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Thursday, June 26, 2014

Catching up On Professional Journals



March 2014 Teaching Children Mathematics (NCTM)
"Digital Date Equations"

Although this is not a particularly new activity -- use the digits of the date to create an equation -- I have a couple of big take-aways:

  • I rant that teachers of reading and writing need to be readers and writers themselves. If I follow the same logic, then I need to create equations, too.
  • By making some equations of my own, I know how hard it is to keep the digits in order.
  • If we begin the school year making these equations, we will be able to have conversations about order of operations, estimating, mental math, inequalities (and more) all year long instead of during a particular unit of study. Like read aloud, Poetry Friday, and 15 Minutes on Friday blog writing, this seems to be a small but mighty practice.

My equations for 6/24/2014:
(6 ÷ 2) x 4 = (2 + 0 + 1) x 4
(6 + 2 + 4 + 2 +0) = 14
(6 ÷ 24) + (2 x 0) = 1 ÷ 4
6÷ 4 = (2 x 4) + 1 + 0
62 x 4 > 20 x 14



 March 2014 Language Arts (NCTE)
"Addressing CCSS Anchor Standard 10: Text Complexity"

This article includes a really nice chart that summarizes all the ways a text can be complex:

Level of Meaning and Purpose
     Density and Complexity
     Figurative Language
     Purpose
Structure
     Genre
     Organization
     Narration
     Text Features and Graphics
Language Conventionality and Clarity
     Standard English and Variations
     Register (Archaic, formal, domain-specific, scholarly)
Knowledge Demands
     Background Knowledge (experiences)
     Prior Knowledge (specialized or technical content knowledge)
     Cultural Knowledge
     Vocabulary Knowledge

ReadWriteThink Text Complexity strategy for primary readers (following this link will take you down a really nice rabbit hole of ReadWriteThink resources for all levels)

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for these links! Here's a question I've been meaning to ask you and others who read this blog:
    In the age of Teachers Pay Teachers ( I have an account), are teachers depending less on professional books and journals now? Are we becoming a packet profession? Just wondering.

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  2. That's a great question, Jeff. We tout Teachers Pay Teachers and Pinterest as collaboration, but I am afraid that many are relying on others to do the thinking for them.

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  3. Jeff and Mary Lee, I don't think that TPT or Pinterest should replace the real deal, the professional journal, but I'm afraid in this fast-paced, gotta-get-it-done atmosphere, we rely more heavily on these quick answers.
    While I admire your equations, I'm not ready to go there. Too busy trying to get a handle on #clmooc and #TLChallenge.

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  4. I'm having Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally flashbacks looking at those equations!

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  5. I love this site, and the discussion. I have just begun my summer break (July) from my University post and have a stack of these journals and other readings to get to. You have given me motivation - though I am allergic to math and did not give a glance at your equations. Sorry!

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