Reply To: Lesson 9-5: Building Number Sense and Fluency – Discussion

[Lavon Heath]

1) My biggest takeaway is the importance of not rushing to the algorithm or the abstract. Students need to spend more time working with hands on and visual models. Your visuals models have been so powerful. As I have pondered how I taught concepts last year such as equations and slope, I realized that I rushed through the models. I am trying to spend more time at the beginning with problem solving tasks and visual representations in the hope of deepening understanding of concepts.

I have also deepened my understanding of ratios, proportions and rates. I have more precise language that I am able to use and a much clearer understanding of their relationship to each other. I have more tools to use to teach about these concepts. I realize how proportional thinking permeates my curriculum, so I am not worried that I only have one unit in which to teach it because ratios and proportions are everywhere in Math 8.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge!