Interactive Math Journals
The purpose of the interactive notebook is to enable students to be creative, independent thinkers and writers. Students will organize their notebooks by unit, with a table of contents and the standards covered. This is where students will keep their flipped learning notes, math writing, and daily formative assessments. These interactive math journals will take the place of study guides.
Flipped Learning Notes
Students will never receive a worksheet for homework. Instead, they will be required to take notes on videos shared with them online. We spend the first few weeks learning how to effectively take notes before students are expected to do this independently. To learn more about "Flipped Learning", click here!
Math Writing
Students will be writing in math class every day. It is extremely important for them to be able to explain their thinking. Math Writing is a writing prompt given in class and varies depending on the day. Some days students will be expected to write:
At the beginning of the year, Math Writing will be written in the interactive journal and shared with the class. During second semester, students will transition towards sharing Math Writing online on their blog. These blog posts will be shared with students, teachers, and family members around the world.
Formative Assessments
Daily Formative Assessments will also be completed in the interactive math journals. These "assessments" are never used for grades, but are a check-in to see if a student understood the material from the video the night before. In my class, there is no such thing as a "low" or "high" small group. My small groups change daily, depending on the specific skill. All students will complete a Formative Assessment at the beginning of each class period, and this information will be used to place students into small groups to work with the teacher.
Flipped Learning Notes
Students will never receive a worksheet for homework. Instead, they will be required to take notes on videos shared with them online. We spend the first few weeks learning how to effectively take notes before students are expected to do this independently. To learn more about "Flipped Learning", click here!
Math Writing
Students will be writing in math class every day. It is extremely important for them to be able to explain their thinking. Math Writing is a writing prompt given in class and varies depending on the day. Some days students will be expected to write:
- The procedure for solving a problem
- Why they will need to know a certain concept in real life
- A creative song, rap, or poem about the math concept
- Create and solve a word problem
- Explain how to teach a concept to a younger child
At the beginning of the year, Math Writing will be written in the interactive journal and shared with the class. During second semester, students will transition towards sharing Math Writing online on their blog. These blog posts will be shared with students, teachers, and family members around the world.
Formative Assessments
Daily Formative Assessments will also be completed in the interactive math journals. These "assessments" are never used for grades, but are a check-in to see if a student understood the material from the video the night before. In my class, there is no such thing as a "low" or "high" small group. My small groups change daily, depending on the specific skill. All students will complete a Formative Assessment at the beginning of each class period, and this information will be used to place students into small groups to work with the teacher.
NO STUDY GUIDES!
That is not a typo… There will be NO STUDY GUIDES for tests in my class. Well, at least not the type of "study guides" students are used to. When students are given study guides that match the test word-for-word, even if the numbers are different, they are memorizing how to solve problems, not demonstrating a mastery of the standards.
Instead, students will use their interactive math journal as a study resource. Throughout the unit, students will work together to solve word problems in their journal. Students can look back at these problems, along with their notes and math writing, to prepare for quizzes and tests.
Instead, students will use their interactive math journal as a study resource. Throughout the unit, students will work together to solve word problems in their journal. Students can look back at these problems, along with their notes and math writing, to prepare for quizzes and tests.