Math Discourse - Class Blog
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Conjectures! Please share the mathematical objective you were working on and the conjecture that your class came up with. Reflect on what was challenging about this process and how you addressed any misconceptions the students had. Share any thoughts about using conjectures in your classroom.
19 Comments
Angela Villaluna
2/27/2015 02:14:27 am
We had a great time creating conjectures this week. Fractions is a huge focus of fourth grade math and this week we created conjectures for comparing unit fractions and adding and subtracting like fractions. We started with creating a conjecture for comparing like fractions. At first, it was hard to get the students to share their conjectures. Once one student placed a conjecture up, they thought it was "good enough." I had to encourage a few more students to share their conjectures and then we started to pull elements from each to create one conjecture. That took a bit of time. Once we were done, the students were really happy with the results. Two days later, when asked to make a conjecture for adding and subtracting like fractions, they cheered! It was a bit easier and again, they were responsive with the process and the end result. I liked that the students used the conjectures to help correct Puzzled Penguin problems.
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Catherine Nam
3/6/2015 06:25:26 am
I love that they cheered! It sure sounds like your students are growing as mathematicians. Hip Hip Hooray
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Lou Ellsworth Yow
2/27/2015 07:42:08 am
Our first grade group is working on "decomposing tens" or "Making Ten's" to help as a strategy when adding within 20. The initial problem on the board was 6 + 4 = ? (How do you solve that? How else can we solve that?)
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Michelle Robertson
3/5/2015 06:54:12 am
Today was the second day we worked on a specific conjecture with our classes. (Julie and I both have TK/K combos so we do centers together) Last week she had math, this week I do. Last week she started with manipulatives and showed equations with a number and zero. The conjecture we were trying to get at is that when you add zero to any number it equals that number. Last week they had trouble getting to it. But today we had success with most groups. I put up the equations, they answered quickly. I asked them to discuss with each other why it was so easy and quick to come up with the answers. This led them down the path for a great discussion and conjecture. The lowest group still isn't quite there, but all the other K groups and TK group were able to come up with a conjecture. : ) I have pictures that I'll show in class.
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Julie Ramser
3/8/2015 01:17:55 am
To add to Michele's information I gave the students manipulatives and we solved the math problems on the board together. The highest two groups got the two facts that there was a zero in every problem and that there was one number in the problem and the same number was the answer. It was time to rotate before I could ask enough questions for them to get the actual conjecture. I think it was good to shelf the problem and come back to it another day. I am going to try another conjecture this week. I will do all +1 problems. It will be interesting to see if they can come up with the conjecture after having experience with 0.
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Mo Prince (First Grade)
3/8/2015 03:32:41 am
The objective for our first grade discourse group this week was the Make a Ten strategy--when adding two addends, decomposing one of the addends to compose a ten with the other.
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Hyun Moon
3/8/2015 11:15:13 am
We are slowly opening ourselves to different ways of thinking and solving problems. Each lesson is led carefully with necessary scaffolds provided through the use of visual supports and oral language.
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Tom Martin
3/8/2015 02:20:31 pm
Admittedly, with report cards I have not been able to introduce the conjecture concept, but will do so tomorrow. I am very excited to see how my students respond. They are continuing to amaze me in how they are processing math problems, specifically during our Math Journal work.
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Tom Martin
3/9/2015 08:00:26 am
Finally taught our Conjecture lesson today and was thrilled by the math talk. The lesson itself went very well as I had them in pairs and they used manipulatives to model the problem. When it cam time to discuss the conjecture, however, most of them were a bit lost. I initially avoided a pair that I knew had a conjecture, to see if someone else might have an idea, however the rest of the group seemed somewhat confused. So I asked the advanced pair and they provided a reasonable conjecture, that the class then used to create a complete conjecture.
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Lindsay Henning
3/9/2015 08:06:16 am
Students did very well coming up with conjectures as to how they know when a fraction is more than 1 whole. The way that Everyday Math introduces the students to identifying "the whole" very early on has seem to make everything easier for the students. Everyone in my room can identify the whole. Because of this, even the students that struggled with writing a conjecture were able to have it explained to them by another student. I didn't have to interject or guide at all this time. The other students took over! Very exciting!
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Angelina Salyers
3/11/2015 02:32:57 pm
Our adding with 0 conjecture was tough! My class did great figuring out the problems and discussing what they were trying to solve. The biggest concept that they took away from this conjecture was that when we are adding with 0, it means we are adding no more. They didn't come up with the exact conjecture we decided upon as a grade level, but they concluded something that was valuable to them.
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Erika Lee
3/18/2015 04:20:55 pm
The mathematical objective we were working on was 0+___=_____
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Lori Hewitt
3/20/2015 09:42:45 am
My third grade class has been working on understanding fractions with a focus on unit fractions. I wanted them to understand that fractions can be decomposed into the sum of unit fractions. We used the cuisenaire rods first, and then a reengagement activity. Unfortunately, the first activity didn't influence the students to think of a conjecture related to this understanding.
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Robin Horenstein
5/5/2015 08:30:54 am
Since we discussed and practiced using conjectures in our math class I find I am asking about conjectures in other subjects besides math. It is a great way to check in with students after they have been working in groups or pairs without much teacher intervention. At first my students were confused because it seemed like a big confusing word but when they realized a conjecture can be about a simple concept, they felt the freedom to simplify a statement to even the most obvious. What I always have to constantly remind myself is that the simplest concept to me might not be to my students, so the verbalization of conjectures adds to the learning and mastering for myself as well as my students.
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Janelle McGoldrick
5/6/2015 04:24:19 am
When the class created their first conjecture, I was noticing that students would refer back to the conjecture regarding fractions. I introduced to the class a sneak peek about finding equivalent fractions by looking at the denominator and the numerator. With guidance the class was able to create the following conjectures: is the numerator and denominator are an even number divide by an even number, if the denominator and numerator are odd divide by an odd number, and lastly if the either the numerator or denominator or even or odd divide by a odd number. Some students got the concepts but for some it was over their head.
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Brenda Pfeifer
5/9/2015 08:09:27 am
We worked on a conjecture for pi. We were trying to establish the relationship between diameter and circumference. It was the first one we did, so I helped a lot along the way. I wrote on the whiteboard as they dictated to me. Overall, it went okay. The hard part for me was having the students refer back to what we had previously written and come full circle with the work we were showing, what they were telling me, and what I was writing. The vocabulary was also confusing to them (circumference, diameter, and radius), which made it hard for them to connect with what was happening. While coming up with the conjecture was challenging, the best part was the discussion along the way.
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Kathy Koford
5/10/2015 08:27:52 am
My students loved learning what a conjecture is, although many of them still are unsure. They do love learning new words!
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Danelle Block
5/10/2015 12:55:57 pm
My students are really enjoying writing conjectures. This last week we've been studying plane shapes. After a good discussion on quadrilaterals, they were able to able to write the following conjecture: All Squares are rectangles. Not all rectangles are squares. I love that they came to this conclusion on their own.
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DeMaur Herrera
5/10/2015 04:49:06 pm
This was a huge hit with my third grade students. They love writing conjectures! We worked with fraction and my objective was for students to realize that fractions can be decomposed to unit fraction that equal a whole. I thought this would be a bit of a task, but I was wrong. Once we modeled the decomposed fractions…writing the conjecture was the easy part. The kids were so excited to share their conjectures and post them on the wall. This was a huge success!
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