“Giftedness is not what you do or how hard you work. It is who you are. You think differently. You experience life intensely. You care about injustice. You seek meaning. You appreciate and strive for the exquisite. You are painfully sensitive. You are extremely complex. You cherish integrity. Your truth-telling has gotten you in trouble. Should 98% of the population find you odd, seek the company of those who love you just the way you are. You are not broken. You do not need to be fixed. You are utterly fascinating. Trust yourself!”

Linda Silverman~Gifted Development Center Denver


Monday 1 April 2013

Math Journal Prompts


Classroom Freebies Manic Monday

Even though I spent the weekend marking novel studies, and I realize my students still need work in responding to extended answer reading questions, my FREEBIE for today is another math creation.  Along with interactive math notebooks, I have started using math journal prompts in my classroom.  Many gifted students I have taught are able to compute quickly and are numerically competent BUT they are unable to express how they know something is correct, they have trouble "showing what they know".  

I use math journals because I want my students to demonstrate their metacognitive skills.  "Metacognition is defined by most as “thinking about thinking” or “knowing about knowing.” The term refers to the ways we reflect on how we know what we know, how we learned it, and how we can apply it to learning new things. Metacognition is essential to becoming an effective, independent learner. Writing about our learning is a powerful metacognitive strategy." (MTA Instructional Technology: http://bit.ly/10h44vh)

Not all my students have embraced writing this way. They tell me they "just know" the answers.  I can understand where they are coming from but at the same time it is essential for them to practice and become better at writing about their learning.  It has  also been my experience that reading student math journals gives me a better picture of the whole student when I am assessing them. "Journals also serve as invaluable assessment resources that can inform classroom instruction. Reviewing a student’s math journal provides a useful insight into what a child understands, how s/he approaches ideas and what misconceptions s/he has."(K-5 math teaching resources: http://bit.ly/ZWpePj)

To download your own FREE copy of Math Journal Prompts just click on the image below to go to my TpT store.



Do you use math journals?  What have the reactions of your students been?

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8 comments:

  1. This looks awesome Sidney! Thanks so very much!

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  2. I love the name Dragon's Den Curriculum! I just hopped over to your blog and became a new follower. Do you ever watch the Dragon's Den TV show? Hope you are not like Kevin O'Leary :) He's one tough dragon!
    Your freebie looks great too...I downloaded it to use with my class.
    Have a great week!
    Sidney

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  3. I plan on using interactive math notebooks next year so I am loving your freebie! Thank you so much for sharing - they will be a big help.

    Looking From Third to Fourth

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  4. Great! I am glad to hear you think they will help. There are lots of sites out there with sample journal prompts on them. You can adapt them to meet the needs of your students. I just wanted to make a set that would get me motivated to use them with my class and go from there! Have a great week!
    Sidney

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  5. We do not use math journals (or any other type of journal) but I would really like to start next year. Thanks so much for the freebie!

    Catherine
    The Brown-Bag Teacher

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    1. Catherine,
      I always like to start something new at the beginning of the year. This gives you time to think about it over the summer, and collect more journal prompts for use. Thanks for stopping by and I'll be sure to pop over and visit you right now!
      Sidney

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  6. Great Freebie, Sydney! I teach the little ones, but am mom to two middle schoolers. I actually used some of your journal prompts at the dinner table tonight lol. Great math conversation starters, too! Glad to have found you :)

    Tracey

    The Teacher’s Chair

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  7. Thanks so much Tracey! I never thought of using them with my own middle school daughter...LOL..she'll never forgive me! Great idea! Have an awesome week!
    Sidney

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