We all know that problem solving is a large part of common core and this year I made it my mission to add as much problem solving practice into our daily routines as I could. As we have progressed through the year I have been impressed by my kiddos ability to problem solve in math and I'm so excited to share with you the different ways I incorporate problem solving into our daily math workshop block!
Today I will show you the daily whole group practice that I incorporate into our math block. On Thursday I'll show you the independent practice my kids get each day with some problem solving printables I have created!!
Each day we begin our math workshop with problem solving practice. Even if our math block has to be shortened I always include a word problem at the beginning of the lesson.
On a good day we do two word problems... the first word problem we solve together as a class. I like to use the first word problem to model "math talk" or "math thinking" and I try to make sure the word problems match what we've been working on in previous days. For example, if we learned about doubles the day before then the word problem would includes a doubles fact in it. The second word problem is used for independent practice. The kids either work on it independently or in a small group.
To begin we read each problem twice, the first time to get the "gist" and the second time to determine what we know. Then we go through the word problem to circle what we know as well as underline the question. We do this every time and I expect the kids to do it when they are working independently as well.
We are lucky enough to have Promethean boards in our classrooms and this allows me to display our daily word problems on the board. If you don't have a Promethean board you can always write the word problems on a white board or even chart paper. Any way to make it big so your kiddos can see it and interact with it is a good idea!
After reading the word problem twice we use what we know (what we circled) to fill in a model. We have been using both a part-part-whole model as well as a number bond model. This has transformed problem solving this year! The kids really "get" how to solve the word problem when they see what they have... whether they have two parts and need to solve for the whole, or have the whole and a part and need to find the other part. When they are working independently at this point in the year I let them pick which model they want to use. During the beginning of the year I have them use what we introduced to give them some practice with both before allowing them to choose.
After filling in a model we solve the word problem. If this is the first problem we solve it together on the board. If it's the second problem there are few different ways we go about working on it.
Sometimes I have the kids turn and tell their learning partner how to solve the problem. I love hearing the "math talk" during this time. We used this especially when we were adding and subtracting tens. The mental math was easy for the kids and I loved hearing them talk about the different ways to solve the problem.
Other times I have the kids use their work mats to solve the problem. This allows me to visit the few kids I think may need some help. My fast finishers know to turn their work mat over and practice doubles facts or other addition and subtraction number sentences.
After I can see everyone is finished we review it on the board. I usually have a kid come up to "teach" the class. Then I ask for other ways to solve the problem... the kids are always fascinated by the fact that the word problem can be solved in different ways.
This work mat is available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store for free. I print the mats on card stock and then put them in sheet protectors so they can be reused. I like using the sheet protectors rather than laminating because expo marker erases much easier from sheet protectors than from lamination. To erase expo marker from lamination the eraser needs to be wet... this gets messy!!
The word problems I create always include a students' name or our class in some way and I make sure the scenarios in the word problem are related to something the kids know or something that could happen at home or at school. The kids love seeing their names in word problems and it keeps all the kids engaged and involved.
I have truly enjoyed this time during our math block each day. It's the culmination of everything we've done and learned each day and I truly believe this daily practice has helped them become strong problem solvers.
Check back on Thursday for the second part of this post... independent problem solving practice!
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