How are YOU a Mathematician?

17th September 2021 shemogani Leave a comment

The students thought about the different ways they solve problems and the strategies they use as mathematicians. First, they wrote their ideas on post-it notes. Then, they shared their thinking with each other. We documented these ideas on chart paper.

We are mathematicians because we are:

solving problems
thinking
calculating
using manipulatives
using strategies
estimating
questioning
playing games
looking for different ways to solve problems

We know that information can be expressed as organised and structured data. We were mathematicians when we used a table to gather and record data.

Then, we used our knowledge of number to help us discuss an image. The following questions helped the students notice and share their ideas.

How Many?

What do you see that you can count?
Can you count in different ways?
Does the placement of the objects give you ideas?
What groups do you notice?
What equations could you write to describe how many?

Each student documented their own thinking. Then, they presented their strategies, questions and ‘ways of seeing’ the image with the class. These ideas were documented on chart paper. Through this provocation, we could see how mathematicians see things and express ideas in multiple ways.

Same & Different

We looked at two pictures. We wondered what was the same and different between the two pictures. The students used different strategies to share their thinking. Then they presented their thinking to the class.