We have been working on different ways you can add two-digit numbers. After learning all these different ways most of the kids have a go to strategy that they like. When we practiced today it was SO MUCH FUN to walk around looking at their "method". We explained our "method" to our Turn and Talk Partner. I had them revoice how their partner solved it so they could work on explaining it back to the student that originally wrote it. We had some tongue tied moments, but all in all they enjoyed it.
I really liked this one. The model in the left corner was her first idea and then she said she "scrapped it" for another method. When I asked her why she didn't erase it, she looked at me puzzled and said, "You always say to leave everything, so you can see our mistakes! That was a mistake, it was WAY easier the other way!"
It is completely amazing to see how differently they all think and what makes tick. I think about how I taught math 19 years ago and it is NOTHING like what I do today. I have no textbook, workbook, or a stack of worksheets. We talk more than I ever thought possible and the kids talk WAY more than I do. They experiment and try to figure things out for themselves. They draw and question. They discuss and create. They are learning math at a level that I would have never thought possible. OK off my math soap box!
Have a great weekend!
Happy Teaching!
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