A Little Idea for Main Idea

The last couple of months, I've been doing some playing around trying to figure out a way to better teach main idea to third graders.  This was a project done with teachers at that grade level who were planning for next year.  The teachers requested that we try to incorporate some science or social studies curriculum since it is virtually impossible to get all objectives in all subjects covered if you never teach cross-curricularly.  First of all, the teachers  and I decided to do a little research and see what there was out there for teaching main idea.

Our wish list included:
an anchor chart that we could create with students;
an organizer that would help students find the main idea of an informational text;
an informational texts that would bring in other content;
and a text to help make the jump into Narrative Writing.
It seemed like a lot, but I felt confident we could do it!

We started by looking for an anchor chart and found tons out there!  Out of everything we found, we liked these 3 charts the best:


                                              





















These are the links for the first two charts (I'm sorry to say that I no longer remember where I got the 3rd image from):
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/122019471129835075/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/27936460167361439/

In the first chart we liked the thought of comparing the concept of main idea to a pizza.  We felt that students would be able to relate and remember it this way.   Main idea is like a pizza because while there are many different kinds of pizza each one is specifically defined by it's content - Supreme, Hawaiian, Cowboy, Meat Lovers, etc. - just like the main idea of a text is defined by the content the author has put into it.  In this analogy, the supporting details are the toppings of a pizza.  Not everything that goes into a pizza is important to defining what kind of pizza it is.  After all, there are some things that all pizzas have in common such as the crust, the sauce, and the cheese. The toppings are what is important in defining the type of pizza.  This is the same with main idea!  Not every detail is important to determining the main idea and thus not every detail is a supporting detail.

On the second chart we liked the way that the stool showed that the supporting details fit under the main idea, but what we loved was the statement that defined the main idea.  We felt that it was important for the students to understand that the main idea is directly connected to what the author wants us to understand about the text.  It is not accidental, but purposeful!  We also liked that we could bring this thinking into their informational writing as well.

The last one, was just part of a chart and what we liked about it were the steps it listed for finding the main idea.  We felt it was important for the students to have a set of steps to determine what the main idea of a text is.

So taking all this into consideration, I came up with the following chart which we agreed the teachers would develop as an anchor chart in their classrooms during a mini-lesson(s).

The second thing we wanted to accomplish was to have an organizer that matched our teaching for students to use.  So I also created the following organizer to go with the pizza is like main idea concept.

                                 

These charts are available on my store at Teachers Pay Teachers.  The anchor chart is free!

Next, we had to figure out how to go cross curricular with main idea.  We decided to bring in Science.  At the time of the year that they are planning to teach main idea, our district's SOS says that 3rd graders will be learning about magnets and magnetism.  So we started by finding texts that would help us accomplish our goal.  The first couple of texts we chose were from Reading A to Z.

                                            

We liked using these texts because they had the informational text features we need to cover in 3rd grade; they reinforce the things that 3rd graders needed to learn about the concept; and because they would allow students to annotate the text as we used it since you have to print copies for the students.

The other text I decided to use to reinforced the concept of magnetism is a literary text that would allow us to make the jump to narrative writing.  The book I chose was That Magnetic Dog by Bruce Whatley.  This is an older book that is out of publication, but I am including the YouTube link where you can watch it.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDTzhtj1cxI.  You can also buy it used from different sites online.

In the book, the dog's magnetism doesn't attract metal, it attracts food.  It is a short, cute story that the kids can relate to and will allow the teachers to use as a jump-off point for the students' narratives.  The last thing I did was provide a graphic organizer to help the students plan for their writing.  The idea is not mine originally, but I modeled it to look like a character organizer that I found here: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/sites/default/files/posts/u133/pdfs/character_profile.pdf

You can download this for free by clicking here!

The students would use the information from their organizer to write a narrative story about a character who has powers to attract some type of object and in which that magnetism causes a problem for them.  This would be similar to our touchtone text, That Magnetic Dog. 

That completed our wish list!  Overall the teachers felt like we accomplished what we set out to do and they are excited to use the materials next year! 

New Problem Solving Steps Worth Trying

At the beginning of this year, several of the teachers at one of my buildings expressed frustration with the fact that their students did not seem to be getting any better at problem solving regardless of all the work they had been doing.  This was not a problem specific to one grade level, but across the board K - 6. Soon after those conversations, I started noticing that something similar was happening at the other building I work at.

Both buildings were using Larry Bell's wonderful UNRAAVEL system.

Underline the question
Now predict
Read the word problem (I think this should be re-read)
Are the important words circled?
Apply the steps you choose to solve the problem
Verify
Eliminate wrong answers (for multiple choice).
Let the answer stay or rework the problem.

You can visit this PowerShow http://goo.gl/wTHFh7 to find out more about this tool.  You can visit Larry Bell's sight here https://goo.gl/roV3Ah to purchase the poster.

Anyway, once I really started working in some of the classrooms and looking to see what the students were doing with problem solving, I noticed was that while they were doing the UNRAAVEL steps, the students were not really doing the thinking that each step required in order to help them solve the problem correctly.  That is when I decided to take matters into my own hands and help the students find steps based on Larry Bell's system that would help them to do the thinking.  The other goal I had was to make sure that the Practice Standards under Common Core were being utilized by students.

After much playing around and with student's help, I finally arrived at these steps!

1. Think about what is the problem asking for!  In other words, what kind of label will the answer need?  What kind of number does the answer require (whole number, fraction, decimal)?  Do they know if the answer is going to be larger than or smaller than a certain number?

I find that most of the time students will read the problem, quickly make some assumptions that may or may not be correct, and use the numbers they see to plug them into whatever formula or equation they "think" it calls for without thinking what the end result should be.  This step is meant to help students think about what the problem is asking them and slow them down. 

2. Now reread the problem and circle any important information and cross out any information that is not needed.  

This step needs to happen after they do step one so that they know where they are going and are able to more easily determine what matters.  With word problems being more complex under Common Core, this step can keep students focused!

3. In this step the students determine how many steps they will need to do to solve the problem and what is required in each step.  

Often times the students will try to acquire the solution in one step.  Common Core standards require that students identify the equation that matches the action in the problem - not just a pathway to solve it.  This step is meant to help lead them to this in the next step by acknowledging the action(s) taking place in the problem.

4. This step is where the actual calculating takes place.  Student sets up the equation for each step(s) and solves.

5. The final step is to check their work, but not in the traditional way.

In the traditional way, the students would just look at their answer or redo the math they had already done and call it good.  But under Common Core Practice Standards students must determine the reasonableness of their answer so this goes beyond checking to see if their math is correct.  It requires students to think about if the answer they are getting "makes sense"!  In this step the student looks back at the criteria for the answer they established on step 1 and determines if their answer makes sense or not.  This tie between step 1 and 5 gives greater impact to that first step beyond just understanding the problem.

This picture shows a poster that I have created to help the students understand and remember what the steps are.

The examples are geared towards 2nd grade and up.  But if you let me know in the comment box that you would like to see examples of problems for kindergarten and first grade, I'll get those posted.  This poster is available in color and black and white from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  https://goo.gl/MFWqdi

Once the students I was working with at different grade levels got comfortable with this process, the teachers and I started to see a big difference in how well students were able to attack and solve word problems.  In fact, after finishing a coaching cycle in a 6th grade classroom the teacher did not continue using these steps and she saw a decline in how well the students did when doing problem solving.  This prompted her to reestablish these steps in her classroom to which the students reacted by doing just as well as they had before leaving us both convinced that these problem solving steps DO work!

Another item available at my store is this problem solving organizer that I use with students in grades 2 and up.  In kindergarten and all the steps except 4 are done as a group.  The organizer facilitates students work by helping organize their thinking and making sure they do the 5 steps of the process.  Therefore, the steps become more internalized and a habit.  With younger students, the work space is often too small and so they will use the back side of their paper as well. 

This is available by itself https://goo.gl/LI6MbR or as part of a problem solving bundle at my Teacher Pay Teacher store.

As I continue on the journey of helping students be better problem solvers I look to seeing how these steps continue to impact student problem solving skills.  I hope that if you choose to try them, you will leave a comment to let me know how it goes!

Main Idea in Common Core

One of the most common misconceptions I have encountered in working with teachers as we implement Common Core Standards has to do with main idea.  It used to be that we taught main idea with fictional texts or literature, as it is referred to now.  Under common core, main idea belongs to non-fiction or informational texts.  So what about literature?  Lesson learned, moral, and eventually theme is what goes with these types of texts.

Confused?!

I like the following graphic which comes from http://ontheweb.rozlinder.com/whats-the-message-making-sense-of-common-core-terminology-in-standard-2/.  This graphic not only shows what falls under each category, but how the two relate.

As you can see, it's all about the message that the author wants us to get from what they have written.  

If the message comes from literature, then starting in first grade you have to think about what lesson or moral the author wants us to get from what they have written.  As you move up grades on the standard, the students have to start identifying the theme or central idea of the text and use it to summarize.

If the message comes from informational text, the message begins as the main topic in kindergarten then evolves into main idea and by sixth grade to central idea with multiple main ideas from one text coming into play in 5th grade.   Starting in 4th grade the main idea and supporting details are used to summarize.  

Main idea... central idea... what is the difference you say?  I get asked this question often.  The best and simplest explanation is that central idea is to informational text what theme is to literary text - a deeper understanding of what the author wants us to understand about the subject.  If we go back to the fact that in 5th grade they have to find multiple main ideas, then you can see how the central idea would be that one bigger understanding about the next that ties those multiple main ideas together.  

The chart below shows a comparison between theme and central idea and the steps of how each is found. It can help students distinguish between the two and remember the thinking that is needed to get to arrive at theme or central idea.  You can use the chart as it is or you can create separate anchor charts for each concept.  

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Theme-vs-Central-Idea-Chart-2470002

This chart can be found on my Teachers Pay Teachers page.  Coming up with a theme can be so very difficult for students so also on my page is the following list of themes in literature to help them - think of it as a cheat-cheat for students to use!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Themes-in-Literature-2470004

There are many other great anchor charts and resources to be found with a good search on the internet.  The only caution I give is to be careful since many of the things listed on the main idea side go with literary text and not informational!

Happy teaching!

A little Pre-Assessment Fun

This time of year the one thing that a lot of teachers have looming over them is TESTING!!  Whether it is state level assessments for the higher elementary grades or reading test for younger grades, the stress of showing how much your students learned in the year is there!  One thing that many elementary teachers and schools make sure to do right before testing begins is trying to motivate the students to do their best.

One of the schools I work at this year decided to do a "Rock the Test" theme.  The teachers went all out with their creative ideas.  First, there were dress up days for every day of the week:

Even rock stars need sleep - pajama day

Rock out crazy for the test - crazy day

Dress like a rock star day

Shine bright like a rock star - wear yellow

Put your rocking' thinking cap on - hat day

The students helped their teachers with a door decorating contest and I must say that I thought they did an incredible job!  Pictured below are a few of the doors.

Along with all these, there was also an amazingly fun assembly where we invited our local high school's drum line to come and perform.  They did an incredible job, the director creatively tied the performance to testing, and everyone really enjoyed it.  As I sat back and watched, I loved watching kids bebop and drum on the floor or their lap as well as the teachers who moved to the rhythm.  For many of our kids this was a new experience and something they can look forward to trying themselves as they move into the middle school grades.

The other thing that took place during the MAP assembly was a air guitar contest.  Each state assessed grade level had a representative who participated.  They were judged by audience applause and the winner received an inflatable electric guitar!  All the participants went all out in their moves and some of our older kids even dressed the part!  The students who watched were highly engaged in helping decide the winner.

Other things that were incorporated were encouragement cards from parents and buddy classes, testing behavior incentives, and some extra decorating in the hallways to go with the theme.

At my other school, there were similar things that took place.  In addition, there will be treats that will be passed out with encouraging messages on the days of testing.  This page on Teachers Pay Teachers, has all kind of free ideas that can be used for the treats.  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:testing%20treats

Something else to think about is what to do with students to review besides the regular instruction that happens the rest of the year.  I know that when my sons were in elementary school they looked forward to this time because of 3 things:
1. The treats
2. No homework
3. The fun review activities

Here are a couple of links that give review ideas you can use!
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson321.shtml
http://www.teachhub.com/fun-review-activities-classroom-games-do-now

If you have any ideas you are willing to share of what your school does to prepare the kids for testing, please feel free to share them on the comments!

Number of the Day

Number of the Day, or NOD as I will refer to it, is a constructivist approach to help students think about math and numbers in different ways as well as a way to apply and review vocabulary and skills that have been previously taught or to front load upcoming skills.  Ideally NOD sessions happen 2 to 3 times per week with each one lasting approximately 15 minutes.

The set up for NOD is super easy!  You will need a notebook for each student and any tools that you want them to use as you begin.  The tools can be number lines, hundreds charts, divisibility rules chart, conversion chart, etc.  You can add to these as you introduce new concepts or skills.  You will also need chart paper or another writing surface and several color markers.  I prefer to use chart paper so that I can refer back to our work from previous days, but if you have a document camera, a folder with your NOD sheets would work as well.

The best way I have found to organize the student's notebook is to use half of the notebook for notes from mini-lessons and tools (the students glue or tape them to the pages) and the second half for where they will do their work for NOD.  In kindergarten and first grade where the tools are limited pretty much to a number line and a hundred's chart, I have found that cutting envelopes in half and taping them to the front cover of the notebook provides a handy pocket to keep those two tools.  Therefore, giving our littlest mathematicians the ability to use their tools while they work without having to flip pages.

NOD is student led.  This means the teacher chooses the number, but the students decide what to do to arrive at that number with no preconceived ideas.  This allows the lowest students to use some basic skills while the more capable students use more advanced ones.  The minute that you try to make students use a particular skill you loose what NOD is meant to be.  The students will realize you have an agenda and unfortunately you will never see the growth you could have otherwise.

NOD is a way to spiral curriculum.  In one session, you may see students use money, fractions, shapes, variables, etc. because they know that ANYTHING goes!  One common complaint that I hear from teachers is that the students "keep doing the same thing!"  This usually happens because unknowingly teachers only encourage teachers to use grade level skills.  I have found NOD works best when students are encouraged to use skills below as well as above their grade level.

NOD is always a positive experience.  This is a time where students should feel like no matter what they try, it is okay!  There are no put-downs from other students and the teacher never says, "That's wrong."  Instead mistakes are identified by students and seen as learning opportunities where the class as a whole works to correct the error.

The expectations to a NOD session are simple!
• Students are expected to try a variety of strategies in their notebook to arrive at the number given.
• Students are expected to work independently for the entire work-time.
• Students should be willing to share what they try.
• Students should be willing to participate and listen attentively.
Maintaining those expectations make the time go quickly and allows for maximum amount of learning to happen.

What are the steps to a NOD session?

1. Once students have their materials out, the teacher tells the students the number for that day.
2. The students then spend 5 minutes working to come up with a multitude of ways to arrive at the number while the teacher walks around doing mini-conferences.  The teacher at this time is looking to see what skills are being used by the students.  She will pause to briefly ask questions of students that help them think about what they are doing or to guide them to correct or stretch their thinking or try something new.  It is always the student's choice what to do with  your discussion.  This is also a good time to let student's know that something they have tried is "really cool" or "worth sharing".  This usually is enough to get students to raise their hands during debriefing time.  
3. Debriefing takes place for about 10 minutes.  This sharing time is when students volunteer the strategies that they have done and the teacher writes it down.  The teacher should never call on a particular student to share a particular strategy.  Once again, this makes students feel like the teacher has an agenda and changes what NOD should be - constructivist.  Students are usually not allowed to do the writing so that the teacher can facilitate the thinking and show the strategy or skill how she thinks students need to see it.  The amount of strategies that can be shared during that time will vary on what the skills involved are and how much work you do with it.  

Here is a video of what a debrief can look like:

https://youtu.be/ZmNjBGz1wLM

Also, here are some pictures of the charts created during NOD at different grade levels.  The first one shows the work of first graders at the beginning of the 2nd quarter.

These students are doing some basic work with first grade skills as seen by the math mountain, fact family, and subtraction equation.  However, they are also experimenting with skip counting which is a beginning for multiplication (which I actually did eventually do with them) and something that was the beginnings of perimeter.  

The next picture is the work of a third grade class at the end of 1st semester.

Some students are still more comfortable with addition than multiplication, so we make sure that we talk about "other ways" to write equations to encourage more use of multiplication.  Order of operations has come into play because of how students want to use the numbers and operations.  After this session, we knew that we needed to move students into more division and so we provided a divisibility rules chart and chose numbers that facilitated its use.

The work of a fourth grade class shows how this can happen.

Students used their divisibility rules to come up with a fact family.  While fact families is a 1st/2nd grade skill, it comes in handy to have students feel comfortable with the relationship between the two inverse operations.  It was interesting that in that scenario, the student chose to use division to start.  The work in green shows the crossover between the work that we had done in the classroom with mental math with stringing and NOD.

The last chart is the work of a 5th grade class.

This class had gotten stuck on word problems - wanting to do one after another.  While we found it beneficial to do them and a good way to reinforce the rules we had stablished for problem solving, we had to make a rule that only one could be shared during a NOD session so that there was time to do other skills.  The work with the money equation brought to light several misconceptions that caused us to move to decimals for future numbers, but also allowed some work with in/out tables.  

One final thought... There is no right or wrong number you can choose.  However, NOD will work at its best if numbers are chosen with purpose instead of randomly.  This takes a little thought when doing your math lesson plans.  All you have to do is think about the work you are seeing your students do during your NOD sessions and what number(s) will address the misconceptions you are seeing or reinforce a concept or skill.  And here and there when you are stumped, then you just choose a random one that will challenge your students and lead you down a new path!