Math Reviews- Pushing Past the Normal Reviews
Ok, this is something I've always struggled with as an
educator. How do you review for the "big" unit assessments in math?!
Parents want good grades, teachers want to ensure mastery and confidence, and
students want to make both parents and teacher happy while hoping to get a good
grade.
When I first started teaching eleven years ago, we always
had a review the day before. I created questions very similar to those they'd
see on the test, but I'd just change the numbers. Let's be honest-When they got
to the test, all they had to do was recall what they memorized the day
before...same method with different numbers...not much to mess up. Parents were
happy due to the grades, teachers were excited because their students
"obviously knew the material", and students were ecstatic that
everyone was happy. Did they really know the material? Could they do the same
type of problems a week later? Had they grown as a math student? What about
next year when that skill was built upon? Plain and simple...nope!
So, upon reflection, I realized that the way I
review-since that is still required and expected-needed to change. With the
adoption of Common Core, an emphasis has been placed on students truly
understanding what is happening, why it is happening, and being able to explain
their thinking. These are things we already worked to instill in our students,
but we may have not truly focused on those all the time. I took that emphasized
rigor and combined it with what I love about math-trying new ways to solve a
problem, and I created "Show Your Thinking" review days.
 |
| Students move around from group to group on review days! They are allowed to call back another group if they do not agree with their answer. This pushes students to check each other's work ensuring they understand what they are doing. I love the "teaching conversations" that come out! |
The kiddos have loved them! On these days, students
encounter ten scenarios they must work out with their small group. Each
scenario is stapled on to a sheet of butcher paper. The catch is that once they
rotate and get to their new scenario, they may not answer the question in the
same way as any groups before them. They have to think about other ways to
solve the same problem…words,
diagrams, pictures, other ways of representing numbers, etc. They realize very quickly
that the possibilities are endless. This pushes them to really “understand” the
skills being required in each unit-not just memorize a study guide. With the
emphasis on being able to explain and reason, I have found that this type of
reviewing pushes them past the ordinary “standard algorithm” and gets them
comfortable with writing in math, using diagrams (number lines, etc.), and
trying something to see if it “works”! Plus, the students really enjoy these
reviews!! I even let them take pictures of the various problems for help (with
me in a later reteaching time) or to show their parents.
If you are interested, I have created these reviews for 4th
grade math units (place value, , and you can find these at my Teachers Pay Teachers store
(Fourth Grade Mania). If you need any other units created, I am happy to help!
I would love to hear how your students reacted to this
type of review! Start small…Post
a problem on the board and see how many ways they can solve the same problem.
It’s great to watch them take ownership and push themselves to new limits!
Happy reviewing!! J
<3 Kristina
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