Sequencing Math Examples

Sometimes it amazes me how horrible the examples are from worksheets that are available on the internet. The complexity of the early examples is often too challenging to provide an entry point for all students, and there appears to be no intentional sequencing of the problems.

On the other hand, when I (or several of my colleagues) create our own worksheets, we often put great care into thinking out the exact right sequence of examples to lead students through the math, noticing patterns and making deep and important understandings clear. 

For example, in class today, I used a worksheet (I actually stole most of this from the internet) that had students looking for patterns in multiplication of numbers in scientific notation. One of my students who rarely speaks raised her hand to share her conjecture about a shortcut – the examples made it so clear, even she was able to articulate it confidently!

Growth as a Teacher

I’m currently in my fourth year of teaching middle school mathematics at a public school in New York, NY. I’ve been meaning to create a keep a blog for the past four years, but I’ve mostly been trying to keep me head above the water thus far.

 

I’m planning to use this blog to keep track of my successes, my not-so-successes and my reflections on my teaching practice. I know that every good teacher had to start somewhere, and that while there are master teachers, no one is done growing. I’m hoping that by sharing my contemplation here, I will continue to grow as teacher. I know that connecting with others is the way I learn and change and grow most, so here it goes.

 

I’m also planning to post links to a few of my favorite websites or resources, to evaluate their success in my classroom/experience.