If you are anything like me you have way too much time on your hands, you have no problem teaching everything you are asked to teach and you just wish you would be given a few more things to fill up your lesson plan. Okay, now that I am done laughing hysterically I will try to be serious. If you have been in the classroom longer than 15 minutes you know that it is extremely difficult to teach the breadth of the curriculum and standards and still maintain the rigor and depth of complexity that is necessary to prepare our students. With countless interruptions, a ever increasing number of goals and standards, and a full classroom full of students who all learn differently and have different needs, finding ways to integrate curriculum is a must.
One way I save time in my classroom is by integrating literacy into my math instruction. Math Writes provides my a number of math related writing prompts and ideas that I can easily integrate into my math curriculum. Not only to they provide me a snapshot into my students’ mathematical reasoning, they also allow me to integrate those informational writing standards. My favorite thing about Math Writes is that my students love them. They are so busy thinking about the math that they forget they are working on writing also.
Here are 5 ways I use Math Writes in my classroom.
1. Exit Slips – Math Writes are an excellent way to check student understanding after instruction.
2. Centers – Placing Math Writes in centers will provide an excellent option for both math and literacy centers.
3. Early Finishers – What do I do next? Grab a Math Write.
4. Bulletin Boards – Use Math Writes to make a bulletin board where kids can share their mathematical thinking.
5. Assessment – I like to use Math Writes as an assessment for informational writing. Assess the writing while making them ponder the math!
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