Working in a class

Each week I relieve in a year 2/3 class so for one day I get to practice problem solving with a class rather than with my small groups. 

This class was split into half and one half works independently in Maths while the other half works with me. They are given a word problem and are asked to read it and talk about what they can see in their heads and what the problem is asking them to do. Once they have had a think, pair, share with their buddy we come back as a group to talk about the problem and also the rules when working with a buddy. This is to ensure that all the students are clear about what the problem is and the expectations before they start trying to solve it. Once we have had a whole group discussion, the students are given a chance to try to work it out. At this stage most students generally choose to use materials such as beans, counters or ice block sticks to help them. 

Here are some photos of the students problem solving:

Group 7 Problem Solving

Today my group (7) began working on a problem solving task (about workers packing cherries into boxes and cartons) near the end of their session. This group is very enthusiastic about mathematics so we have a lot of cooks in the kitchen as the saying goes. I'm sharing this video to show what is working well and what needs improvement with this group dynamic. 

As you'll see the girls take over quite a bit so we are working on listening to each other more and taking turns with sharing ideas. Jarome tries to share his thinking - that they can use their basic facts to help work out larger numbers when he says, "8 + 4 is 12" in reference to the problem where they are trying to work out 80 + 40, though he is talked over. It also shows how important it is for us as teachers to listen to what our students are muttering or saying within a group especially the quiet ones, as they usually know more than they let on. 

They are very engaged in this task. However, as we continue the task in the next session I will need to go over the expectations of working in a group and also the importance of reading the problem. They have come a long way with their communication in mathematics and they will surely continue to improve :-)