Estimation Jar Providing opportunities for Kindergarten children to make estimates helps them build number sense. Number sense is really a byproduct of playing with numbers and is often referred to as flexible thinking or good intuition about numbers. Challenging students to regularly make estimates enables them to make personal connections with numbers, to understand what they mean, practice with mental math and make comparisons. Key elements which I include in number talks are :  community of learners class discussion purposeful math problem time to work open ended teacher questions I introduce the estimation jar during number talks activity. I show one jar and tell them that it has five marshmallows (a friendly number of course). We count the marshmallows together to make sure that five is the correct number. Then using an identical jar, I ask them to think about how many marshmallows are in the second jar. They discuss it with their partner and then some o...

Part Part Whole Part Part whole involves seeing numbers in more than one part (three becomes two + one) and is usually introduced once students are able to count confidently. A strong understanding of this concept has been shown to increase understanding of other concepts like place value, addition, word problems and number sense. For this reason it is one of the concepts that we revisit many different ways during the Kindergarten year always using concrete materials. Like all math activities I introduce it first in small groups of six students. Using a friendly number, I begin the activity using two strategies; think aloud and modeling. Choosing a friendly number enables students to focus on the concept rather than a difficult number. I show a model to the students and ask them to talk with their partner. Next, I ask a few to share different combinations like 2+3 which I demonstrate using manipulatives.  The next time I meet with the students I review the activity and...

Subitizing With Dot Cards Subitizing means to instantly recognize a quantity without counting, is a foundation skill for students and listed as one of the six components for number sense. In Kindergarten students play with subitizing all year, beginning the first month of school. I begin with small numbers like three and four using dot cards in a small group of about six students. First I invite them to tell me the number, accepting all answers. I record the answers and then ask them how they figured out the number. Talking about their thinking is a great opportunity for students to learn from each other as they hear the many different ways that the number is figured out (2 + 1, 3+0, 1+1+1). As they gain experience I increase the complexity of the the dot card as well as the number of dots. Once students have mastered numbers to six, I change my format and use it as a pre-math warm-up and do finger flashes* with quick peaks at the number cards to build fluency....

Number talk is really another term for mental math. Research has shown that 75% of math by adults is done by mental math (source: K-5 Teaching Resources, an online teacher math development centre), so shouldn't we ensure that our students develop the skill?  Number talks are a short, daily routine that provides children with ongoing number practice. Just like reading every day builds literacy fluency, number talks help to build math fluency. Number talks encourage children to think actively about numbers as well as encourage divergent thinking about number problems. If you are new to number talks and would like to see a model, there are many teacher videos on Youtube. Here is one example. http://pinterest.com/pin/160370436703878520/ For short sessions like Number Talks, I choose a transition time in the morning for two reasons: young children have more stamina in the morning and our afternoon timetable has fewer transitions. In order for number talks to b...

Summer Reading Loss In May I attended a early learning summit where two speakers; Dr. Allington and Dr. McGill-Franzen spoke about the powerful and abundant research on summer reading loss. Their review of what is known about summer reading loss was juxtaposed with reliable interventions also identified through research. Together they recently edited an important book, Summer Reading , which offers a comprehensive review of what is known about summer reading loss as well as descriptions of successful interventions by experts in the field.  Some highlights of the research are  most of the large reading achievement gap found at grade six could be attributed to summer reading loss   summer reading loss is cummulative there is powerful evidence that summer reading loss is one of the important factors contributing to the reading achievement gap between rich and poor children (access to books being and being a poor reader being two other lead factors) bette...