Creating Authentic Learning Experiences

One of the most fulfilling moments as a math coach is seeing a teacher delivering a well planned lesson that the students will remember for a very long time.  I am so excited that I had the pleasure of witnessing this first hand with Ms. Dixon and her 3rd grade students a few days ago.  During last week's common planning session Ms. Dixon, Ms. Cardona (Math CSS) and I wanted to ensure that the children had a lesson that would really break down the often difficult concept of line plots.  After a mini think-tank session about how we would tackle the task, Ms. Dixon researched a wonderful activity to extend what we discussed during planning.  Although I am always on the look out for wonderful classroom happenings, I was pleasantly surprised at what took place during Ms. Dixon's Line Plot Lesson, so much so, that I whipped out my iPad and started to record. Please take a peek for yourself. 

Fantastic Factors in Fourth Grade!

Students worked in cooperative learning groups to successfully arrange various layouts for a party using their knowledge of factors and arrays. The teacher reviewed the rubric and expectations for the lesson at the beginning of the activity.  The students naturally took ownership of the task, assumed job roles and worked diligently to complete the project.  This activity was a great way for students to use objectives taught in class and apply them to the real-world.  Kudos to our wonderful 4th grade teacher Ms. Esposito for showing the children that math is truly all around us.   

Music & Math Make Beautiful Music

We all know how much children love music. Why not teach challenging math skills through songs like our fabulous 5th grade teacher Mr. Ditzler?  Take a peak at some of our 5th grade students as they perform for their parents at LB.S.'s 2014 Open House.

What's the Chatter?

If you walk into any L.B.S. math classroom, you are sure to hear students discussing and justifying their answers with just about anyone who will listen. And how did we get here you're wondering... by using 'Math Talk Sentence Starters'. The teachers of L.B.S. explicitly instruct the students on how to use these accountable talk stems to bring their mathematical thoughts to life.

At L.B.S., we are definitely building a solid foundation for strong verbal math communication and we will soon begin construction on our next level... WRITING.