates, Percents, etc. Some of the activities I plan to include in this project are pre and post assessments, scaffolding the math for my students in a guiding approach, also designing problems and projects that are innovative and interesting. There is also a real focus on building content vocabulary in this curriculum and in my classroom setting. Students are expected to use their vocabulary when they explain anything in class. The idea that students are making their thinking visible is huge for understanding, therefore, I would love to include a video presentation for students to explore, bringing in the technology aspect of STEM. I am currently utilizing the online resources available to me through the Go Math curriculum, Khan Academy and the use of SMARTboard technology. But giving students the opportunity to record their learning process using Ipads or Chromebooks, would take their classroom experience to a whole new level, bringing them to an appreciation of math while also making learning stick for the long run.