Building Mathematical Comprehension - Chapter #4




Hi Friends!  

Have you had a nice week??  We went to visit my parents on the beach this weekend and it was so nice!  The little lady and I are still here - extending this vacation a few more days, but the HUBS had to head back to work :(

While I have been a beach bum, I had some time to read chapter 4 in our summer math journey - Increasing Comprehension by Asking Questions.  As much as I loved reading about making connections, I may have liked this chapter even more!!

The chapter begins by talking about young children being so curious and asking so many questions, but by middle school most children have lost this innate curiosity.  No one really know what this happens - it could be due to kids becoming more self-conscious, but it also could be because as teachers we often highlight the "right" answer over the possible answers.


Why Do We Ask Questions:
-  Clarification of meaning
-  Increased engagement with the mathematics
-  Critical assessment of the validity of the mathematics
-  Monitoring understanding
-  Identification of information needed for understanding or problem solving
-  Interest in and curiosity about the subject matter
-  Extending understanding beyond the surface understanding

Just like in reading students need to be taught to ask and answer three types of questions in math:
-  Right There Questions - questions that have answers that are literal and easy to answer.
-  Think and Search - questions that are in the story/problem but are a little harder to find.
-  On My Own - questions that are not answered directly in the text and will need to use inferential thinking. 

Now...How can we teach kids to ask meaningful questions??

Some ideas shared in this chapter...
-  Strategy Sessions - using your small group/guided math model work with a group of kids to introduce/practice/independently use the strategy.
-  Sentence Stems - using sentence stems to stimulate student's questions.
-  Wonder Wall - Before, During, and After question recording chart.
-  Question Journals - Question, Before/During/After, Predicted Answer, and Final Answer chart - independent but needs to be monitored.
-  Question Webs - web that recording many answers before the final answer is found

Thanks for reading along with me this week!  There may be a friend or two linking up with me this week - Many of my bloggy besties are in Vegas or on their way for the HUGE TPT Conference (Can you tell I am super jealous and if this baby wasn't expected in the next 6 weeks I would be right there with them??!!??), but if not I am sure they will be back up and linking with me for next week when we chat all about visualizing!

No comments:

Post a Comment