Newspapers are full of graphs, far more than 10 or 20 years ago. Indeed, I have a graph to show that!
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New IM 6–12 Resources for Addressing Unfinished Learning and Engaging Students in Distance Learning
by David Petersen and Kate Nowak
In our previous post, we described how we are thinking about planning for next fall. We are also creating some new resources to support users of IM K–12 Math in the fall. Some of this is to address unfinished learning from spring 2020, and other supports are intended to address the potential for distance learning in the upcoming school year. Part of this work is the K–5 unit adaptation packs described in an earlier post. Here is more of what you can look forward to rolling out over the summer.
Planning for Learning in Spring of 2020
Some schools are sending home printed packets and establishing teacher office hours by phone. Some are conducting their regular class schedule, but online. And lots are doing something in between. We understand that it is very challenging to translate IM curricula to remote learning. It is structured around discourse between people in the same room, after all. The goal of this post is to help with a small piece of the puzzle of how to translate IM curricula for remote learning: prioritizing some topics and activities over others.
Parent Math Night Using Illustrative Mathematics
Open House night; cue anxiety and sweaty palms! Hope my students’ parents don’t mind.
I just began my seventh year of teaching middle school mathematics. Middle school is a limbo land filled with prepubescent pre-teens, drama, and students trying to find their individual voice without drawing too much attention to themselves (sigh). There are sixth grade boys and girls in my class who are taller than me, 5’9”. Some of the boys have mustaches while others still look like they’re in third grade. It’s a difficult year for the students. This is their last year before moving onto the even weirder, and much more confusing junior high. Students are anxious about this being the last year of elementary school, and so are the parents; maybe even more anxious than their little boys and girls becoming young men and women. I think it is my job to help ease this transition, and to get them excited about what is to come.
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