Unintentionally Inspiring Thinking

In my second year teaching 5th grade, I realized that added routine and predictability would be very beneficial for students.  Over the summer, I designed a "Do Now" slide for the beginning of each class.  Students would receive a weekly sheet that included the daily objective and a math-related task to get started.  There would also be a place to set a weekly goal.  Each day of the week is designated for a specific activity.  The sheets are kept in a math binder and collected and graded each Friday along with a weekly wrap up sheet, a weekly homework page, and a Friday Flaunt (a weekly assessment with a slightly less intimidating name).

• Monday - Which One Doesn't Belong (WODB)
• Tuesday - Journal prompt (not always math related, but intended for relationship building)
• Wednesday - MCAS question
• Thursday & Friday - Estimation 180

This routine has made my life much easier.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still working for about 90% of my waking hours, but it is a more predictable routine for me too.  The routine wasn't primarily for my benefit, but for the students to settle in and set the tone for learning.  And maybe to inspire some less confident mathematicians.  

The school year has been filled with much more chatting than I had anticipated.  It has been easy to get lost in the frustration and lose sight of where students are.  All students are actively participating in the "Do Now" activities.  I had noticed that nearly all students were hooked in to the organization established for them and by eight weeks in, most are independently putting resources in the correct locations in their binders. Trust me, this is a far greater feat than it seems.  But, it's still a grind.

This past Friday, I took a personal day.  I was thrilled to get an experienced substitute who just happened to be a retired 5th grade teacher from our school.  I filled her in on the maddening level of chatting as fair warning.  Entering this morning, I wasn't sure what kind of report awaited me.  

A teammate had posted my daily "Do Now" slide for students.  I wanted to keep the routine as much as possible and knowing that I had a competent teacher in my place, I left Friday's Estimation 180 activity for her to debrief with students.  I was hopeful that routine had been well established and this would go well.  The routine goes like this:

• Students fill in their too low, too high, and estimates for the projected image.  Then, they write their reasoning. 
• I ask students to share their too low (prodding for braver answers when necessary).
• I ask for too high estimates.
• Estimates are shared and MUST have a sound reasoning.

When I ran into the substitute in the hall this morning, she said something that stuck with me all day.  They were thinking.  The students were actually thinking.  She remarked about this to students as well, explaining that when she was in school it was just practice, practice, practice.  It was so refreshing to have a seasoned educator impressed by the level of thinking that was taking place.

Too often, I worry that no one is thinking (or even listening).  We're just going through the motions.  Some fresh perspective has helped to motivate me as we begin our next unit.   I'll introduce Number Talks this week and can't wait to see what kind of thinking becomes apparent there.  It's so lovely to realize that what was intended to create predictability and routine also inspired deep thinking and lots of student participation.  This idea has caused me to pause and reflect on the gains we are making this year, even if there is a whole lot of chatting going on!