In Groton-Dunstable they have just implemented the rollout of UDL in Math. Their math coordinator/coach is Karen Gartland
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Three years ago, they adopted Eureka Math as a curriculum, and according to Karen, this curriculum has really great content and approach to math that is aligned to the frameworks and the spirit of what we want/need kids to learn... however, It Is Not Engaging. So, after 2 years of digging into the frameworks to really understand what they must teach, and teachers beginning to use math workshop for their instruction, this year they have purchased center activities and are really implementing math workshop in a UDL fashion.
*It was stated several times by many sources over the last two days that the purchased curriculum is just a tool for teaching the standards to our students who are all different. The sentiment is that IF we are teaching just a curriculum, we are going to be inherently leaving some kids out of the learning.
BIG IDEA We should always root our lessons the standard we want kids to learn, and plan for all our kids to access that learning.
The teachers regularly supplement the curriculum, find ways to make the lessons engaging or relevant to kids, or find resources that will do a better job of engaging kids in the thinking work for
certain goals/standards.
On a given day, each center will focus on the same standard/framework in a different way (universally designed to meet the needs of their learners. The following photos are all centers focused on the idea of "One less", kids were counting back, taking away, writing, listening and solving problems
:
Three years ago, they adopted Eureka Math as a curriculum, and according to Karen, this curriculum has really great content and approach to math that is aligned to the frameworks and the spirit of what we want/need kids to learn... however, It Is Not Engaging. So, after 2 years of digging into the frameworks to really understand what they must teach, and teachers beginning to use math workshop for their instruction, this year they have purchased center activities and are really implementing math workshop in a UDL fashion.
*It was stated several times by many sources over the last two days that the purchased curriculum is just a tool for teaching the standards to our students who are all different. The sentiment is that IF we are teaching just a curriculum, we are going to be inherently leaving some kids out of the learning.
BIG IDEA We should always root our lessons the standard we want kids to learn, and plan for all our kids to access that learning.
The teachers regularly supplement the curriculum, find ways to make the lessons engaging or relevant to kids, or find resources that will do a better job of engaging kids in the thinking work for
certain goals/standards.
On a given day, each center will focus on the same standard/framework in a different way (universally designed to meet the needs of their learners. The following photos are all centers focused on the idea of "One less", kids were counting back, taking away, writing, listening and solving problems
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| CAN You Say RELEVANT? the kids count the pumkins, write the number on a sticky (tape to pumpkin), count spooky erasers for each... start with 9. what is one less? |
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| Giant foam cuisinaire rods, each step is one less... |
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| Add caption |
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| Roll the dice and create the number. what is one less? |
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| kids are creating a number strip backwards from 9. they write each number on a square sticker and put it on their strip |
The first grade teachers at one school have created a scope and sequence for math, in which they have added links to the resources they like or, have used. They said this was a lot of work, but is a time saver in the long run.
Karen offered a variety of resources for math:
Three Possible Structures for planning a math lesson:
Three Possible Structures for planning a math lesson:
- Task and share (3 Act Task)
- Focus Lesson (whole gr. mini), guided math with teacher & learning stations
- Guided math with teacher (same lesson. all small groups), and learning stations
Introducing a Lesson (engage, interest)
- number talk
- would you rather?
- estimation 180
- which one doesn't belong
- a review question
Tech Based: (one school had 1:1 tech, the other had enough ipads for a center)
- math playground
- Thinking blocks... "GREAT!" Word problems.
- Flipgrid... students can record their explanation, later teacher can "flip" through the "grid" of student responses, to see who has it and who needs help.
- SeeSaw... I saw this used several ways... kids could listen to a recording of explanation about how to solve a problem, some children had a word problem in see saw...We witnessed one boy working on the problem, and repeatedly pausing to listen to the problem again.
Station Tasks (some ideas)
Manipulatives:
all kinds of manipulatives are used and encouraged.. For some it is even ok to use manipulatives on assessments/tests to show what they know. The teachers do, however, keep in mind a continuum toward more efficient methods.
Other Engaging Resources:
WouldYouRatherMath.com . has Cool problems, good resource for practicing the speaking/listening frameworks, and great nonthreatening practice for learning how to explain your thinking.
DEBRIEFING CIRCLES
talk/share something you learned, something that was tricky, aha moment, exit ticket, summary of what they learned...
DEBRIEFING CIRCLES
talk/share something you learned, something that was tricky, aha moment, exit ticket, summary of what they learned...
***I have a symbaloo account (you should be able to see these), and have created boards with links to math resources: https://www.symbaloo.com/home/mix/13eOhI1B7S (this includes 1st 20 days of math workshop, math routines for grades 1,2,3, and much more)
&
beginning of the year: https://www.symbaloo.com/home/mix/13eOhI1BWQ (this includes lots of beginning of the year routines, songs, community building etc...)
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Thanks for reading! I welcome comments, and conversation about UDL related topics! As I have told colleagues at my school, I’m happy to make time for a chat.