My third grade students have been working on rounding and estimating this week. Ā Itās been a challenge as these concepts are fairly new to the entire class. Ā Weāve only been in school for only three weeks but I feel like weāre in stride now. Ā Kids and teachers both are in a routines and tests are already on the schedule.
Back to rounding and estimating. Ā So students have been struggling a bit with these two concepts as we head towards using the standard algorithm. With that struggle comes a shake in math confidence. Ā Students needed to be reminded of our class expectation of ālean into the struggleā many times during the past week. Ā Itās interesting how a studentās math confidence changes throughout a unit, or even throughout the year. Ā This third grade class in particular is working on becoming more aware of their math performance compared to whatās expected. Ā In order to reach that goal, I dug back into my files and found a simple, yet powerful tool that might help students on this awareness math journey.
Basically, students first read the top row goal. They were then given a die to create an example of the goal. Ā During this process students circled one of the emoji symbols to indicate their confidence level. Ā The extremely giddy emoji indicates that they could teach another student how to complete the goal. Ā The OK smiley means that youāre fairly confident, but feel like you might not be able to answer a similar question in a different context. Ā The straight line emoji means that youāre confidence is lacking and you might need some extra help. Ā This paper wasnāt graded and that was communicated to the students.
Regardless of the emoji that is circled, students are required to attempt each goal. Ā Some students were very elaborate with explaining their thinking, while others tried to make their answer as concise as possible. Ā After completing this students submitted their work to an online portfolio system so parents can also observe progress thatās been made. Ā So far itās been a success. Ā Iād like to use this simple tool for the rest of the first unit and possibly the next. Ā It takes time, but as usual in education, the teacher has to decide whether itās worth that time or not. Ā In my case, the student reflection has meaning and itās directly tied to the goals of the class. Ā Iām looking forward to seeing how these responses change over time. Feel free to click here for a copy of the sheet if youād like one.
Third Grade MathĀ Confidence My third grade students have been working on rounding and estimating this week. Ā It's been a challenge as these concepts are fairly new to the entire class. Ā