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Lesson

2nd Grade Math - Word Problem Clues

Clip 5/11: Word Clues Lesson - Part 3

Overview

In this part of the lesson, we explore how all evidence works together to come to an accurate answer. I help students to examine the words to understand which operation they should use as well as the process for regrouping.

Teacher Commentary

This was probably the "messiest" part of the lesson, because there were several different issues the students were dealing with. When I ask the students, "Are all the pictures, numbers, and words working together to make sense and come together for an accurate answer?" I'm referring to what the student work samples produced. This is the point I wanted to reach with this group of students. I purposely asked London to share. London is a wonderful student who expresses things in as few words as possible. I expect all students to talk and share during a lesson, even if they are still developing their understanding -- participation is key to finding the clues and getting the point. I'm teaching, but I'm giving directives to students who need to "share the air," to allow everyone an opportunity to speak. As a teacher, I know they will give an accurate response, but I need to hear from the majority of the class, who were still at a point of disequilibrium. We were exploring errors and evidence. This is a beautiful mess, but a necessary process for us to go through -- hopping from one problem to the next, finding connections between the problems. As the facilitator of the learning, I can see that they're still thinking about ideas we'd already gone over. We still needed to spend time there.

Materials & Artifacts