Please respond to these questions after reading the article.

1. What surprised you in the article? Why?

2. How does this compare with your experiences with geometry?

3. How does what you learned in the article help you think about your teaching geometry in the elementary grades?
 
 

This is a long article but contains many helpful ideas about using classroom talk to help children learn mathematics. Please allow plenty of time to read and think about the ideas in this article.

1. Describe the 5 "talk moves" in the article.

2. Which one would you be most likely to try in your classroom? Why?

3. Name the three productive talk formats described in the article?

4. Describe the teacher's role in each of these formats.

5. Describe two ground rules that you would have to encourage respectful talk and equitable participation.

6. For the case you read, what was the talk format used? What is the mathematical focus for your case? In your case, how did talking about the ideas help children understand the mathematics? What would be difficult about your doing the teacher moves in your case?

7. One of the three math lessons you teach during your internship should be a "talk-intensive" lesson. What other ideas from the article will you create and implement such a lesson?
 
 

1. What is line symmetry?

2. What is rotational symmetry?

3. Find 3 trademarks not mentioned in the article. Tell what kind of symmetry each has or perhaps it is a non-example.

4. Design your own trademark with either line symmetry, rotational symmetry, or both. Tell what kind of symmetry your trademark has. Color your trademark and be sure to tell what kind of product it represents.
 
 

With a partner, create or re-tell a story. Create a pop-up card that illustrates your story. If you prefer, you can do this alone.
 
 

1. In what ways does this article's description of the purpose of assessment match or not match your experiences with math assessments as a learner?

2. The article listed 4 questions to use for ongoing assessment. Which ones might you use and why?

3. What are some ways described in the article that enable you to keep track of students' mathematical thinking?

4. In the list of "criteria for assessing mathematical work", which ones have been used on your work? Which ones do you wish you had experienced? Why?

5. Which questions that parents ask, have you wondered about? Choose one of the questions, what did you learn in the article that will help you respond to a question like this when you are teaching?
 
 

1. How does the way these children in the article were learning definitions compare to the way you usually learned math definitions? Would you do this in your classroom? Why or why not?

2. Were you surprised that third graders could do this kind of exploration and thinking? Why do you think they were able to do it?

3. What do you think about the idea of having children confirm and disconfirm conjectures?
 
 

1. Take a piece of cardboard or posterboard or folder and practice creating a "nibble" that could be used to create a tessellation.

2. You are going to create a tessellation that can be used in your future classroom as a model. Create an interesting shaped piece and use it to create a tessellation. Look at the examples and directions in the article. Be sure and color it so you can be proud to use it as a model in your classroom.