Day 257

Problem of the Month

Up Close-Problem E

Another thing we have been learning about at our math conferences, is the concept of the "Problem of the Month".

Now, each school does it differently but the overall idea is to present the students with a packet of 6 math word problems (A-F) where each problem gets more difficult as the levels get higher.  Every student must begin with level A, show all work, solve if they can, before moving on to the next problem.

The next week, the students meet in partners or small groups to compare their answers and to discuss their work.  At no point will the teacher give them the correct answer because the idea is for them to collaborate with others and to use self discovery.

The following week is when the students met back in their groups to make a poster (seen above).  The poster was to display the highest problem that they successfully solved.  

This month's Problem of the Month used the Singapore Math's Bar Model strategy.  Each poster had to show all the work using the six problem solving steps which include:

• Reading the problem, underlining/highlighting important information
• Drawing a unit bar
• Labeling the unit bar
• Labeling the question
• Computing the work
• Answering the question with a complete sentence

Lastly, the students all did a "gallery walk".  During this time they were to read the different posters at each level, notices similarities and differences with their posters compared to others' posters, and to fill out a reflective piece.  I was amazed with the conversations I heard during the gallery walk...they noticed when a problem was completed differently and when answers were not computed correctly (sometimes their own work).  The students also pointed out where they got stuck on the more difficult problems.

Four classrooms participated from the fourth and fifth grades.  We think it was a success and plan to continue our Problems of the Month, hoping some other classes will join us.