Dear Sprague Community, The school is “buzzing” with plans for creations for our Day of Play tomorrow. It is so interesting to see and hear how kids envision their projects using nothing but things we usually throw away! I can’t wait to see what they come up with. I am sure I will be completely amazed! If you still have recycled items that can be used, it is not too late to send them in. Many kids will surely be looking for last minute items and additions. Thanks to all who have been sending in items. Many thanks to first grade parent Svetlana Ribaudo, who has been working with PE teacher Margaret Flitsch on beautifying our outdoor space. Svetlana and her son worked with Margaret to plant more bulbs in front of the school and do some clean up. We can’t wait to see the flowers in the Spring! Our teachers work very hard to help students elevate the level of discussions in the classroom. Our math classes are full of ‘math talks’ where students explain their thinking and listen to the ideas of others. Our teachers collaborate and discuss the best ways to engage students in thinking about mathematical concepts and share their thinking. After all, math isn’t just about getting the right answer, it’s about understanding mathematical concepts and solving problems. We want our students to develop these deeper understandings so that when math becomes more abstract, they will have the conceptual underpinnings to learn more complicated math. This week’s Marshall Memo had an article on the subject as well. Here is an excerpt: “Researchers increasingly recognize,” say the authors, “that promoting mathematical learning requires teachers to engage students in ‘productive struggle,’ where students expend effort to make sense of mathematics and figure out something that is not immediately apparent. One way students can productively struggle with the mathematics is through their communication with others – both through explaining one’s own thought processes (e.g., reasoning about mathematical concepts and how to solve problems) and discussing other students’ reasoning process.” Here is a continuum of students’ degree of engagement with other students’ ideas, from low to high: -Saying “I agree” or “I disagree” with an idea that was shared. -Pointing to the strategy that most closely resembles their own strategy. -Repeating the details of what a student shared. -Explaining another student’s strategy after it was written on the board. -Adding further detail to another student’s strategy. -Providing a correction to an problematic portion of a student’s solution. -Proposing an alternative solution and explaining how it differs from the idea already posed. -Co-constructing a solution with another student. The researchers observed a number of teacher “invitations” designed to elicit higher-level mathematical discourse: -Asking a student to explain someone else’s solution – “Joey, can you explain what Natalia did?” -Discussing differences between solutions – “Let’s look again at what Dylan said. Dylan said it is a whole number. Stella, do you want to respond to that, given what you said to start with?” -Making a suggestion to another student about his or her idea – “What is he going to have to do with that set of numbers, with 387? What does he have to do, Grayson?” -Connecting students’ ideas to other’ ideas – “Joaquin, can you see what Enrique is doing or what Natalia is doing and see if it looks like yours? Or if it’s different?” From: “Student Engagement with Others’ Mathematical Ideas: The Role of Teacher Invitation and Support Moves” by Megan Franke, Angela Turrou, Noreen Webb, Marsha Ing, Jacqueline Wong, Nami Shin, and Cecilia Fernandez in The Elementary School Journal, September 2015 (Vol. 116, #1, p. 126-148). Dates to remember: Dec. 16: Day of Play Dec. 23: 12:00 dismissal Jan. 4: Return from break—Geo Bee in library from 10-11:30 for finalists in grades 4/5 Jan. 22: MLK concert featuring students in grades 4/5 –Parents invited.
Wellesley Public Schools would like to continue connecting with you via email. If you prefer to be removed from our list, please contact Wellesley Public Schools directly. To stop receiving all email messages distributed through our SchoolMessenger service, follow this link and confirm: Unsubscribe If you need to update your email address or phone number, please contact the secretary at your child’s school. SchoolMessenger is a notification service used by the nation’s leading school systems to connect with parents, students and staff through voice, SMS text, email, and social media.