Key words: Instructional Strategies/Math/K-12
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Date: Thu, 8 Aug 1996 22:31:56 EDT
Reply-To: A Practical Discussion List Regarding Deaf Education
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From: Cathy Brandt Subject: Strategies
To: Multiple recipients of list EDUDEAF Me AGAIN! :)
One of the other concepts that I am going to particularly stress this year
is the development of strategies. We will use these in areas such as math.
But, also in dealing with various personal situations, communication needs
situations as well as general problem solving.
Anyone done specific Strategy Development in the past? Any resources you
care to share? Any ways to implement and develop this thinking with kids?
I'd thought about having a specific area in the room (like our Reading corner,
Computer center, Make a Mess) where we would have a large write on area. Kids
could put various problems or situations there and we could as a group discuss
strategies we could use to solve them. I also thought about keeping resources,
examples, games etc there.
Now I need those resources, examples and games. :) In the training I've been
giving this summer on Math Software we have talked a lot about strategies we
use to solve various math situations. So, I have some of those in mind. But,
I need a wide variety of other types of things.
Your 2 cents?
Cathy - who has learned how very FEW strategies she actually employs and how
much she does randomly
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Date: Fri, 9 Aug 1996 06:58:00 -0400
Reply-To: A Practical Discussion List Regarding Deaf Education
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From: Randey Subject: Re: Strategies
To: Multiple recipients of list EDUDEAF Hi Cathy,
Have you ever seen "the UNgame"?? I found one in a christian book
store though I'm sure they're available elsewhere since its not really a
religious game, but more like you're looking for. You draw a card, and
answer the questions... no one can interrupt the person answering. Its for
people of all ages. We have a travel size one and use it in the car on long
trips. Makes for some interesting conversations.
Randey
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Date: Fri, 9 Aug 1996 09:08:01 -0400
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From: jean wright Subject: Re: Strategies
To: Multiple recipients of list EDUDEAF In-Reply-To: <1.5.4.32.19960809105800.00674520@tir.com>
First, I should introduce myself - I'm new to EDUDEAF. My name is Jean
Wright, and I'm a pre-school teacher turned interpreter/tutor (currently
going into tenth grade). I have three kids in high school and middle
school, (none are deaf). Our foster kids were what got me into signing,
one was hard of hearing, several were speech delayed and signing was a
great way to help them express themselves. They've all gone on into
adoptive homes, but I learned to love signing, so here I am.
We enjoyed the Ungame as well - I hope they are still making them. We
also have a "What would you do if..." game that the kids made up when
they were going through that 'what if...?' stage. The rules are fairly
simple, someone poses a problem, real or ridiculous, and we round-robin
to solve that problem, sometimes spinning into others along the way. The
'moderator' decides when the discussion gets ridiculous. We did a lot of
safety training this way, at home and in my Head Start classroom. e.g.:
What would you do if you saw a fire?
What would you do if your brother was sick, and your parents weren't
home? How would you know when to get help? Who would you call?
The kids often took the game home to their own families, and drove them
nuts with it, too. (It can get a little crazy, but that's the fun of it)
-and, Cathy, IMHO, sometimes the best teaching is done without a
visible strategy - it's just a little scarier that way. JSW*
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Date: Sat, 10 Aug 1996 22:09:18 -0400
Reply-To: A Practical Discussion List Regarding Deaf Education
Sender: A Practical Discussion List Regarding Deaf Education
From: "G.Jane Harmon" Subject: Re: Strategies
To: Multiple recipients of list EDUDEAF Cathy, I fail to see how mathematics can have any strategy. One either knows
the rote method of solving the problem or they don't. There aren't any two
ways to do a problem, IMO; whereas, with a real life problem, there are
multiple ways of solving a problem. Solving life problems boil down to the
objective(s) and what is or is not acceptable to the individual needing a
solution.
Just my 2 cents worth.
gjane
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Date: Sat, 10 Aug 1996 22:46:03 -0400
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From: Linda Semesky Subject: Re: Strategies
To: Multiple recipients of list EDUDEAF Dear gjane,
There are numerous ways to solve a problem. One small example, I used on
my son Alex..5-1/2 and HOH....today was this. He had to find out how many
pounds this guy had gained if each of his 6 pieces of clothing weighed 15
pounds. Well, the math software was pretty sophisticated so it was
expecting multiplication of 15X6. Because Alex is turning 6 in October, he
does not understand multiplication. He does understand addition and this
software let you input the data into a calculator and let it do the
calculations. So, I showed him that he could get his answer by adding the
15 pounds, 6 times. He did it on the calculator and got 90...he was right
and thrilled and accomplished the same task of solving the problem that a
third grader might. He just used simpler tools.
Also, you can find the height of a tower many different ways. Depending on
what you chose to measure you can use the sine, cosine, tangent, cotangent
to determine the height of the tower. It all depends on what is easiest to
measure. The angle that the top of the tower makes with the ground. The
distance you are from the tower when you measure the Angle. The
distance from the top of the pole at an angle to where you are standing. Etc.
There are different ways of proving Geometry theorems and on and on. Yes,
so what you must teach is strategies how possible ways to look at the problem.
Even if you're faced with a problem that you can't do, if you can break it
down into another problem you understand, you can solve it. Just like with
Alex, he used addition instead of multiplication because he didn't know what
15X6 was. This strategy needs to be taught to anyone. It helps them learn
what multiplication really is....really multiple additions and how to get
around things they may not know by breaking them down into simpler
components. This is one of the fundamentals of succeeding both in math and
in life...
My two cents,
Linda S.
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Date: Sat, 10 Aug 1996 23:07:57 -0400
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From: "Barbara K. Strassman" Subject: Re: Strategies
To: Multiple recipients of list EDUDEAF Cathy-
I'd like to recommend a wonderful article on cognitive strategy
instruction:
Harris, K. & Pressley, M. (1991). The nature of cognitive strategy
instruction: Interactive strategy instruction. Exceptional Children,
57(5), 393-404.
Basically, they recommend that you think aloud and that you explain
to children when, where, why, and how to use a strategy. Then, the kids
need LOTS of practice with increasingly difficult materials.
If you can't get a copy of this, I could mail you one.
Barbara Strassman
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Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 00:59:56 EDT
Reply-To: A Practical Discussion List Regarding Deaf Education
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From: Cathy Brandt Subject: Re: Strategies
To: Multiple recipients of list EDUDEAF In-Reply-To: Message of Sat, 10 Aug 1996 22:09:18 -0400 from
Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate hearing from all perspectives. But, I
happen to strongly disagree on this one. I do believe that it is essential
that kids do know things rotely such as math facts. But, I don't believe that
is the only end or goal in math.
Kentucky is in the midst of major education reform. One of the areas of this
is the development of critical thinking skills. Story problems in math is one
of the hardest areas for both hearing children and those who don't hear. A
child can read the problem over and over - knowing all of the basic math facts
by heart - and NEVER be able to solve the problem.
The development of strategies are crucial. We all use them every day when we
deal with numbers. But, most of us use them so subconsciously that we don't
realize HOW we think. This is so important for children to understand.
There are key words to use, there are steps to organizing the data so that
one can solve the problem. We use a lot of "open ended" questions here. To
most of you that simply means essay questions. These require more than just
a factual answer. We go through various "strategies" as we organize our
thoughts to answer such questions.
Even when the answer is strictly right or wrong there can be more than one
way to arrive at the solution. The example about multiple addition when a
child doesn't know multiplication yet is excellent. There are many other
situations like this. It is amazing to me when we do math problems in class
and I ask HOW did you arrive at that answer to see the variety of ways kids
have used to find the RIGHT answer.
I'm not discounting the importance of rote knowledge. But, I am saying that
it is CRITICAL that children be able to think about how they think so that
they can attack areas of new information where rote knowledge isn't possible.
Cathy - who often finds this area one of the most challenging and most
rewarding when students are learning HOW to arrive at solutions
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Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 06:30:53 -0400
Reply-To: A Practical Discussion List Regarding Deaf Education
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From: randey Subject: Re: Strategies
To: Multiple recipients of list EDUDEAF < have you ever seen "the UNgame"?? i found one in a christian book
i thought maybe you could go thru the deck, pick out certain questions that
you think they could answer such as "name three things you like about
yourself". use them for journal questions if you have them keep journals. i
don't know what age you mean by "elementary aged" though. maybe if they're
younger, they could draw the 3 things they like. perhaps something like
would show them the difference between the tangible and intangible... just a
thought...
randey
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Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 19:36:42 -0400
Reply-To: A Practical Discussion List Regarding Deaf Education
Sender: A Practical Discussion List Regarding Deaf Education
From: Linda Semesky Subject: Re: Strategies
To: Multiple recipients of list EDUDEAF One of the things that I've been working on tonight with Alex is that if you
see the word more in a word problem it means add (+), if you see the word
less or take away then it means subtract (-). So he is learning the
strategy of translating the word problem into a straight calculation. And,
he's almost got it down consistently. Another ex., of strategy in math.
Linda S
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Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 23:41:35 EDT
Reply-To: A Practical Discussion List Regarding Deaf Education
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From: Cathy Brandt Subject: Re: Strategies
To: Multiple recipients of list EDUDEAF In-Reply-To: Message of Mon, 12 Aug 1996 19:36:42 -0400 from
On Mon, 12 Aug 1996 19:36:42 -0400 Linda Semesky said:
>One of the things that I've been working on tonight with Alex is that if you
see the word more in a word problem it means add (+), if you see the word
Actually, this is a faulty strategy. In a word problem where one is asked
"how many more oranges than apples do I have" the child must subtract, not add.
Be careful when using the Key Word strategy. While it may be a beginning it
can ultimately lead to confusion.
It's important that you use the complete context or determine what specific
information is the question asking.
Cathy - who's had way too many kid learn this in their earlier math training
only to come to my room where there are more complex problems and struggle
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Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 11:41:37 -0400
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From: Mcfdyn@AOL.COM
Subject: Re: Strategies
To: Multiple recipients of list EDUDEAF Way back when ... when I was in elementary school, we were taught to do word
or story problems by making an outline.
e.g. problem I mentioned
Mom has 15 apples; Alex has 9 apples how many more apples does Mom have?
WHAT I KNOW (I'm not shouting, just using headers)
WHAT I NEED TO KNOW
OPERATION
PROBLEM
Back then I thought it was a boring waste of time for easy stuff, but when I
became a teacher I saw the benefit of the method for those who didn't get how
to do word problems. After a while, it begins to be automatic and the kids
don't need to write everything out. HTH
kathy
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Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 11:42:21 -0400
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From: Birgit Woelker Subject: Re: Strategies
To: Multiple recipients of list EDUDEAF When I was in school, I was one of the few girls who actually liked math.
Why? I think because I had a teacher who could reach me. This teacher
thought about what are the subjects kids or youngsters like to talk or to
laugh about. And then he transferred a story that could get the child's
interest into a math problem.
E.g.:
(4-7 years) Your new puppy ate one of your socks, hid one in the garden and
pooped on the third one. You have three pairs of socks, how many are left
for you to wear.
(youngsters) You bring home two cute bunnies from a fair. One boy and one
girl bunny........They proliferate at a rate of 20 days and usually have 5
kids. The kids mature in 50 days. Your parents are away for the summer.
They will be back in 3 months. How many bunnies will you have by then.
(young adults) You like to see your girlfriend who lives in the second
floor. Her parents are not allowing her to see you. You like to climb up to
her room. If her window is at 12ft height and right in front of the house
is a bush which is 3 ft wide how long does the ladder have to be?
You get 2 pimples every day. After 10 days a friend gives you this magic
cream that makes 4 pimples disappear in 24 hours. You do not like your
boyfriend see the pimples. How soon can you invite him over?
Did you understand the concept? Math can be really fun. I know that I bore
my 6 year old daughter to death with apples and oranges. But if I talk
about horses or cats or pink hairbows I can get her to do math.
Every once in a while I am facing a group of highly unmotivated students
which is a tough task. To teach them adaptation to the environment I use a
game which is simple and powerful. Each two students get a piece of
colorful paper (wallpaper for instance with prints) and 60 to 100 pieces of
small plastic chips in different colors (M&M's might do too). The chips all
go onto the paper. With a stopwatch I let them pick as many chips as
possible in 10 sec. They have to count the pieces and the remaining pieces
on the paper. By comparing the data with data from the other groups they
will find that the red chips are less likely to be picked on patterns with
red, the green chips remain on the paper that has green print on it etc.
Good luck, Birgit
____________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Birgit Woelker
____________________________________________________________________________
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Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 16:12:08 GMT
Reply-To: Cheryl_Christian@nynet.nybe.north-york.on.ca
Sender: A Practical Discussion List Regarding Deaf Education
From: Cheryl Christian Organization: North York Board of Education
Subject: Re: Strategies
To: Multiple recipients of list EDUDEAF I really loved the ideas that Birgit put in and am going to copy them to share
with my staff when we go back to school next month. The first one really
caught my eye because this could come up an interesting solution....
(4-7 years) Your new puppy ate one of your socks, hid one in the garden and
pooped on the third one. You have three pairs of socks, how many are left for
you to wear.
If all the socks are the same you'd still only have one pair to wear since it
takes two but if all the pairs were different and the puppy took one from
each pair you'd have none......lots of language ideas could come from this
one also.
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Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 11:18:08 CST
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From: Malinda Eccarius Subject: strategies
To: Multiple recipients of list EDUDEAF Hi,
On the subject of math strategies, I have had a lot of luck having kids
create their own story problems from number sentences, and working with them on
the language required. The discussion of what we know, what we need to know, etc., leads naturally
from this activity, because we need to provide the information to others. The
kids love making math workbooks for each other!
Malinda (who is moving to the University of Nebraska this Friday and hit a deer
on the highway this morning and will be moving in a rental car!!)
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Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 00:59:13 -0600
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From: jmsimes@STTHOMAS.EDU
Subject: Re: Strategies
To: Multiple recipients of list EDUDEAF In-Reply-To: <1.5.4.32.19960811030757.006871e8@pop.trenton.edu>
Another GREAT article I found is:
Ellis, E. S. (1993). Teaching strategy sameness using integrated formats.
Journal of Learning Disabilities, 26(7), 448-481.
Even though this article is written with LD kids in mind, the strategies
and explicit examples of graphic organizers are applicable to all kinds
of students. Basically the author contends that "learning strategies need
to be taught in a more unified manner so that problem-solving domains are
more readily crossed."
Another great book I recently got from ASCD is called _Visual Tools For
Constructing Knowledge_, by David Hyerle. It's full of ideas and visual
representations for helping kids and teachers develop whole to part and
part to whole thinking strategies....... gives good explanations on what
visual tools are, why we should use them and how to maximize their potential.
Both of these works really emphasize making connections across
disciplines and focus a lot on thinking skills as well as some easy to
remember classification systems and "rote" strategies to draw from.
Jolinda
(If you're not a member of ASCD you can find out more about the
organization at http://www.ascd.org. I think you can order books and
catalogues through that web site too. I found the Journal of Learning
Disabilities in the public library.)
Uploaded by: Melissa Close/Kent State University/Deaf Education Major
Beaufort, SC -- soon to be Bel Air, MD (civilization, again!!)
from Towson, Maryland.....too much civilization to be civilized anymore
Trenton State College
What I know
what I need to know
operation (or what i need to do)
then work it out
Mom has 15 apples
Alex has 9 apples
How many more apples Mom has (the difference between Mom and Alex)
subtraction
15
- 9
--------
6
mcfdyn@aol.com
State University of New York
Department of Molecular Genetics
and Microbiology
Stony Brook, NY 11794-5222
phone: (516) 632-8798
Fax: (516) 632-8891
e-mail: birgit@asterix.bio.sunysb.edu
e.g. On Mr. Brown's farm, two horses are in one pasture and three cows
are in another pasture.
jmsimes@sstthomas.edu