Frustration as a Positive Force - My Commitment

How might you translate the energy of frustration into a positive force for change? 

Dan Rockwell wrote this in his Leadershipfreak blog this morning, and even though I'm not in a traditional leadership role, it rang true to me. 

I am frustrated about mathematics instruction and the reliance on textbooks that encourage conformity rather than development of mathematical understanding. I'm frustrated that it's taking so long for change to happen, and mostly, I'm frustrated that many students are still learning to dislike mathematics at a young age.

Rockwell also wrote,
Determine if they want to do something with their frustration or just complain. Don’t follow complainers.

This year, I commit to stretching myself and doing more with my frustration to impact positive change. I will be the squeaky wheel. Our kids deserve to understand and like math, and I will be part of this change.

Fractions Are Not Shapes

Fractions are numbers, and we need to make sure that we are not creating misconceptions in the primary grades that will interfere with this understanding.

On the math word wall in many second grade classrooms that I visit, I see similar definitions for fractions. Numerator: The number on top, the number of boxes shaded. Denominator: The number on the bottom. The total number of boxes.

How does that connect to a fraction as a number? It doesn't connect. The emphasis as students initially learn about fractions needs to be on equal shares. This understanding in second grade builds to the understanding in third grade that a fraction represents equal shares on the number line. This progression is important for students to build understanding. Fractions are not pizzas or rectangles divided into squares. Fractions are numbers that can be used to represent equal shares of shapes.

So You Want to Grow a Butterfly Garden...

Kindergarten Project-Based Learning - Part II

Project-based learning should be authentic, but how could we connect our butterfly unit to an authentic project when our school is in a large city? We had to think like gardeners! 

Every student chose a plant that his/her butterfly eats and one that the caterpillar eats. Together, we found a picture of each plant, and students drew them. Students at each table, glued their plants onto their "garden" and labeled them. 

These were our garden plans, but plans mean little without action attached to them. How could we get a butterfly garden at our school? You guessed it! We had to convince our principal that it was a good idea. 

As a class, we thought back to our unit on persuasive writing, and developed an outline of what might be included in our letters to the principal. Next, students worked together with their garden buddies to write a letter. Everyone contributed ideas while one student acted as a scribe. Finally, we presented our letters and garden plans to our principal and vice-principal. It was exciting to hear ownership of their butterflies and their gardens. And best of all, there just might be a butterfly garden at the school next year!

The Butterfly Challenge - Our Kindergarten PBL Unit

Don't you just love a good challenge? I do as long as -

• I think that I can be successful. 
• It's interesting. 
• The challenge is open-ended without a lot of rules. 
• I'm given enough information to get the wheels turning but not enough to bog me down. 
• I'm set free to work as I choose.

My kindergarteners like challenges like this, too. They are knee-deep in a project-based unit on butterflies right now, and they're loving every minute of it.  For the first stage of the project, each student picked a butterfly that lives in or can be seen in New Jersey. (Who knew there were so many?) Next, they put their artistic talents to the test as they created enlarged pictures of their butterflies. Didn't they come out beautifully!

 For the second stage of the project, each student researched their butterfly to find out what the butterfly and caterpillar eat. Each student wrote a paragraph using this information, and then I recorded each student reading his or her paragraph. The recordings were attached to QR codes, so the school community can listen to the recordings and learn more about New Jersey butterflies. Scan the code below to learn about the Wild Indigo Duskywing butterfly. The smiles on the faces of our future lepidopterists were priceless as I played the recordings from the QR codes for them to hear.

Stay tuned for more on our butterfly project!