Every day we use a variety of resources to help students grasp a better understanding of topics and apply the strategies in which they will need throughout the entire quarter and for testing. There are many ways we manage to help students through Math talks, MIP, JIT, word problem of the day, DMR, interactive notebooks, and through our daily slides.
For Math talks, we set a timer for two minutes in which there are two different strings that we display on the board to help students make sets of tens and add extra numbers if needed. This also allows as soon as the opportunity to use and extend their targeted strategies, they will find the need to decompose at least one number to make a quick 10.
As for MIPS (Mathematics Instructional Plans) and JITs (Just-in-time Teaching), students get extra practice working on their math skills while using word problems. Mathematics Instructional Plans (MIPs) give teachers examples of how to communicate to students the knowledge, abilities, and processes included in the SOL and curriculum framework, assisting teachers in aligning instruction with the Mathematics Standards of Learning (SOL). Additionally, MIPS assists us, teachers, in tracking development and success in light of our particular academic standards and learning objectives.
By maximizing the use of class time, just-in-time instruction aims to increase student responsibility for studying the material outside of class, encourage more focused and pertinent explanations of the material, and provide more opportunities for discussion and interaction.
The Just in Time Mathematics Quick Checks are formative tests that follow the SOLs for mathematics. The goal of JITs is to support teachers in identifying children who have learning gaps and in developing lesson plans to close such gaps “just in time.” Teachers can use these Quick Checks to find and diagnose learning gaps at grade level as new material is taught during the academic year, as well as to gauge students’ comprehension of any prerequisite knowledge that might be necessary to access grade-level content. The knowledge that may be required as a prerequisite to access grade-level content. These materials can be used to help students get back on track with their mathematical learning if they have gaps in their understanding of mathematics for a variety of reasons.
Every day we give students a DMR, which stands for daily math review. Students are given a total of five questions with a variety of problems. Using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, while including fractions, ranging from improper to mixed numbers. We use these DMRs to track student knowledge regarding these topics and their progress. We collect their data and find ways to either support the child or see their strengths. The DMR consists of graphs, finding the missing number, and incorporating important concepts, like a product, some, quotient, and difference.
Lastly, we use interactive notebooks to write down notes and or fill in the blank for the specific topic. Also, this allows students to create their scenario, write down tips to help solve or even highlight keywords to help them remember concepts and sequence. Many students have common misconceptions when solving problems from not understanding how to solve them so we use these different methods to help the students focus on thinking, and reasoning, rather than solely on keywords. We want our students to be exposed to various problem types and allow them to solve their practical problems while incorporating the curriculum framework.