After An Educator's Journey
Out of the classroom & into the universe
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Once upon a time, I taught 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. Now I’m retired and working on new ventures.
Category: Math Education
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There’s a thought-provoking article in EdSurge this morning. Just who owns a teacher’s intellectual property? My husband, a former software engineer for several large tech companies, always had to sign over his rights to any ideas that he created as part of the hiring process. But educators do no such thing – at least until…
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My fourth graders had a burning question all year long: How old are you? I’m not so much embarrassed by my age, as I am shocked at how quickly I got to this ripe spot in my timeline. However, having said that, I do not directly answer that question. Instead, I always give the students…
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It wasn’t exactly where I had anticipated directing the discussion yesterday. And as it turns out, that was not only a moment of revelation, it was a glimpse into good things that can happen to mathematical discussions. Have you seen a problem that is something like this one? 31 students are going on a field…
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I have always thought it important for students to learn to work cooperatively. When I worked in the private sector, we worked as teams or groups – almost never without some kind of interaction with colleagues. Kids need to know how to work in collaborations, too. And so, we set out this week to…
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The start of school is looming and I am spending some time thinking about how I’d like to change-up some of our learning activities. With all the attention on the Common Core in our District, and with the commitment to Launch-Explore-Summary lesson structures, I am once again tweaking Daily Five for math. The basics of…
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It’s been a long, strange journey from where I started as a teacher to the present. I say this because I’ve just finished a month of work with some wonderfully talented third grade teachers on our District’s Common Core Math curriculum maps. When I think back on the way I used to teach, I’m reminded…
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I started working on this a couple of years ago when I first was exposed to the Daily Five and Literacy CAFE. Gail and Joan – the Sisters – have since published a different Math Daily Five. I’ve continued with this version because it seems to work for my students – many are not strong…
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I haven’t been able to write much lately. We’re in the middle of state testing – again – and now getting ready for that paperwork marathon known as end-of-the-school-year. Not a big fan of paperwork. Does anyone ever really read all that stuff? So I procrastinate. Which sometimes is not as much of a time…
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That’s right, I am incorporating all three of these things in one classroom. I’ve been a fan of the Daily Five and Literacy CAFE for a couple of years. Last year, I started to use the structure of the Daily Five in mathematics. I did this for a couple of reasons – first and foremost…
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This summer was partially spent in aligning Common Core Mathematics curriculum (Massachusetts-style) with the district’s universally available materials and laying out a scope and sequence that makes sense vertically and horizontally. As anyone who has looked at the Common Core in depth can attest, it’s an on-going process full of starts and stops. A particular…
After An Educator's Journey 