The Teacher as Curator Part Three: Select

Before I begin this post, you should know that two posts came before it that clarify the context. In this post, the third in The Teacher As Curator series, I explain how I selected materials and strategies for my unit on multiplication and division this past fall. The steps I took can be used for any unit you need to create. As I mentioned in my last post, I am certainly not the only experienced teacher in the world and many of you are already doing what I am about to share. Some of you, I’m sure, are doing it a lot better than I am. My hope is that we all share what we are doing in the classroom in order to teach, remind, affirm, and inspire each other.

I was lucky to have many materials and resources in which to “select” learning experiences for my students for the multiplication/division unit. Some of these included Math In Focus, Three Act Tasks, Engage NY, and too many books and online resources to mention. For the sake of not having a ridiculously long post, I will just focus on sharing my process of selecting what to use from the Engage NY online lessons/resources.

As mentioned in the two earlier posts, my district adopted the workshop model for math instruction this year and some of the decisions I made were through this lens. Another factor in selection was what I learned from the Build Math Minds site, as well as the amazing books that were recommended by Christine Tondevold in her Build Math Minds podcast. Most importantly, the students I had in front of me were a huge factor in what I selected for mini lesson delivery and experiences. Knowing where my students were in terms of number sense, using math running records, enabled me to curate more successfully.

Know your philosophy, your content area, and your students.

**You will see Math Talk time mentioned below. It is scheduled for a different time of day than math class. During this time, we do number talks or other math talk activities such as Steve Wyborney’s Estimysteries, Splat, etc.

Engage NY – Third Grade: Module One

1. I used the order of topics and lessons.

Example:

• Topic A: Multiplication and the Meaning of Factors

  • Lesson 1: Understand equal groups of as multiplication.

  • Lesson 2: Relate multiplication to the array model.

  • Lesson 3: Interpret the meaning of factors ─ the size of the group or the number of groups.

2. I used some parts of the lessons.

Examples:

• choral skip counting during Math Talk time, which is such an important; number sense piece

• some parts of the problem sets as tasks/investigations

• some of the exit tickets as tasks/investigations or as informal assessment

• some of the pattern sheets for students to notice and talk about patterns, but not timed

• some of the word problems for Math Talk Time

3. I did not use other parts of lessons.

• I took some of the ideas from the direct teaching part of the lessons but strove to present them in 10-15-minute mini lessons just using what is most essential. My mini lessons start with a connection and a hook. Then, I share a small piece of what they need to know for their task/investigation, making sure not to tell too much. Lastly, I finish the mini lesson by asking a question or defining the focus for their work and then send them off.

• I did not use the timed sprints.

I would love to hear what works for you when collecting and selecting materials and strategies, as well as hear the decisions you make for presenting lessons and units.