top of page

We Are Ready to Start Our Daily Number Sense Routine!

pennydropteaching


I left school today feeling good. Our “Settle In” tub is filled with “just right” booklets ready for starting our daily number sense routine first thing on Monday morning.


It feels good to have reached this moment. It is Friday, the end of the third week of school. In my prep today, I chose a just right booklet for each of my grade 1 and 2 students. My grade 1 students are working in booklets from our new Early Numeracy series (numbers to 5, 10, and 20), while the grade 2’s are working in booklets 1B (numbers to 20) or 2A (numbers to 40) from our Building Expertise in Math Number Sense series.


I say it feels good to have reached this moment because there has been a good deal of preparation for it. Over the last couple of weeks I have had brief one-to-one interviews where I have asked students to read and write numbers and subitize images of dot cards and ten frames. We have also been doing Number Talks, counting around the circle by ones and tens, and building ten sticks out of pop cubes. We have been counting by tens using our ten sticks, building ten sticks to show different ways to “make ten” and recording these ideas in our Math Journals. During this time I have been taking notes and making observations.


 On Wednesday this week we did the SNAP math assessment (https://snap.sd33.bc.ca/). I love this BC developed assessment tool and have been using it for four years now. It has really helped focus and transform my practice. Keeping in mind that my grade 1’s were kindergarten students a short time ago, and that my grade 2’s were recently grade 1's, we started with the grade 1 SNAP template. Some of my students were familiar with SNAP, for others this was their first time seeing it. After working together as a class on the Smartboard to demonstrate how to do the grade 1 SNAP template with the number 8, students were given a SNAP assessment with a number of their choice. Students chose numbers ranging from 6 to 27. Those who wanted a number less than 20 worked on the grade 1 SNAP assessment regardless of grade level. Those who wanted a number greater than 20 worked on the grade 2 SNAP template.


How did I level the students?

When it came time to choose a “just right” booklet for each of the students I looked at their SNAP assessment, and considered the notes and observation I had made over the last couple of weeks. I thought about a student’s level of confidence with math activities, their comfort in taking on a challenge (and possibly making a mistake), their fine motor skills (number formation and stamina with a paper and pencil task) as well as what level of numbers would be a good fit. This is my first time using booklets from our new Early Numeracy series and I felt grateful to have so many levels to choose from. My early primary class has a range of abilities. The Early Numeracy booklets are new versions of booklets I have been using in my classroom for more than a decade. It’s exciting to be piloting the new format this year. We are looking forward to offering these later this year.


How did it work out? 

It was 2:00 on a Friday afternoon when I picked my students up after my prep. Enough time (I hoped) to give our number sense routine a practice run before Monday morning. We gathered on the carpet and I showed my class their math booklets. Some of my previous students let out a cheer! They have been asking me when we would have our booklets to work in during our Settle In morning routine and had resorted to creating their own math in their drawing books while they waited. I explained that their job was to complete one (and only one) page in their math booklets and I would come around and check their work and give them feedback. When they were finished, they could draw in their drawing books.


The students got their booklets and settled into the task. I was able to circle around and help students as they needed it. Students finished their work and I gave feedback to almost everyone before we got ready to go home. I am hopeful that I have given every student a just right booklet and can’t wait to start the routine on Monday morning. I know it's going to take a while to establish this routine. There will be bumps in the road as we get started. I am also looking forward to seeing how much they will grow over the next month. It's always amazing to see how much growth results from using this daily number sense routine.


Lately I have been thinking:


One page of a just right number sense booklet + daily formative feedback = students growing in skills, expertise and confidence over time.


2 views0 comments

Comentários


bottom of page