Beyond the Textbook
1/29/2021
I’m Trying to Love Math by Bethany Barton is a children’s book about a child who discovers that math is all around and is already part of everything they love. The problem is that so many math curriculums are from a textbook, and although they give real-world problems, the students don’t necessarily see the relevance. In this book, for example, the child says that numbers are boring. As the book continues, this child discovers that math is not just about numbers but “is also about exploring. About finding new ways to get places.” PNA uses Bridges, a math curriculum that has the students learn new math skills and solve real-world problems with hands-on methods. This allows students to see the purpose of what they are learning and a context for when to use these skills. This also shows students that math IS all around them. They see it in the games they play with their peers, with the information gathered as a class, and in the activities they do at home. Students have gathered math information about penguins from reading articles. They made their own measuring tape, measured themselves, and then compared their height with the penguin’s height. They have also collected data, like favorite popsicle flavor, from their peers and have helped make a classroom graph with this data to get a visual for the least and most popular flavors. In recent weeks, students walked around the PNA building to gather data for three-dimensional shapes they saw. This helped students see the three-dimensional shapes beyond the picture or shape block. A few students also estimated and then found the actual length of PNA’s hallway. At home, students have been tasked to do things like tally the number of lightbulbs in each room, build a three-dimensional shape with at-home objects and use their math skills for everyday tasks, like baking. Doing these things at home supports the understanding that math is everywhere! In Bridges, each math session starts with Number Corner, which teaches students the days and months of the year, patterns, and other monthly skills. This helps students with number sense and extra practice with skills, like money and time, each month. Next, students are taught their math lesson for the day. This is typically a short session introduced with a review question and then a lesson that gives students new skills through activities or workshops. Following the lesson and activity, students go to their Workshop. This is typically a partner or individual game that gives the students repeated practice and exposure to their new math skills in a fun way! It allows students to work together, which can help solidify their knowledge or learn their math skills from their peers. Students are not just learning new skills from the teacher but are also getting new tips and tricks from their peers while working on their social skills. Math at PNA integrates reading, art, and science skills. Students learn the meaning of a number instead of just memorizing the number. Doing this allows them to approach math problems with different methods and lenses than those that learn the basic 5+5=10 from a textbook. It is exciting to see the interest and understanding of math grow, the connections they make, and the fun they have “playing” and learning from one another.
Courage
1/16/2021
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Courage is the power of the mind to overcome fear.” At PNA, “We educate students to be exceptional learners and independent thinkers of vision, courage, and integrity.” Students at PNA demonstrate courage just by coming to school during a pandemic. Students also practice courage daily during Morning Meeting and Closing Circle. They not only speak in front of their peers but also share a belief, something about themselves, or their knowledge on a topic, knowing that not everyone will agree with them or understand. Because courage is power, we must practice using it early and often. For the last two weeks, students have been using their reading fluency and comprehension skills to perform poems and plays in front of their peers. Last week, they performed winter plays to get an idea of what it takes to read, understand, and perform. Despite being nervous, students did it! When I was a kid, my teeth would chatter before speaking in front of people, so I know this took courage. For some, the courage was reading to someone else; for others, it was standing up and speaking in front of their peers or challenging themselves by memorizing their lines and finding the creativity to make props to entertain their audience. This week, students learned about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. They listened to the story, Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport and looked at cause and effect to understand what Dr. King stood for and the courage he had. They also made a timeline of his life and listened to parts of his most famous speech, “I Have a Dream.” Students then reflected on our world today and what they would like to see change. They then wrote their own “I Have a Dream” speech, which will be typed and displayed at PNA in the coming week. To honor Dr. King, students have been preparing another performance for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. They have partnered up to read, comprehend, and perform poems about Dr. King and what he stood for. Through this, students recognize the kindness of similarities and the beauty of having differences. They will demonstrate courage by not only presenting these to their classmates but also to a live audience on Zoom. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. also said, “No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance.” I know that, although the fear of speaking isn’t the same strife and dangers that Dr. King faced, these first graders will use these skills to overcome challenges and fears to do what is right and use the love they shine on others to uplift humanity, as they do for me.
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Hali TuomiMs. Tuomi has over five years experience in ASD, where she taught first and fifth grade classrooms. An avid skier, Ms. Tuomi is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Alaska Pacific University’s Bachelor of Arts in K-8 Education. Archives
April 2021
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