WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.100 Let's talk about how you're going to set your 00:00:02.100 --> 00:00:04.540 classroom up for success starting from the very 00:00:04.540 --> 00:00:15.419 first week of math class Hello and welcome to 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:18.679 making number sense make sense a podcast for 00:00:18.679 --> 00:00:20.879 elementary teachers specifically early elementary 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:23.879 teachers Looking to really make an impact in 00:00:23.879 --> 00:00:26.780 the number sense of their students the first 00:00:26.780 --> 00:00:30.250 week of school is just All the new things, new 00:00:30.250 --> 00:00:32.689 students, new routines, a new community, and 00:00:32.689 --> 00:00:34.729 it's the beginning of your journey for the next 00:00:34.729 --> 00:00:38.570 180 days. So setting up expectations and routines 00:00:38.570 --> 00:00:41.250 helps your students know exactly what to expect, 00:00:41.429 --> 00:00:44.570 which is crucial to a successful school year. 00:00:44.770 --> 00:00:48.289 So the reality is when students walk into your 00:00:48.289 --> 00:00:51.030 classroom, you never really know what you're 00:00:51.030 --> 00:00:52.729 going to get. You're never going to know what 00:00:52.729 --> 00:00:55.609 the vibe is. You're never going to know right 00:00:55.609 --> 00:00:58.600 away. what's going to work with them. So setting 00:00:58.600 --> 00:01:01.619 up a baseline of expectations is so important 00:01:01.619 --> 00:01:05.859 and it allows your students and if most of your 00:01:05.859 --> 00:01:08.420 students understand the routines, understand 00:01:08.420 --> 00:01:11.420 the expectations and are able to follow it, it 00:01:11.420 --> 00:01:14.060 allows you to have a little bit more time if 00:01:14.060 --> 00:01:16.060 there are students who need a little extra attention 00:01:16.060 --> 00:01:19.019 or support so that all of your students will 00:01:19.019 --> 00:01:21.540 be able to access all of the things that you're 00:01:21.540 --> 00:01:23.540 doing throughout the year. First, I'm going to 00:01:23.540 --> 00:01:25.780 talk about kind of the components of starting 00:01:25.780 --> 00:01:27.819 the first week of school. And then I'm going 00:01:27.819 --> 00:01:29.959 to give kind of an overview, a little sample 00:01:29.959 --> 00:01:32.340 of what the first week of school could look like 00:01:32.340 --> 00:01:35.239 for you. A great way to start any math lesson 00:01:35.239 --> 00:01:37.680 is with a number talk or a number sense routine. 00:01:37.879 --> 00:01:40.340 And the one I like to start with personally is 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:42.659 which one doesn't belong because there are no 00:01:42.659 --> 00:01:47.260 wrong answers and it gets kids talking. Oftentimes, 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:50.159 students can feel really shy at the beginning 00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:52.719 of the year. They might not want to share. But 00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:55.140 if they're just talking about pictures that they're 00:01:55.140 --> 00:01:58.000 seeing, it's an opportunity to invite them into 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:01.219 conversation without having to feel the pressure 00:02:01.219 --> 00:02:04.599 of being correct or incorrect. So in which one 00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:07.760 doesn't belong, you might show four images and 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:10.520 students simply share their opinion on which 00:02:10.520 --> 00:02:13.680 one does or does not belong. And this is a great 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:17.819 opportunity. for students to start to seriously 00:02:17.819 --> 00:02:21.780 think about what they're seeing and reflect on 00:02:21.780 --> 00:02:24.599 it and have conversations with each other. So 00:02:24.599 --> 00:02:26.900 they might agree or disagree and you can take 00:02:26.900 --> 00:02:28.860 that opportunity to talk about how you could 00:02:28.860 --> 00:02:31.960 agree or disagree with somebody. Respectfully 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:35.219 reinforce that we should be listening to other 00:02:35.219 --> 00:02:37.080 students when they're talking because they can 00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:38.939 also have a turn to share and they would want 00:02:38.939 --> 00:02:42.020 the same thing. This type of groundwork is setting 00:02:42.020 --> 00:02:45.500 the stage for academic conversations that your 00:02:45.500 --> 00:02:48.460 students will have throughout the year. This 00:02:48.460 --> 00:02:50.800 is also a great opportunity to share with them 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:54.560 a silent signal that they could do if they agree 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:57.960 with what another student is saying. Oftentimes, 00:02:58.590 --> 00:03:00.590 A lot of kids might have the same opinions about 00:03:00.590 --> 00:03:03.569 which one does or doesn't belong, but a chorus 00:03:03.569 --> 00:03:06.650 of me too's kind of can derail a conversation 00:03:06.650 --> 00:03:08.610 and you want to rein it in. So you might show 00:03:08.610 --> 00:03:12.229 them if you agree with a so -and -so student 00:03:12.229 --> 00:03:15.169 A or student B, you can show them by using a 00:03:15.169 --> 00:03:18.689 connection sign. My partner teacher would use 00:03:18.689 --> 00:03:21.610 the ASL sign for me too. And she taught them 00:03:21.610 --> 00:03:23.770 that on her side of the day when she was teaching 00:03:23.770 --> 00:03:25.389 on the English side and I was teaching on the 00:03:25.389 --> 00:03:27.810 Spanish side. So to keep it consistent, I just 00:03:27.810 --> 00:03:30.050 did the same thing. The kids understood it and 00:03:30.050 --> 00:03:31.590 it worked really well. So that's something you 00:03:31.590 --> 00:03:34.590 might want to try to avoid the chorus of me too's 00:03:34.590 --> 00:03:38.409 in a which one doesn't belong situation. After 00:03:38.409 --> 00:03:42.659 a number sense routine would be. If we're into 00:03:42.659 --> 00:03:45.259 curriculum where I would go into a mini lesson 00:03:45.259 --> 00:03:47.740 or a lesson, but to start off the school year, 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:50.379 it's really great to introduce students to the 00:03:50.379 --> 00:03:52.500 materials that they're going to be using right 00:03:52.500 --> 00:03:55.379 away, how to use them and how to care for them 00:03:55.379 --> 00:03:58.740 appropriately. So one way to do this is to do 00:03:58.740 --> 00:04:01.960 a guided discovery. A guided discovery is part 00:04:01.960 --> 00:04:05.259 of the responsive classroom framework wherein 00:04:05.259 --> 00:04:08.439 you are. trying to build a community of learners. 00:04:08.580 --> 00:04:12.199 And this is just one piece of that entire framework. 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:15.659 I'm going to use pattern blocks for this example. 00:04:15.879 --> 00:04:19.319 So in a guided discovery, I would put these pattern 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:21.899 blocks into a container and cover it up so students 00:04:21.899 --> 00:04:25.500 could not see what it was. So I might shake the 00:04:25.500 --> 00:04:28.980 container a little bit. I might ask students 00:04:28.980 --> 00:04:31.360 to ask me questions like, oh, is it heavy? Is 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:33.839 it big? Like what? might it be? And the point 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:37.100 of doing this is to create some curiosity in 00:04:37.100 --> 00:04:39.639 what you're doing, and then it kind of sets you 00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:43.339 up for a big reveal. So after you've taken some 00:04:43.339 --> 00:04:46.300 guesses of what students think it might be, you 00:04:46.300 --> 00:04:48.740 reveal the pattern blocks. And at that point, 00:04:48.779 --> 00:04:51.180 you might ask students if they've ever used them 00:04:51.180 --> 00:04:52.800 before. Some of them might have used them in 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:55.420 preschool or a different classroom, and you can 00:04:55.420 --> 00:04:58.759 ask if they know what they're called. If they 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:01.180 do, then they can share it. And if they don't 00:05:01.180 --> 00:05:02.660 know what it's called, then you name it. You 00:05:02.660 --> 00:05:05.259 might say these are pattern blocks and this is 00:05:05.259 --> 00:05:09.459 a manipulative or these are materials that we're 00:05:09.459 --> 00:05:11.839 going to use throughout the year. If they have 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:14.980 used a material before, you could ask students 00:05:14.980 --> 00:05:17.399 to share what they've used them for in the past. 00:05:17.420 --> 00:05:20.000 And if they haven't, you could ask them to think 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:23.420 about how they could use them right now. And 00:05:23.420 --> 00:05:25.639 so someone might say you can build something 00:05:25.639 --> 00:05:27.259 with them. Someone might say you could build 00:05:27.259 --> 00:05:29.879 a house or you could build a hamburger. And as 00:05:29.879 --> 00:05:31.980 they're suggesting things to you, you can actually 00:05:31.980 --> 00:05:34.680 try and build the little house or build the hamburger 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:37.300 or whatever it is that they say. You can try 00:05:37.300 --> 00:05:39.439 and build those things so they can see how to 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:41.920 use it. After that, you let the students know 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:43.600 that they're also going to have an opportunity 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:46.100 to use these things. And this is when you would 00:05:46.100 --> 00:05:49.500 mention how you want these things used. So you 00:05:49.500 --> 00:05:52.259 might say something like. The only place that 00:05:52.259 --> 00:05:55.420 the pattern block should be is in your hand or 00:05:55.420 --> 00:05:57.500 on the table, or if you're in a circle on the 00:05:57.500 --> 00:05:59.899 carpet, the only place the pattern block should 00:05:59.899 --> 00:06:03.399 be is your hands or on the floor. So that would 00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:07.000 avoid students trying to put them in their mouth 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:09.439 or put them on their body or something else that 00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:10.959 they shouldn't be doing with their pattern blocks. 00:06:11.139 --> 00:06:13.660 Try to come at it from a positive, like these 00:06:13.660 --> 00:06:15.699 are the places you can have the pattern blocks 00:06:15.699 --> 00:06:17.839 versus you can't do this, you can't do this, 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:19.860 you can't do this, just to keep the spin more 00:06:19.860 --> 00:06:24.230 positive. You'd then give students a small handful 00:06:24.230 --> 00:06:27.970 of pattern blocks and let them build with it, 00:06:28.009 --> 00:06:30.990 see what they do. And as they're working, you 00:06:30.990 --> 00:06:33.449 would circulate around the room and ask them 00:06:33.449 --> 00:06:36.790 questions about what they're doing or how they've 00:06:36.790 --> 00:06:38.810 used them in the past or what they want to try 00:06:38.810 --> 00:06:41.740 and do. This is like a... Since it is a guided 00:06:41.740 --> 00:06:44.279 discovery, it's kind of a free exploration time. 00:06:44.439 --> 00:06:47.319 And if students are using the things inappropriately, 00:06:47.399 --> 00:06:49.939 you could give like a soft correction to that 00:06:49.939 --> 00:06:52.980 student individually. Not making a big deal out 00:06:52.980 --> 00:06:55.300 of it, just kind of a reminder because this is 00:06:55.300 --> 00:06:57.459 the first time that they're using that material 00:06:57.459 --> 00:07:01.459 in your classroom. There are different ways to 00:07:01.459 --> 00:07:04.060 get your students' attention at a time like this. 00:07:04.120 --> 00:07:06.600 So you might be using a timer in your classroom. 00:07:06.740 --> 00:07:08.779 You might have a chime in your classroom, whatever 00:07:08.779 --> 00:07:11.350 it is. You could give them a little warning when 00:07:11.350 --> 00:07:13.230 it's coming, like I'm going to ring the bell 00:07:13.230 --> 00:07:15.649 or the timer's going to go off soon. When that 00:07:15.649 --> 00:07:18.790 happens, stop what you're doing. So stop building, 00:07:18.949 --> 00:07:20.870 but you might want to remind them not to clean 00:07:20.870 --> 00:07:23.769 anything up because you're going to want to give 00:07:23.769 --> 00:07:26.189 students the opportunity to see what their peers 00:07:26.189 --> 00:07:28.889 might have created and model the way that you 00:07:28.889 --> 00:07:32.029 want things cleaned up. After the timer has gone 00:07:32.029 --> 00:07:34.720 off or you've rung the bell, you would talk to 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:37.420 your students about taking a gallery walk. And 00:07:37.420 --> 00:07:40.300 a gallery walk is when everybody stands up and 00:07:40.300 --> 00:07:42.860 walks around the circle or walks around the classroom 00:07:42.860 --> 00:07:45.459 wherever students were working to take a look 00:07:45.459 --> 00:07:47.360 at what some other students built. Now, it's 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:49.519 very important to remind them not to touch anybody 00:07:49.519 --> 00:07:53.180 else's work, that they're just looking. And after 00:07:53.180 --> 00:07:54.759 you've had your gallery walk, you could bring 00:07:54.759 --> 00:07:57.100 every... buddy back to the carpet or wherever 00:07:57.100 --> 00:07:59.620 you're working and have them share what they 00:07:59.620 --> 00:08:01.620 saw someone else did that they thought was really 00:08:01.620 --> 00:08:03.959 cool or something that they wouldn't have thought 00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:06.240 of or something they want to try and do in the 00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:09.939 future. Afterwards, have them watch you and tell 00:08:09.939 --> 00:08:12.300 you what they notice while you're putting things 00:08:12.300 --> 00:08:14.660 away. So they might notice that you're putting 00:08:14.660 --> 00:08:16.720 things away gently, that you're not throwing 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:19.420 the materials, things like that. And after you 00:08:19.420 --> 00:08:21.600 kind of established the way that you want things 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:24.990 put away, they can do the same. and reflect on 00:08:24.990 --> 00:08:28.310 what they did, how they liked it, and what they 00:08:28.310 --> 00:08:31.149 might want to do in the future. And this framework 00:08:31.149 --> 00:08:34.049 of a guided discovery works for any material 00:08:34.049 --> 00:08:36.769 that you're introducing to your classroom. And 00:08:36.769 --> 00:08:38.389 in the first week of school, there's a lot of 00:08:38.389 --> 00:08:41.250 new materials that students might be using. Once 00:08:41.250 --> 00:08:44.090 you have a few materials introduced, it's a good 00:08:44.090 --> 00:08:47.210 time to think about starting your math workshop 00:08:47.210 --> 00:08:50.250 time. Now, in the first week of math workshop 00:08:50.250 --> 00:08:52.710 time or center time, station time, however you 00:08:52.710 --> 00:08:55.950 want to refer to it, We're not really doing that 00:08:55.950 --> 00:08:59.049 much math. The first week of school, it's more 00:08:59.049 --> 00:09:02.649 about the routine of math workshop. So that would 00:09:02.649 --> 00:09:05.450 be starting in one place, cleaning up your things, 00:09:05.549 --> 00:09:07.710 being respectful when you're there, and moving 00:09:07.710 --> 00:09:10.629 to the next place when the timer goes off. So 00:09:10.629 --> 00:09:13.919 there's really just, I'm going to... work on 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:15.899 whatever it is that's at this table. And then 00:09:15.899 --> 00:09:17.779 when I'm done, I'm going to clean it up and move 00:09:17.779 --> 00:09:19.600 safely to the next place. So you're really just 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:22.200 getting that routine in place, not necessarily 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:25.080 a lot of math the first week of school. During 00:09:25.080 --> 00:09:27.799 this time, you'll really think about what you 00:09:27.799 --> 00:09:30.039 want your math workshop to look like halfway 00:09:30.039 --> 00:09:32.279 through the year, at the end of the year, and 00:09:32.279 --> 00:09:35.259 set up those kinds of routines right at the beginning 00:09:35.259 --> 00:09:38.220 of the year. So things like, do you want students 00:09:38.220 --> 00:09:41.289 to clean up right when they hear the bell? Do 00:09:41.289 --> 00:09:43.070 you want them to move when they're done? Or do 00:09:43.070 --> 00:09:46.250 you want everybody at the table to be done before 00:09:46.250 --> 00:09:48.509 they go to the next spot? Do you want them to 00:09:48.509 --> 00:09:50.450 ask you for permission to go to the bathroom 00:09:50.450 --> 00:09:53.610 during station time? Or do you want them to have 00:09:53.610 --> 00:09:55.269 a little bit more freedom and just be able to 00:09:55.269 --> 00:09:57.570 go to the bathroom when they need to go during 00:09:57.570 --> 00:09:59.850 that time? Things like that are what you'd want 00:09:59.850 --> 00:10:02.970 to consider before you do math workshop and then 00:10:02.970 --> 00:10:05.309 show the kids or tell the kids this is the way 00:10:05.309 --> 00:10:07.350 that we're going to do things so they can start 00:10:07.350 --> 00:10:10.179 to get in that practice. Beyond how they move 00:10:10.179 --> 00:10:12.740 from place to place, they need to know where 00:10:12.740 --> 00:10:15.799 they're going when the timer goes off. You can 00:10:15.799 --> 00:10:18.659 use a pocket chart to show students like if you're 00:10:18.659 --> 00:10:20.440 in this group, you're going to go to this place 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:22.740 and then this place and then this place. Or you 00:10:22.740 --> 00:10:26.639 can also use a digital chart that's basically 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:30.120 just pictures on a slide and then teach students 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:32.799 how to read it. So you might say this is your 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:34.299 group. Where are you going first? Where are you 00:10:34.299 --> 00:10:36.120 going second? So you could really talk about 00:10:36.120 --> 00:10:39.080 the chart and how it works. And so that lets 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:40.500 them know, okay, I'm going to do these three 00:10:40.500 --> 00:10:42.460 things today. I'm going here, here, and here, 00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:45.679 or however many stations that you have to cut 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:48.860 down on any confusion. And it also empowers the 00:10:48.860 --> 00:10:51.360 students to be able to support other students 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:54.600 if they're still learning how to read the station 00:10:54.600 --> 00:10:58.240 chart, whichever chart you choose to use. A note 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:01.460 before we continue with stations. Sometimes, 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:05.419 some classes, the transition of moving from one 00:11:05.419 --> 00:11:08.309 place to another just does not work for them. 00:11:08.389 --> 00:11:10.029 And in that case, you might want to consider 00:11:10.029 --> 00:11:13.450 moving the material instead of having the students 00:11:13.450 --> 00:11:16.490 move from place to place. Depending on your stations, 00:11:16.570 --> 00:11:18.750 it might have to be located in a certain spot. 00:11:19.070 --> 00:11:21.269 For example, if they're doing a floor puzzle, 00:11:21.470 --> 00:11:23.570 it kind of has to be on the floor because that's 00:11:23.570 --> 00:11:26.230 the only place that it would fit. So maybe they 00:11:26.230 --> 00:11:29.309 would only move for that kind of activity. And 00:11:29.309 --> 00:11:31.389 for the rest of them, what would move is the 00:11:31.389 --> 00:11:35.629 material instead of them. The benefit of having 00:11:35.629 --> 00:11:38.250 them move is they can be more independent, and 00:11:38.250 --> 00:11:40.049 if you're working with small groups, you won't 00:11:40.049 --> 00:11:43.090 have to change everything before they go to the 00:11:43.090 --> 00:11:46.190 next spot. But if it's an issue for your students, 00:11:46.269 --> 00:11:49.509 you might want to consider the other way, moving 00:11:49.509 --> 00:11:51.590 the materials for them instead of having them 00:11:51.590 --> 00:11:54.269 move. During their first station time, they have 00:11:54.269 --> 00:11:56.129 the material that's at their table if they're 00:11:56.129 --> 00:11:58.730 working in groups. They use it, and whatever 00:11:58.730 --> 00:12:02.220 you're using, a timer, chime, whatever, it would 00:12:02.220 --> 00:12:04.659 be the same to signal the end of station. So 00:12:04.659 --> 00:12:06.519 you would talk to your students about when they 00:12:06.519 --> 00:12:08.960 hear the bell or when they hear the chime, it's 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:13.809 time to clean up their materials. Clean up is 00:12:13.809 --> 00:12:16.009 where it can become a little bit chaotic because 00:12:16.009 --> 00:12:17.789 sometimes students want to go really fast and 00:12:17.789 --> 00:12:20.149 they start throwing things into their bins. So 00:12:20.149 --> 00:12:22.210 this is when you'd want to reinforce the way 00:12:22.210 --> 00:12:24.009 that we clean up, the way that we have talked 00:12:24.009 --> 00:12:25.730 about cleaning up things when we're done with 00:12:25.730 --> 00:12:28.409 them in guided discovery and try and bring that 00:12:28.409 --> 00:12:31.990 back into math workshop so it's consistent with 00:12:31.990 --> 00:12:34.190 what they have done in the past and cuts out 00:12:34.190 --> 00:12:38.289 some chaos wherever possible. You could choose 00:12:38.289 --> 00:12:41.370 to have kids move on their own. or wait for your 00:12:41.370 --> 00:12:45.250 signal to move. Either way has pros and cons. 00:12:45.330 --> 00:12:48.129 If they move on their own, they're more independent, 00:12:48.350 --> 00:12:51.710 but also they might move on before another team 00:12:51.710 --> 00:12:53.769 is done cleaning up or another group is done 00:12:53.769 --> 00:12:56.970 cleaning up, and that can lead to things not 00:12:56.970 --> 00:12:59.909 getting put away the right way, or if a student 00:12:59.909 --> 00:13:01.789 wasn't quite finished with something, it can 00:13:01.789 --> 00:13:05.769 lead to some friction between students. So that's 00:13:05.769 --> 00:13:08.730 something to consider. Or you might have them 00:13:08.730 --> 00:13:11.129 wait until everybody's done cleaning up and then 00:13:11.129 --> 00:13:13.789 they can move safely. But before they move from 00:13:13.789 --> 00:13:16.769 space to space, reinforce the way that they move 00:13:16.769 --> 00:13:18.870 around a classroom. So a lot of students want 00:13:18.870 --> 00:13:22.490 to run to the next spot, but in a small classroom, 00:13:22.629 --> 00:13:24.509 if everyone is running at the same time, you 00:13:24.509 --> 00:13:27.110 know that's a recipe for disaster. So reinforce 00:13:27.110 --> 00:13:29.909 that we are walking in the classroom, going to 00:13:29.909 --> 00:13:33.129 the next spot. Before they move on, you can cue 00:13:33.129 --> 00:13:35.649 them to look at this chart, get used to reading 00:13:35.649 --> 00:13:38.309 the station chart so they know where they're 00:13:38.309 --> 00:13:41.490 headed to next. The next part of the first week 00:13:41.490 --> 00:13:45.750 of school is setting your classroom up for problem 00:13:45.750 --> 00:13:48.309 solving and collaborative learning to be something 00:13:48.309 --> 00:13:51.409 that is expected rather than something they do 00:13:51.409 --> 00:13:53.909 every once in a while. I'll be the first to admit 00:13:53.909 --> 00:13:56.429 that teaching problem solving was something that 00:13:56.429 --> 00:13:59.759 was a challenge for me when I first started because 00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:02.059 there's so many problem types and it's a lot 00:14:02.059 --> 00:14:05.779 of listening and often students aren't really 00:14:05.779 --> 00:14:08.639 able to talk through what's going on and make 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:12.399 sense of a problem before solving it. So I found 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:15.200 that doing a building thinking classrooms model 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:18.320 of problem solving and setting that up right 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:21.100 from the beginning of the year was the most success 00:14:21.100 --> 00:14:23.860 that I'd had in teaching problem solving because 00:14:23.860 --> 00:14:26.620 they were doing it daily. And they were used 00:14:26.620 --> 00:14:28.620 to talking through problems and thinking through 00:14:28.620 --> 00:14:30.700 problems so that when they had to do problems 00:14:30.700 --> 00:14:34.000 on their own, they already knew kind of how to 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:38.679 approach problems and weren't held back or caught 00:14:38.679 --> 00:14:41.399 up with not even knowing how to approach a problem. 00:14:41.659 --> 00:14:44.440 I will list some episodes in the show notes of 00:14:44.440 --> 00:14:48.559 going in depth on what you need to start a building 00:14:48.559 --> 00:14:50.940 thinking classroom model and what it is and what 00:14:50.940 --> 00:14:55.279 it could look like in early elementary. For now, 00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:58.220 overview is that students are working together 00:14:58.220 --> 00:15:02.500 in pairs problem solving on a vertical non -permanent 00:15:02.500 --> 00:15:05.600 surface, so a whiteboard with one marker between 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:09.519 the two of them. The benefit to working in pairs 00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:13.580 is they always have someone to bounce ideas off 00:15:13.580 --> 00:15:17.000 of. And with their marker sharing the marker, 00:15:17.100 --> 00:15:19.860 they do have to talk to each other to solve the 00:15:19.860 --> 00:15:23.200 problem. And since it's on a non -permanent surface, 00:15:23.980 --> 00:15:26.220 They don't feel as tied down, like if they were 00:15:26.220 --> 00:15:28.899 using a pencil and paper, they might be more 00:15:28.899 --> 00:15:32.019 hesitant to start because it feels more permanent 00:15:32.019 --> 00:15:35.000 than a whiteboard that's easy to just wipe away. 00:15:35.259 --> 00:15:37.539 In this episode, I'm going to talk more about 00:15:37.539 --> 00:15:40.700 the routine, again, kind of like the math workshop 00:15:40.700 --> 00:15:43.080 routine of moving around and getting to the right 00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:45.960 space versus what they're really doing once they're 00:15:45.960 --> 00:15:48.919 there. The big goal, I would say, for the first 00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:51.240 week of school is for students to understand 00:15:51.240 --> 00:15:54.980 that their partner, might not be their very best 00:15:54.980 --> 00:15:58.240 friend, but that as peers, as a learning community, 00:15:58.620 --> 00:16:01.460 they should be trying to engage with whoever 00:16:01.460 --> 00:16:04.980 their partner is and getting to the right place 00:16:04.980 --> 00:16:08.259 and sharing their marker. However you choose 00:16:08.259 --> 00:16:10.440 to set up your classroom or your whiteboards, 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:13.559 maybe it's color coded, maybe it's number coded, 00:16:13.700 --> 00:16:15.940 whatever it is, you're going to show students 00:16:15.940 --> 00:16:18.139 how to figure out where they're supposed to be 00:16:18.139 --> 00:16:20.940 and what they're supposed to do when they get 00:16:20.940 --> 00:16:24.330 there. I used color -coded cards, and I'll have 00:16:24.330 --> 00:16:26.230 a link to those down below that you can grab 00:16:26.230 --> 00:16:29.269 for free. I would have two blue things, like 00:16:29.269 --> 00:16:32.269 a blue J and a blue berry, and so if they picked 00:16:32.269 --> 00:16:34.450 a random card and they were both blue, they would 00:16:34.450 --> 00:16:37.470 go to the area that was marked as the blue area 00:16:37.470 --> 00:16:39.990 with their marker, and then they could start 00:16:39.990 --> 00:16:43.070 to get to work. For the first week of school, 00:16:43.210 --> 00:16:46.210 after they've gotten to the right space, I would 00:16:46.210 --> 00:16:49.169 be looking to see if the students are sharing 00:16:49.169 --> 00:16:51.519 the marker. and talking to each other. And it 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:54.580 really encouraged students to do that in this 00:16:54.580 --> 00:16:58.480 problem solving setting. And similar to the guided 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:01.039 discovery gallery walk, they would do the same 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:03.120 thing with their whiteboard. So whenever the 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:06.220 timer went off, the first thing they want to 00:17:06.220 --> 00:17:08.440 do is just erase what they have, but really remind 00:17:08.440 --> 00:17:11.259 them not to do that so that people can look around 00:17:11.259 --> 00:17:14.200 and see what's going on. A word of caution here 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:17.339 with the gallery walk is talk about how you want 00:17:17.339 --> 00:17:21.309 them to move. The first time I did a gallery 00:17:21.309 --> 00:17:23.829 walk with the whiteboards, I was not specific 00:17:23.829 --> 00:17:26.970 enough. And when I said, take a look around to 00:17:26.970 --> 00:17:30.349 see what happens, they like scattered like candy 00:17:30.349 --> 00:17:32.509 out of a pinata. They didn't stay with their 00:17:32.509 --> 00:17:34.369 partner. They were just kind of bouncing all 00:17:34.369 --> 00:17:36.950 over the room. That's not what you want. So talk 00:17:36.950 --> 00:17:39.750 to them about maybe rotating from with their 00:17:39.750 --> 00:17:42.490 partner from space to space, or if there's something 00:17:42.490 --> 00:17:44.869 they want to see across the room, if that's something 00:17:44.869 --> 00:17:47.549 you want to allow them to just go to one spot. 00:17:48.029 --> 00:17:51.369 or to see everyone's work and to travel together 00:17:51.369 --> 00:17:53.950 from spot to spot so they can talk to their partner 00:17:53.950 --> 00:17:57.369 about what they're seeing before you do a consolidation 00:17:57.369 --> 00:18:00.549 or before you gather together to highlight things 00:18:00.549 --> 00:18:04.829 that you saw other students do or reinforce things 00:18:04.829 --> 00:18:07.509 that you saw that were appropriate behaviors 00:18:07.509 --> 00:18:11.789 or interesting ideas, etc. So those are the main 00:18:11.789 --> 00:18:14.430 things. I like to focus on the first week of 00:18:14.430 --> 00:18:16.670 school in terms of math. So you're doing number 00:18:16.670 --> 00:18:19.410 talks, guided discoveries, practice rotating 00:18:19.410 --> 00:18:22.750 and doing math stations or math centers, and 00:18:22.750 --> 00:18:26.369 practice problem solving with a partner to set 00:18:26.369 --> 00:18:29.170 your school year up for success. So an example 00:18:29.170 --> 00:18:32.829 of the first week might be on Monday, you do 00:18:32.829 --> 00:18:35.630 a number talk and a guided discovery. On Tuesday, 00:18:35.710 --> 00:18:38.289 you do a number talk and a problem solving session 00:18:38.289 --> 00:18:42.279 with the whiteboards. On Wednesday, you do a 00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:44.839 number talk, guided discovery, and a problem 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:48.279 -solving session if you have time for it. Thursday, 00:18:48.359 --> 00:18:50.980 number talk, guided discovery, problem -solving 00:18:50.980 --> 00:18:53.640 session, and by Thursday or Friday, depending 00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:56.220 on how many guided discoveries you do, you'll 00:18:56.220 --> 00:18:59.839 probably have introduced enough materials so 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:03.420 that you can start rotating from place to place 00:19:03.420 --> 00:19:07.279 during station time or during center time. Looking 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:10.200 to week two, you'd want to continue practicing 00:19:10.200 --> 00:19:13.720 rotating from station to station during your 00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:16.940 center time. Introduce new manipulatives if you 00:19:16.940 --> 00:19:20.000 need them. Give them non -curricular problem 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:22.400 -solving tasks to get them used to that routine 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:26.519 as well. And maybe a few tasks aligned to the 00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:29.339 curriculum sprinkled in if you feel like your 00:19:29.339 --> 00:19:31.200 kids are getting the hang of it and are ready 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:34.559 for that. Doing workshop and problem solving 00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:38.359 back to back may be a lot. So you can alternate 00:19:38.359 --> 00:19:40.940 days or break it up with other activities. So 00:19:40.940 --> 00:19:44.099 you might have your defined math time be your 00:19:44.099 --> 00:19:47.660 number talk, mini lesson, and station time. And 00:19:47.660 --> 00:19:50.279 then at a different time, do your problem solving, 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:53.839 whatever works with your schedule. This is not 00:19:53.839 --> 00:19:57.589 the be all end all. Feel free to make these ideas 00:19:57.589 --> 00:20:01.569 your own and in a way that works for your classroom. 00:20:01.730 --> 00:20:06.549 Feel free to send me a message on Instagram or 00:20:06.549 --> 00:20:08.849 send me an email if you have any questions. I'm 00:20:08.849 --> 00:20:11.829 always happy to talk about things with you. And 00:20:11.829 --> 00:20:14.670 if you found value in today's episode, consider 00:20:14.670 --> 00:20:18.349 leaving a review and share with another teacher 00:20:18.349 --> 00:20:19.309 who might find it helpful.