Taylor Nix

Math Minutes

Using the Standards for Mathematical Practice from the Common Core State Standards (p. 6math book), make a chart and include observed examples from your classroom of each.
Standard

Examples

CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1: Make sense of

problems and persevere in solving them

Number identification is a huge skill that my

preschoolers are working on. Whenever my
teacher asks them to identify a certain number,
they are able to look at the number and either
answer correctly, or give their best guess. If they
answer incorrectly, they are usually pretty good at
trying again and again until they get it right.

CCSS.Math.Practice.MP2: Reason abstractly and

quantitively

Although my students are not yet able to write

down problems and represent their operations on
paper, they are able to compute simple problems
in their heads. The problems are not complex and
most times the students do not even realize they
are doing a math problem.

CCSS.Math.Practice.MP3: Construct viable

arguments and critique the reasoning of others

Many times after a student identifies a number, my

teacher will ask a difference student to explain why
that number is what it is. The student then must
explain that that number is, for example, 12
because the number twelve is made of a one and
a two. Students are often also asked to explain
why a student incorrectly identified the number.

CCSS.Math.Practice.MP4: Model with

mathematics

I believe that calendar is a great way for students

to relate math to real life. They are able to count
the dates throughout the month and apply it to the
past, present, or future. They are also able to see
the calendar in the room that has numbers on it,
and possibly connect it to a calendar that they
might have seen at home or in a store.

CCSS.Math.Practice.MP5: use appropriate tools

strategically

My students are able to select which tools they

need in order to solve a mathematical problem. In
their case, the problems are in the format of
activities, and are usually crafts. They are able to
look at the model craft that my teacher provides
them and assess what they need in order to make
their activity look like the model. For example, they
are able to count that my teachers fireman face
has two eyes, so their fireman face must need two
eyes. They are then able to decide what they best
way to get those two eyes on to their craft would
be.

Standard

Examples

CCSS.Math.Practice.MP6: Attend to precision

My students are in the process of being able to

communicate precisely with their peers. Many of
them are special needs and have a hard time
forming words to speak with their peers. However,
my teacher will prompt them with questions that is
slowly but surely giving them the knowledge they
will need in order to eventually communicate
mathematically with those around them.

CCSS.Math.Practice.MP7: Look for and make use

of structure

Although they are young, my students are great at

identifying patterns. My teacher will use different
colored shapes in an activity and line them up to
create a pattern that they kids must figure out. For
example, my teacher will create the pattern: circle,
square, circle, square and the children will have to
figure out the pattern. This aids in shape
identification and also with pattern recognition.

CCSS.Math.Practice.MP8: Look for and express

regulatory in repeated reasoning

My students are too young to be presented with a

problem and find short cuts for solutions. However,
my teacher is preparing them to do such things.

!
Would you say that your classroom teacher is a constructivist? Why or why not? Give examples
to support your answer.
I believe my teacher is a constructivist to a certain extent. She believes that children do play a
strong role in their education. It is up to them whether or not they are going to get everything out of their
education. The more they pay attention and invest in their education, the more they are going to learn and
take away from their time in school. She is very focused on how the children think, rather than them
spitting out a correct answer. Whenever she asks questions, she always values and considers any answer,
whether it is correct or not. For example, when we do calendar at morning circle, she will ask the students
the number of todays date. She will show them the number and let them answer her question. When a
student answers incorrectly, she does not shoot them down and tell them no. Rather, she will say, That is
a good guess, but it is not 3. Does anyone else have any idea of what number this could be? Her focus is
not stuffing a years worth of knowledge into her students, but instead she is focused on figuring out how
her students think and tailoring the material to fit their cognitive needs. She does believe that children
play an active role in their learning, however she also believes that they learn many things from outside of

the classroom. I have heard her mention several times that it is equally important that the parents or
guardians of the children read to their kids and take advantage of every opportunity there is for a learning
experience for their children. For example, we have a student who is struggling with letter recognition.
We will have gone over a letter for an entire week and he still cannot seem to retain it. My teacher has
told him several times to ask his grandmother to read to him and practice his letters with him because she
knows that it is important that he continue to learn outside of the classroom. However, seeing that a
majority of her students have special needs, she knows how important her role as a teacher is as well. It is
her job to clearly explain and convey her messages and lessons to her students. She also knows how
crucial it is for her to be fully invested in her students 100% of the time. Even if her students are eager to
learn and invested in their education, if she is not focused and fully invested, her students are not going to
learn as much as they would in a classroom with a fully invested teacher.

Choose a math lesson from your class and make a list of 3 possible childrens books to enhance/
enrich the lesson.
Seeing that our class is comprised of three year olds in preschool, many of the math lessons my
teacher gives revolve around counting and shapes. For example, one of the math lessons she gave was
during fire safety week. First, she read a book that focused mainly on fire trucks. Then, she led the class
in a craft where students made their own fire truck made completely out of shapes. Although it was
completely relevant, my teacher could have replaced the fire truck book she read before the lesson with a
book that was all about the shapes the students were using during their craft. It is important to keep in
mind that when picking out a book to use during a preschool lesson, the books need to be short in length
and content. The books listed below are great books that can be used during preschool math lessons
revolving around shapes.
Shape by Shape is a Caldecott award winning book by Suse MacDonald. MacDonald uses bright
colors to capture the attention of young readers and keep their attention throughout the book. The shapes
come together to create an image in the end and teach readers about shapes all at the same time. Students
will enjoy this book because it perks curiosity at the beginning, maintains it until the end, and is
interactive and engaging.

Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh is a creative, fun journey that involves two mice and a bunch
of shapes. The main goal of the mice is to create images out of the eleven shapes they have: one oval, two
circles, and eight triangles. In order to trick a sneaky cat, they must build images out of their shapes. This
book encourages students to think and solve problems when given a specific amount of shapes.
Red Bears Fun with Shapes by Bodel Rikys is a classic shape book. As Red Bear goes
throughout his day, readers are flooded with different shapes that, when put together, make whole pictures
or objects. This book will encourage students look around at the objects they come into contact with daily
and identify the shapes that it is made from.

!
Complete the Teacher Interview: An Environment for Learning.
1. Describe how a typical lesson is organized. What is your role? What is the students role?
A typical lesson is usually comprised of a book reading and an activity for the students to do. I
begin my lessons with reading a book that relates to our topic of discussion. I do this to introduce content
and engage the students. Usually I will pause and ask questions throughout the book to increase students
interaction throughout the reading. Then, we will do an activity centered around one or two standards.
This activity is usually a craft that the students will make. I lead the activity and ask the students
questions as we progress through the activity.
2. How do you decide how much time to provide learners to explore a math task?
Typically my math tasks are integrated into our activity of the day. For example, when we are
working on recognizing shapes, we will make a craft about shapes. At first, I will let the students try to
complete the steps of the activity on their own. This usually lasts for a couple of minutes or until I see that
they need help. However, if it is obvious that they need help to begin with, we will usually have an aid or
a student helper to assist the students that need the most help completing the activity.
3. How does the way youve arranged the room (e.g., the seating, location of materials) affect the
students learning of mathematics?
I have placed large numbers around the top of the room that we use every day. After we count
how many friends are at school today, I will call on one student to walk to the back of the room and count
up to the number of students that are there that day, while pointing at each number as they count. These

numbers are left up on the wall all day every day and are available for students to see throughout their
day. When counting during an activity, my students can easily glance up to the numbers around the top of
the room to remind them of how to write them or to aid in sequence memory.
4. How important do you think it is to use real contexts or problem situations in teaching a math concept
or skill? How do you use context or situation to develop mathematical skills and proficiency?
It is important to connect real life situation with any content area, including mathematics. Every
week we have a different topic or theme for that week. For example, this week our theme is Christmas.
Thus, all of our activities will have to do with Christmas. Every student is able to relate to this topic
because they have all experienced it firsthand. When we are talking about Christmas during an activity,
such as when we made our Christmas tree made out of shapes, my students are able to recall times when
they have seen a Christmas tree and are able to better understand what we are going to be doing. We also
use counting whenever we can. We can count how many friends are at school today, which is a situation
that students are familiar with. Slowly but surely, they are becoming proficient counters because they are
exposed to this kind of real-world math every day.
5. What do you do about the learner who says that he or she doesnt like math or is anxious about doing
math?
My students are not yet able to form opinions about their feelings towards math specifically.
However, I do have children that have struggled with math. I think it is extremely important to remain
positive despite their negative attitudes towards math. Many times, students want to like math, however
they feel like they cant because it is not their best subject. Teachers hold the responsibility of being their
students biggest cheerleaders, so when a student says that he or she does not enjoy math or that they are
nervous about math, it is the job of the teacher to change their mind.
6. Do learners ask questions or make conjectures during your math instruction? Do you encourage this?
How?
I always encourage questions! To me, questions are what drives the conversation during lessons
and activities. My students are at the stage right now that they are not yet able to form good, solid
mathematical questions. However, this does not mean that discourse does not take place during our math
lessons. I provide students with a plethora of opportunities to answer questions that I ask them. Also, if

another student does ask a question, I will give their peers a chance to answer the question, instead of me
providing them with an answer.
7. What do your learners do that helps you understand that they are making sense of math? How do you
foster and encourage those actions?
My students show their mathematical understanding verbally, for the most part. They are too little
to be given assessments or tests to show their understanding, thus I assess them as they are completing
their activities. As I ask questions and as they answer questions, I am able to see who is understanding the
skills and who is not. For example, as we work our way through a shape activity, as I point at different
shapes

!
Complete the Evidence of higher level thinking observation.
1. Did the teacher encourage higher-level mathematical thinking? If so, what were some of the teachers
actions? Cite specific examples and strategies (questions posed, tasks presented, etc.).
When given the opportunity, my teacher always encourages higher-level math thinking. For
example, today she did a lesson that was all about shapes. She read a Christmas book about shapes and
asked the students to identify the different shapes in the pictures. The, the students completed an activity
by making a Christmas tree out of different shapes. The Christmas tree was cut into three sections and the
students had to tape them together with a string. After taping together the first two sections, my teacher
pointed to her model craft and said, My tree has three parts and you guys only have two parts. Then she
turned to one of the students in the class and asked her, If I have three parts and you have two parts, how
many more do you need to match mine? The little girl thought for a moment and answered, I need one
more part! My teacher high-fived her for her higher-level math thinking as well as for using all of her
words. Whenever my teacher asks higher-level questions or presents a higher-level activity, she always
makes sure to give the students lots of encouragement and support, as well as praising them after they are
done. I believe that this kind of mathematical environment encourages much growth in learning and
thinking when it comes to mathematics in the preschool setting.

2. Did the students make conjectures or engage in mathematical arguments? Were they expected to
defend or support their arguments and conjectures? How do you know? Describe the students actions
in this lesson.
My teacher always involves the students when we are doing calendar. She will ask them what
todays date is, specifically looking for the number of the day (ex: 24 of November), and show the
number to them. Whenever she asks a question like this, she will not tell the students the answer. Instead,
she waits patiently for them to respond. If one student responds with one number and another student with
a different number, she encourages them to explain why they believe their number is correct. For
example, if it is the 24th of November and a student answers that the number is 14, they must explain
why they think that number is 14 instead of 24. The student would explain that a one and a four make 14.
Through doing this, the student is encouraged to think through his or her answer and, if it is wrong, will
hopefully realize why it is wrong. When stating that a one and a four make 14, the student will realize
that, in fact, the number before the four is a two, thus making the number 24 instead of 14. There are not
many arguments that take place during this kind of learning. The students are only three years old and are
just beginning the training of thinking this way. However, I believe they are building a solid cognitive
foundation for how to think like this and debate respectively with a peer.
3. Circle any of the verbs below that you think describe the activities students were asked to do during
the lesson.
explore

investigate

conjecture

solve

justify

represent

formulate

discover

construct

verify

explain

predict

develop

describe

use

4. To what extent were all students expected to use higher-level thinking? In other words, when a
question or task was proposed, what did the teacher do to ensure all the students were thinking about
and answering the question? How was the classroom structured so that all students were engaged?
Many times when my teacher would ask a question, she will go around the room and have each
student provide an answer. For example, when reading a book about shapes, she would stop on each page
and ask each student to identify a specific shape on that page. Page two was a page all about squares and
it had many different items shaped like a square. My teacher went around her table and asked each

student to identify an item that was shaped like a square. However, they were all required to pick a
different item than their neighbor. This required students to identify multiple different items in the picture
that were shaped like a square and be prepared to share a different item than their peers. She did this with
every student at the table. Given that there are only about 4-5 students in her class each day, it is easy for
her to give the one on one attention that the students at this age need. I believe that this engages students
and encourages them to pay attention throughout the entirety of the lesson. Since they know that they are
expected to provide an answer with every question the teacher asks, they pay attention to the activity,
book, lesson, etc. My teacher also will pause the lesson to make content connections to other happenings
in the classroom or school to help student solidify the topic of discussion. I feel that it is important to
make these connections because the students are far more likely to remain engaged and they are also more
likely to retain the content material when they can make connections to something they already know.
5. What tools (technology, manipulatives, visuals, etc.) were used to support higher level thinking?
My teacher does not always take full advantage of technology in every content area in her
classroom. However, when she does use technology, it is usually to aid in alphabetic instruction. Many
times during snack time and after breakfast she will play videos that contain songs about our letter of the
week. She has many videos saved that she can use at any time she wants. After a video is finished, she
will turn to the students and reinforce the letter, to make sure they were paying attention to the video and
also to ensure they have retained the information. Depending on the content material for that week, she
will use videos the enhance those lessons as well. For example, during fire safety week, we watched many
videos about firemen, fire safety, how to call 911, etc.
One thing she uses almost every day and in every lesson is manipulatives. She believes that it is
very important for students this young to have a concrete example of what they are learning. For example,
whenever we discuss shapes, she will bring out small, red, plastic shapes that aid in her explanation of the
shapes. The students are allowed to touch the shapes, hold the shapes, and count their sides in order to
have a real life, concrete reinforcement of what they are discussing. I have learned that this specifically
helps the students who have special needs. More than once I have watched students struggle to find an
answer, but when a manipulative is shown or given to them, they are able to recall the correct answer. An
example of this occurred when my teacher was teaching a lesson about shapes. It helped the students

tremendously when they were able to touch the shapes while answering her question, What shape is
this? Research has proven that manipulatives help students recall and retain information. After seeing
this firsthand, I now realize how important and beneficial manipulatives really are.

!
Complete the Classroom Discourse observation.
Strategies for
Orchestrating Discourse

Evidence

Teachers Role

Record teacher statements or actions in the appropriate box

Pose questions and

tasks that elicit, engage,
and challenge each
students thinking

My teacher always asks questions to ensure that every child is engaged in

the lesson. Many times she will go around the room and ask each student
the same question to ensure that every single child is engaged and getting
the most out of the lesson. Other times, she will ask one specific student to
come up to the front and have them teach their peers a certain concept. For
example, during circle time, sometimes she will ask one student to come to
the front and teach calendar. This activity ensures that the student teaching
understand the concept of the calendar, and it also is engaging for the other
students to be taught by a peer.

Listen carefully to
students ideas

My teacher is great at listening to every students ideas and thought

processes. Even if a student shares an answer that isnt necessarily correct,
she will listen to them explain their thinking and then ask another student if
they have a different idea. She always encourages the student who shared
the wrong answer and tells them that they were on the right track.

Ask students to clarify

and justify their ideas
orally and in writing

When we do calendar, my teacher will ask her students the number that is
todays date. She will show them the number and ask them what number it
is. When the student answers, she will ask them how they know that that
number is what they said it is. For example, if a student reports that today is
the 18th, my teacher will ask them to explain why it is 18. The student will
tell her that it is 18 because there is a one and an eight, which when put
together makes 18.

Decide when and how to

attach mathematical
notation and language to
students ideas

When doing an activity during table time, my teacher will purposefully trick
her students. If the activity calls for five pieces of yarn, she will purposefully
give her students four pieces to see if they can problem solve and verbalize
that they need more. If a student does notice that they need more yarn and
they say, I need more, my teacher will respond with, You need ONE
more. This teaches the students to think about how many, which is
incorporating math language into their regular language.

Strategies for
Orchestrating Discourse

Evidence

Monitor students
participation in
discussions and decide
when and how to
encourage each student
to participate

My teacher is great at monitoring each students attention during lessons.

She multitasks so flawlessly. While she is talking, she is constantly looking
at her students to make sure that their eyes are on her and that they are
paying attention. There are times when she will gather the students attention
back to her and there are other times when she will not regain their attention
until after the lesson. When she waits to regain their attention until after she
is done speaking, she will ask them a question about the lesson, knowing
they will not be able to answer. She uses this as a teaching opportunity and
reminds them that the need to be paying attention while she is talking.

Students Role

Record student statements or actions in the appropriate box

Listen to, respond to,

and question the teacher
and each other

The students in my class are not always the best at paying attention. They
are three years old, so their attention spans are not very long yet. However,
they are good at answering questions when my teacher asks them. They
are also good at helping each other when one student does not know the
answer to a question. What they have not yet grasped is the concept of
asking their teacher questions. However, if they do ask a question it is only
to inquire Why? after my teacher has explained something.

Use a variety of tools to

reason, make
connections, solve
problems, and
communicate

Many of my students have special needs, such as autism, that inhibit them
from effectively communicating with one another. One thing my teacher
gives the students to help them communicate with each other is a recording
device. She will record her voice saying certain phrases, then the students
will press the button in order to respond to their peers. This encourages
conversation between students and allows them to effectively communicate
with one another.

Initiate problems and

questions

The students are great at recognizing problems and asking for the
necessary supplies in order to fix them. For example, when my teacher
purposefully tricks them while doing an activity, the students will eventually
realize that they do not have the necessary materials and ask for what they
need. They are able to recognize a problem and ask how they are to solve
it.

Make conjectures and

present solutions

When presented with a problem, the students in my class are usually able to
come up with a solution. For example, when making a craft that requires
glue, the students will recognize that they need glue and tell my teacher, I
need glue to glue these down! They are able to present a solution to their
problem.

Explore examples and

counterexamples to
explore a conjecture

Specifically speaking about letter-sound relationships, my teacher will ask

students to give examples and non-examples of words that start or words
that do not start with that specific letter. Seeing that letters are new and
some students struggle with recognizing letters and recalling their sound,
the students are not always able to provide examples and counterexamples
of words that start with the letter of discussion.

Strategies for
Orchestrating Discourse
Try to convince
themselves or others of
the validity of particular
representations,
solutions, conjectures,
and answers

Evidence
Many times when the students try to convince others of an answer or idea
that they have, the idea does not always relate to the content or what is
being discussed. Usually the convincing of their peers occurs on the
playground or during center time when they are able to speak freely and
about whatever they want.

!
What do you feel are key teacher actions to develop a classroom with a high level of student involvement
and discourse?
I believe a crucial key teacher action is just being intentional when coordinating lessons and when
building relationships with students. It is important for a teacher to enter a school year with every
intention of making the most of her time with her students, both in academics and relationships. Teacher
should plan lessons with purpose, utilizing the best tools and resources that they can get their hands on. I
also believe that teachers should intentionally get to know their students, not only on a surface teacherstudent level, but also on a personal level. Building a relationship with students that allows them to trust
you and come to you with things other than schoolwork is important.