Zooming In on Student Thinking in Math with Ann Elise Record
Resources:
Ann Elise Record's website with free resources such as her Padlets on fluency, problem solving, and favorite games http://www.anneliserecord.com
Subscribe to Ann Elise Record's Newsletter
Fluency Doesn't Just Happen with Addition and Subtraction by Dr. Nicki Newton with Ann Elise Record and Dr. Alison Mello code EFLY263 for 20% off
Fluency Doesn't Just Happen with Multiplication and Division by Dr. Nicki Newton, Ann Elise Record, and Dr. Alison Mello
Math Running Records Facebook group
Math Intervention Matters Facebook group
Building Thinking Classrooms Newsletter
Ann Elise's Grassroots Workshop on Building Fluency with Addition and Subtraction w/in 100
Wipebooks for your BTC Classroom
Readers Read, Writers Write, Mathers Math by Deborah Peart Crayton
Building a Positive Math Identity: A Brain Science Approach by Liesl McConchie
Rethinking Disability and Mathematics by Dr. Rachel Lambert (for every educator)
Greg Tang's Satisfraction game
Brainingcamp Virtual Manipulative - Redeem BECURIOUS for 3 months access for teachers and students
Outline
Context And Goals
Melissa welcomed Ann Elise to the podcast and framed the conversation around preparing third-grade students for multiplication and fractions.
Ann Elise described her transition from grade-five teacher and K–5 math coach to independent math consultant focused on positive math identities.
Multiplicative Reasoning
Students may progress from counting individual objects to skip-counting and then to multiplicative reasoning based on relationships.
Examples included deriving fours and eights from doubles, using nine groups as one fewer than ten groups, and using double-and-have strategies.
Fact fluency should be differentiated by students’ current reasoning and should not depend on timed tests.
Classroom Structure
Building Thinking Classrooms was discussed as a pedagogy rather than a content program.
Key practices included randomized groups of three, standing at vertical nonpermanent surfaces, one marker per group, rich or thin-sliced tasks, and consolidation through selected student strategies.
Small-group instruction and centers can supplement problem-solving lessons, with grouping based on current observations rather than fixed ability labels.
Fraction Foundations
Fractions should be introduced as equal-sized partitions and unit fractions, then connected to area, number lines, mixed numbers, ratios, and proportions.
Recommended experiences included folding paper, constructing and labeling number lines, using bar models and fraction tiles, turning fraction tiles over to vary the whole, and using Cuisenaire rods.
Comparing fractions should begin with benchmarks such as one-half and one whole before resorting to common denominators.