Book 2: “Usha y la gran excavadora / Usha and the big digger” by Amitha Jagannath Knight
Preparation for lesson: 5-8 minutes
- Intervention participants took an informal GoMath assessment for spatial arrangement when forming groups of 5 with double sided counters.
- Using GoMath templates, some students struggled with the placement of yellow or red counters in a 5 frame template.
- By removing the template and providing time to play “Flash Numbers” students created patterns and took more risks to provide an answer in a given time.
This intervention group included a rotation of two spots for students who were not included in the first group.
Preparation for activity: 30 minutes (story and activity)
- Students who struggled to grasp the challenge of the activity were given progress monitoring tasks specific to geometry and identifying numbers in a set on HappyNumbers and BoomCards before and after the story.
- Students discussed what it means to be challenged, and why Usha was struggling to express what she saw in the spatial arrangement of her constellation.
- Students reflected on finding something new to learn, and were open to trying something abstract like Usha.
Extension of lesson:
- Post-intervention student interviews showed the story was helpful in promoting social emotional goals such as trying a different point of view.
- Students were able to recognize the intervention itself was meant to help them study, but by using stories and activities that reflected their interests. “Me gusta esto porque puedo jugar y hacer matemáticas.”
- The intervention participants began challenging their classmates outside math to identify groups of numbers in picture books they selected from the class library; creating even teams for recess; and counting out snack pieces.
- Students practiced arrangements of 10 when parent volunteers came to celebrate the 100th day of school by creating a mural of 100 images, playing math games, and building a “100 snack” throughout the day.
racial justice in early math 