So...as you may know, using math concept sorts is one of my absolute favorite strategies to get students thinking and talking about math. I often used them sporadically in my units....sometimes as a "kick off" to see what they know...sometimes in the middle...sometimes as a review. Today I thought I'd use one of my sorts that we didn't get to earlier as a great test prep review of ... Read the Post
Using Our Fractional Reasoning!
We had a great concept sort today...and I just wanted to share a little about what we did! We are working on the concept of equivalent fractions...we have drawn pictures, told stories (If I had half a pizza but cut the half into two pieces, what fraction would I have?), and generated lists of equivalent fractions. What we DIDN'T do is what most math programs do right away--teach students to ... Read the Post
Teaching Tips for Concept Sorts!
Have you used concept sorts in your classroom? If you have followed my blog for a while, you know that I use concept sorts regularly--and have posted a number of times about different ways I use them. Click HERE and HERE for two of those posts! Today I want to talk about a geometry sort I did the other day to "take the temperature" of my class after a few days of instruction about ... Read the Post
A New Concept Sort! Multiplication Sorts
Helping my students organize their thinking and learning in different ways is very important to me. One method I have found to be very successful is to ask students to take work samples or problem types and sort them into categories. People who use Words Their Way do this all the time with students as they look for sound or letter patterns that help them understand how words are put ... Read the Post
It’s a New Concept Sort! Algebra Thinking
For those of you who have been followers of mine for some time, you know that I am a HUGE fan of using concept sorts in my classroom! There are SO many skills that are reinforced with this activity...from developing math understanding to developing mathematical discourse skills to logical thinking to cooperation to error analysis. The amazing thing? You can accomplish all that in ... Read the Post
Geometry Sorts…building math thinking
If you have followed me for very long, you know that I find concept sorts particularly useful in math and the content areas as well--and I really believe it helps students make connections among ideas and help them to see how things are connected. In fact, two of Marzano's effective teaching strategies--cooperative learning and identifying similarities and differences--are addressed with ... Read the Post
Check out today’s fraction post at ATUE!
Today I expand my discussion about using concept sorts in math class by sharing a DIFFERENT way to use them! You might have stopped by for my initial post a while back, but if you missed it, HERE IT IS! I am convinced that concept sorts are one of the many ways to really tackle a whole bunch of the Standards for Mathematical Practice in a fun and meaningful way! Hop on over to All Things ... Read the Post