IPS/Butler University Laboratory School

Group problem solving time.

 Today our class began group problem solving during math workshop. We sat in a big circle and I presented the kids with a story problem. “Cameron had six bunnies. He found two more. How many did he have?” Some friends knew the answer instinctively and shouted out, “Eight! Eight! Eight!”  Instead of recognizing friends that had the answer right away, I challanged the kids to instead “show” the answer instead of telling. We started with our colored bear manipulatives. “How can  you show bunnies were added to Cameron’s group?” The kids were then asked to try to show this with the colored bears.  Kids had different ways to show this. Some used different sized bears to represent the change. Some used different colors. Some grouped their bears on the carpet in front of them. One student made a circle around the bears that were added. We talked about the different ways we showed the change.

Kaitlyn explains the two large bears are being added to the six smaller bears.

 I then presented the kids with a different story problem with larger numbers. They were encouraged to use other math manipulatives to show their work. We again talked about the different ways friends showed their thinking using their tools. One of our focuses during math workshop this year is that our time is not about getting an answer, it is about showing our thinking. The children will constantly be challenged to try thinking a new way and represent problems in new ways they may had not thought of before. Eventually, we will be recording our thinking in math journals which will serve as a way to keep track of our problem solving and how it develops throughout the year.

Cameron showing how he used a different material to represent the same problem.

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