Term 3 Inquiry Update:
What value have I added to my children so far and how can I accelerate this going forward?
This year my focus has been on getting my learners to use and understand mathematical vocabulary. I have struggled with trying to figure out how I can measure this and be able to show progress. However this term as a class we have already had several breakthrough moments with our vocabulary in mathematics and also using this language in other areas.
Although some of these moments in the classroom have been incorrect I have still seen my learners try and use this vocabulary in other curriculum areas. An example of this was the new word perimeter that we had learnt about during maths. This was a new word for my of my learners not very many of them knew what it meant and were quite puzzled with the word when we first talked about it. As the week went on I incorporated this word more and more often during our maths lessons and tried to use this in literacy as much as I could to. The breakthrough moment was when we had a kiwisport squash lesson where the coaches asked what the top line was called on a squash court and the first answer my learners gave was "the perimeter" this of course was incorrect but it was great to see they were trying to use this word in another context.
By using this word in many different subject areas my learners have been able to add this new word to their own vocabulary list. It has a main use in mathematics however it is an important word to help us understand thing. I am turning my focus this term on how I can use these words with my maths and literacy learners who are with me all day. I am hoping to see that by the learners being exposed to this language more often and in multiple curriculum areas they will be able to retain the words and their meanings.
I have also noticed a huge increase in my learners confidence in being able to share their ideas with each other and explain how they got the answer to a problem. They are no longer using words like "plusses" or "minuses" they are using terms like addition and subtraction as well as multiplication, making tidy numbers and rounding and compensating. By using this vocabulary they are able to understand what it is that they are being asked to do and also how to solve a problem in the best and most effective way. We have come a long way since the beginning of the year and I am excited to see how this inquiry unfolds for the rest of the year. Hoping to see that there will be an increase in vocabulary due to using the language in maths and literacy. Watch this space!
