Teaching students to think and talk about math does not come naturally. So much of math education has been about rote learning – which definitely has a place. Taking a problem-solving approach to your math program can be unnerving for the teacher, students and especially the parents. We all have to struggle through but I saw firsthand the growth in my students so I wanted to share with you how I got problem-solving started in my class.
I even created a free Problem Solving Guide you can download here.
First of all, and most importantly, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Joe Roicki from Math Musings has a really great unit plan on how to launch a Mathematical Community. It is based on the Week of Inspirational Math by Jo Boaler and I totally recommend checking it out! It is what I used from Day 2 of the school year and really shaped my students’ attitudes about math. A lot of this lesson is based on Joe’s with a few tweaks to fit with what I like to do in my math program.
1. Create an Anchor Chart
The first thing I do when introducing problem solving in Math is to create an anchor chart. Have students Think-Pair-Share about what comes to mind when they hear the term “problem solving.” Write all ideas down on a piece of chart paper. I loved seeing the different viewpoints my students had!
2. Use a Read-Aloud
Once my students have shown they understand what problem solving is I like to use a read-aloud. “Good Night Owl by Greg Pizzoli is one of my favourite picture books to use to illustrate the difference between being a problem solver or a problem performer. Explain to the students that this book is all about an owl with a problem. Read the book but pause periodically to let students share their thoughts about whether Owl is being a problem solver or not.
3. Characteristics Sort
After the read-aloud, have students share out what they think some characteristics of a problem solver might be (everyone can learn math, mistakes are valuable, growth mindset) versus a problem performer (just wants to get an answer as quickly as possible).
Next, create a T-chart with one heading being Problem Solver and the other Problem Performer. Read 2-3 of these cards and model which category the card would fall under. Send the students off to their table groups with their own sorting cards and chart paper. I have the groups just place the cards on the paper so I can reuse them later. Afterwards, the students reconvene at the carpet and we take up their solutions.
4. Problem Solving Quick Write
Lastly, I give my students a Quick Write to assess their understanding of problem-solving. I use a lot of Quick Writes in my math program. Sometimes they are journal prompts where students just have to write about their thinking in response to a lesson. Other times, they are a series of short questions that they can choose 2 or 3 to answer. My students were not given a text book which meant a lot of their independent practice was created by me. That’s what worked for us! My students had a regular 8.5×11 notebook, the grid paper kind, and would glue the Quick Writes into it. When printing off the questions I would usually have 3 per page and then cut the questions into strips to give to my kids. It saves paper and I like that.
Click here for a free version of the Quick Write I used to consolidate their learning.
In short, introducing problem solving to your students doesn’t have to be super “mathy.” You can easily use elements from your Language lessons like anchor charts, read-alouds, word sorts and quick writes to get your students to start to believe that math isn’t just about getting the right answer. It’s about problem solving.
Make sure to check out Part 2 of this series all about using the problem solving graphic organizer don’t forget to download your free problem solving guide.
