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Numberless Word Problems in the Elementary Classroom

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Word problems can always be tricky to teach and tricky for kids to understand. In the beginning of my teaching career, I focused so much on key words and strategies that told my students to underline the problem and box key words. As the years went on, I realized that even when my students are doing all of “the parts” of the word problem strategy that I am asking them to do, they aren’t actually understanding how to attack the word problem independently.

I wanted my kids to focus more on what is actually happening in the word problem so insert numberless word problems. When I first learned about numberless word problems, my first thought (if I am being completely honest) was, “How in the world would that actually help them understand if there’s no numbers?” As time went on and I learned more about the importance of taking the numbers away, the more I learned how this actually helps deepen students understanding of the word problem.

Let’s take a peek at what I do!

First thing I will do is display the numberless word problem on the Smartboard. Students will have a graphic organizer in front of them.

When this first is displayed I will read the word problem and ask students what they are picturing in their minds as I read the story. Students will record some thoughts/pictures/notes onto their graphic organizer.

I will now ask students about what information do we have now? (George=32 fish) What information are we missing? (How many more he bought) Students are recording this onto their graphic organizers as we are working through the problem.

I will now ask students about what information do we have now? (bought 18 more fish) What question could we be asking? Students may say how many fish does he have in all? We want students to start understanding that when you have some and you got some more, you will have a bigger amount than you started with. Students are recording this onto their graphic organizers as we are working through the problem.

I will now ask students about what operation we will use to solve the problem. It takes time but students will start to understand that they are looking for the total. They will see that they have a part, and got another part, which will help us to find the total. Students are recording this onto their graphic organizers and once the operation is determined, they will solve the problem using pictures, numbers, and/or words.

Here is an example of what it may look like!

I will use these numberless word problems as a warm up as a whole group or even in small groups. As time goes on and students feel comfortable with this, they can do it independently or with a partner!

Do you use numberless word problems in the classroom? Let me know if you have any comments or questions about this!

Math Workshop – How? What? Why?

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Math Workshop has truly become one of my favorite times of day. When I first started math workshop, I had NO idea what I was doing but read a ton of research on the importance in making this shift in math instruction and haven’t looked back. With the Common Core Standards, we as teachers cannot simply rely on teaching students just a formula to answer math problems anymore. As we know, students learn concepts at different paces and having math workshop in your classroom allows you to meet the needs of each and every learner.

What is Math Workshop?

Math Workshop is a method in which teachers assess students and group them according to their proficiency level. Groups will change depending on the topic/skill. I give a quick pretest before major topics are taught to be able to adequately group students.

•Each student receives small group instruction, followed by independent work time.

•Allows for students to be rotated/moved to different groups by lesson or unit.

•Students are engaged at all times in mathematics practice and concepts are reinforced daily in stations.

•Students are motivated by the rotation, and manage themselves with little need for teacher interruption.

What does Math Workshop look like? 

Math Workshop consists of a problem of the day, a mini lesson, four rotations, (Math Facts, At Your Seat, Teacher’s Choice, and Hands On) and a wrap up/exit ticket.

Before the Mini-Lesson

We often start off Math Workshop with a problem of the day or a math warm up to get our brains ready for our lesson. The problem of the day is projected on the whiteboard and students complete the problem in their math journal or on a personal whiteboard. These problems are open ended questions and are created from the Common Core Standards. Our math warm ups are quick ways to get kids thinking and talking about numbers.

The Mini-Lesson
Mini lessons usually take about 12-15 minutes depending on the topic. During this mini-lesson, I am introducing the skill/standard that is going to be taught. I always have students on the rug with a whiteboard, marker, and eraser. First, I model how to solve a problem on that topic. For example, if our topic is using arrays for multiplication, I will explain to them what an array is, how to create an array, and why they are helpful. Next, we practice solving one or two problems together. Finally, students will do one or two problems independently and will usually Turn and Talk with a partner to explain their thinking. I invite students to come to the front of the room to share their genius thinking with their classmates. Teachers will then go over what the rotations will look like and math workshop begins! Rotations last about 15 minutes long.
M: Math Facts
At this center, I focus on strengthening fact fluency. I use anything from flashcards, math games on an IPAD or computer, math drills, or more.

A: At Your Seat

At this center, one of the most important things I learned was to review the skill/standard from the PREVIOUS day’s lesson(s). Since a group of students go to this rotation first, it is important that this rotation is used as a review. Students would not know how to complete the assignment since they have not yet been taught by you! (I learned this the hard way!) Some things students do in this rotation are worksheets, journaling, completing task cards, and independent centers.

T: Teacher’s Choice
At this rotation, students meet with the teacher for a small group lesson to practice the skill that was just taught in the mini-lesson. I always try to include a fun warm up activity before we get into the lesson. (Again, a review activity, not an activity that mirrors that lesson if it is the first day of teaching it!) I love having students use whiteboards and different manipulatives. As students are working, I will conference with a student and will take anecdotal notes during those conferences.
H: Hands On
At this rotation, students will work together to problem solve, play games, and collaborate with one another. Students can play math games/centers in small groups or in partners. They bring their math journals, whiteboards, or recording sheets with them to record their work while playing.
Exit Ticket/Wrap Up/Share
After the rotations are complete, students will come back to their seats and complete an exit ticket and then come to the rug. Exit tickets are very helpful for grouping students for the following day! Once the exit tickets are completed, (this should not take more than 5 minutes!) students share used strategies, ask questions, make connections, and reflect on their mathematical practice during math workshop.
REMEMBER to choose stations that:
  • You don’t need to change often.
  • Students know routines and can get started quickly and independently.
  • Are much less time consuming for you and allows you more time spent planning quality small group lessons.
  • Don’t require a ton (or any!) paperwork.

When planning the lesson:

  • Determine big ideas (based on student needs and standards!)
  • Decide what students need to learn and do to be successful.
  • Use assessment information. (informative and formative)
  • Choose specific teaching points for each group
  • Prepare differentiated lessons; gather materials.
CHECK OUT SOME OF MY FAVORITE MATH MATERIALS BELOW!
Math Warm Up Year Long Bundle    Error Analysis Bundle 
I hope this was helpful for you as you are planning how to run math workshop in your room! Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. I would love to hear about how you use math workshop in your room! 🙂
-Jen
 
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Classroom Expectations

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One of the things that comes up a lot in conversation is classroom management. I have tried everything from clip charts, to Dojo, and beyond. I have never really found one system that I loved, so I stopped using any system all together. (I know I am crazy!!)

In my classroom, we spend a lot of time talking about our expectations we have for one another, our room, and our building. We come up with these expectations and review them constantly (especially in the beginning of the year!) I have noticed a much bigger sense of pride when students take ownership of the expectations that they created as opposed to the ones I said they had to follow.

During morning meeting, we will review these reminders to help our classroom community be the best it can be. Students will compliment one another (____ has really been on task and showing good body language today!) by using some of the expectations of our classroom. It has been just a great way of keep us all accountable and allowing my students to have a voice in the way OUR classroom is run!

To get started, I have the students sit on the rug together and we take turns sharing things that we want our classroom to be. While students are sharing, I am making a list on anchor chart paper (or the whiteboard!) Once students are done sharing, we have a discussion about our list. I ask them questions such as: What do you notice about what we came up with? What do you notice is not on there? What topics did we repeat often? Etc. When we are done our discussion and done narrowing down our most important expectations, we talk about ways we can implement these in our classroom. For example, what does hard work look like? How can we listen? What does it mean to be a role model? Continuing to use and discuss these terms with my students has helped them truly understand what they mean and how to meet those expectations that they created.

If you are interested in these posters, click on the picture above so they can bring you to my Teachers Pay Teachers Store!

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