Last year, I decided to dedicate one of my two bulletin boards to our collective math thinking in my Grade 3 French Immersion classroom. Here's how we used the board. On the left, we posted our learning goals (attentes). I taught Grade 3 and 4 math, so we had some goals for each grade level. We highlighted a mental math strategy at the bottom left of the board. This was a strategy that we were trying out in our daily mental math workouts. In the middle, you will see a note that we co-created at the end of a lesson, to consolidate our thinking about a big idea. This was a whiteboard, so we could wipe it off and change it regularly. Students would put this note into their notebook, adding examples and other ideas of their own. We also wrote key words on the keys.
One of my goals with the class was to co-construct notes during consolidation, because it allowed students to hammer out the most important ideas we had uncovered. We knew we wanted to write fewer words, and have more images to help us to visualize the math. Students liked having the choice to use the examples we generated together, or to create examples of their own. Using the whiteboard allowed us to change the note as we wrote, which meant that students could build on each other's ideas and refine their collective thinking.
This was a really successful strategy throughout the year. We kept our gathering carpet in front of this bulletin board, so that the group could gather nearby, and everyone had a clear view of the board at all times, to use it as a reference tool.
One of my goals with the class was to co-construct notes during consolidation, because it allowed students to hammer out the most important ideas we had uncovered. We knew we wanted to write fewer words, and have more images to help us to visualize the math. Students liked having the choice to use the examples we generated together, or to create examples of their own. Using the whiteboard allowed us to change the note as we wrote, which meant that students could build on each other's ideas and refine their collective thinking.
This was a really successful strategy throughout the year. We kept our gathering carpet in front of this bulletin board, so that the group could gather nearby, and everyone had a clear view of the board at all times, to use it as a reference tool.