Keeping It Real

While our learners certainly dedicate loads of time mastering fundamental math algorithms and formulas, it's equally important that we provide them with opportunities to apply their knowledge and understanding of these skills in real-life math scenarios. Designing learning experiences that require the application of mathematical concepts pushes learners to think deeper about math, allowing them to see the connections while offering meaningful context for their learning. As we often say in The Hive, "We're keeping it real". The goal of our math learning experiences is aimed at doing just that and this week's guest bloggers are excited to explain the value in it. Enjoy.

The pizza fractions activity really helped me learn how to work through the struggle of math. When it got challenging, I stopped and took a deep breath, and then went back to it. There were a lot of different steps and a lot of different types of math that I needed to use to work through the activity. It was really fun and I hope we can do something like this again.  - Kiwi222

Fractions are important in the real world. For instance, if you want to expand the size of a building, you would have to multiply the length and width, which always includes a mixed number.  - M&M

Pretend you are driving home on a Friday night. You have four kids in the car and you are thinking about ordering a pizza, but all of your kids like different toppings. If you know how many slices are in the pizza and how many slices each kid will eat, you can ask for specific toppings on fractional parts of the pizza.  - TheBeeGuy101

Real builders have to multiply and divide fractions all the time when they are building (just like we did for our pizza parlor remodel projects). Knowing how to multiply and divide fractions will come in handy for doing jobs like this.  - Lonnie & Giraffe 

I think it is important to involve real-world situations in our math experiences because if we don't, then when we get into the real world, we will be overwhelmed and not know which types of math will help us solve certain problems.  - Swagger25

Understanding fractions is extremely important because in the real world you don't always work in whole numbers. Sometimes you need to work with parts of a whole - like our pizzeria remodel projects.   - Waterbottle1

Connecting our math experiences to the real world is important. For example, if a recipe calls for, let's say 1/4 cup of flour, but you need to double the recipe, you would need to know how to multiply that amount by two (or know how to do repeated addition of fractions). If you didn't know how to do this, the recipe would come out completely wrong!   - Moon_Drop

Poetry In Motion

 

Known as the “Last Great Race,” the Iditarod is a dogsled race that takes place in Alaska each year during the month of March. The race trails cover more than 1,000 miles from Anchorage to Nome, along some of the most beautiful wilderness trails that Alaska offers. Mushers and their dog teams traverse frozen rivers, dense forests, rocky mountains, a windswept coastline, and a desolate tundra in approximately 8 to 14 days. Running the Iditarod means enduring sub-zero temperatures, snowstorms, wildlife encounters, and other unexpected difficulties. The dedication and perseverance shown by each of the teams is a testament to their love of all that this great race represents. Each student has been following a selected dogsled team and have been enthusiastically cheering them on since the race began on March 5. 

While some teams have already successfully completed the race, others still have many miles to go. While it was exciting to see the first musher cross the finish line, there is as much anticipation as to who will be the last. The last musher to finish the race is presented with the Red Lantern award. The tradition dates back to 1953 when the first red lantern was given as a joke at the Fur Rendezvous Race in Anchorage. The award was eventually passed on to the Iditarod when the race began in 1973. Over the years the Red Lantern Award has become a symbol of perseverance and determination. Today’s mushers feel a proud sense of accomplishment when receiving the Red Lantern Award; the same sense of perseverance and determination that we strive to instill in our students. The Iditarod offered so much for us to learn and reflect on (not to mention the fact that it so perfectly provided a springboard for our exploration of Native American cultural regions, beginning - of course- with the Arctic region, home to the Iditarod).

This week's guest bloggers offer you a new twist on reflections of their learning - through poetry. Enjoy!

Making Our Thinking Visible

In an earlier post, we highlighted the power of visible thinking. Our students LOVE engaging in visible thinking routines - they simply cannot get enough of them. This week, we began our explorations into Native American cultural regions. Specifically, they are investigating how geography affected how and where the earliest people of North America people lived. The enduring idea behind their research is "To understand the present and make plans for the future, we must first understand the past. Where people live matters." 

We offered students an opportunity to share out their learning at the mid-point of their explorations and research in an effort to help clarify any misunderstandings about their research, to build upon their existing knowledge, and to share connections they are making as a result of their learning. Using faux buffalo hides (aka brown butcher paper), students drew representations of their learning (much like a sketchnote!) and discussed how people from their cultural regions adapted to the land, resources, and soil that were available to each region. By allowing students to make their thinking visible to one another, they were able to develop a deeper and more meaningful understanding of how the geography of a particular region affects how people live.

This week's guest bloggers share this visible thinking experience. Enjoy.

The buffalo skin activity not only helped me make sense of my own research, but my teammates' were able to make sense of theirs as well. The way one of my teammates explained and illustrated the salmon and totem pole relationship was amazing. It helped me understand that part of the culture in my Native American region.   - @Pickle03

It is helpful to see (with drawings) what my classmates are thinking about when we are learning because I get to see other people's perspectives through pictures.  - @Lonnie

It is helpful to see how other people think about their learning not just hear about it. To see your classmates show you how they think helps you understand what's going on inside their heads.   - @Flash4

A positive experience I had with the buffalo skin activity was when we all talked about what each of us had learned about our Native American cultural regions so far. For example, a teammate and I both wanted to share what we learned about Kachina dolls and so we talked about it first and then decided to make a shelf of Kachina dolls together to show the rest of our group what we had learned. If that isn't a good experience, I don't know what is.   - @Dream

The buffalo skin activity helped me make sense of my learning because I love to draw and color and I love to see drawings when I am learning. When I can incorporate them into my work, I understand my learning better.    - @G-Money

I think it is helpful when I get to see how other classmates are thinking about their learning because it gives me a better understanding of what we are learning about. Also, I can see how other classmates view things and the different perspectives they have.    - @EarthySmurf

A positive experience I had during the buffalo skin activity was seeing what other people's thinking was like. I also like talking with people I don't usually talk with.   - @Strawberry

Personally, I liked hearing what my teammates had learned about our Native American cultural region. I also learned some new things because of it and my teammates even learned some new things from me, too. It was a great way to share our research with each other and we all gained a lot more knowledge.    - @Kiwi222

In my opinion, to be able to see what other people in my group were thinking was really helpful. I really like working in a group because sometimes I don't pick up every little detail and someone else usually does and shares it with the group.     - GoatLover

The buffalo skin experience makes sense and it actually helped me build more knowledge about my Native American cultural region.    - @Blocky

The buffalo skin activity was really helpful because it not only helped me make sense of what I was learning, but it helped me look back on what I had learned so that I could remember it better.    - Lightning24