Danielson 1D: Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources is all about providing resources in the classroom that will engage students and enhance their learning. One method of demonstrating competency in this category is to supply books that are interesting to students. There are books about just about everything now. However, one way to really engage your students in a place that they are struggling is to write your own book for them to address their area of need. A common example of this is social stories, most often found in special education classrooms. I had the exciting opportunity, however, to learn about and create an original math story.
I used the website story jumper to create my original math story. This website is a super simple and fun way to create books for students. There are many pictures available as well as many fun formats. The book can then be downloaded as a pdf for a small price, printed in hardback for a larger price, or simply viewed online for free. Depending on the age of the students, the online form could be a great resource for when they finish work early.
In writing my original math story, I wrote it with a few students particularly in mind (pictured above). I have worked with these students in the past, and it is typically a struggle to get them to interact with the books we are reading. When I wrote this book then, I used characters that reflected them and I used their names a few times in the book. When they knew that the book was about them, they were very engaged and couldn't wait to continue solving math problems. This showed me the importance of finding and utilizing resources that students will be engaged in. If a student is not engaged in a resource, it doesn't matter how wonderful it is, because they will not give it their full attention. I found that personalized books are a simple way to engage students.
It is also crucial that a resource be worthwhile and extend the students' knowledge. If it is only engaging, what is the point? I believe that original math stories are great for this portion of demonstrating knowledge of resources, as they can be easily adapted for the needs of students. If a teacher notices that students are struggling with mental math, for example, a math story that has the students practice mental math strategies can be extremely beneficial. Math stories are also great because they allow students to see math in a real world context, as well as practice and check their answers. Math stories can also provide different levels of scaffolding for different students.
I had so much fun creating my original math story, as well as reading it with the students that it was designed for. In my future classroom, I think that it would be awesome to write math stories about my students that helps them to practice a skill that they are struggling with. It would be even better if the students could help me to write the story and then each have a copy to take home.
I used the website story jumper to create my original math story. This website is a super simple and fun way to create books for students. There are many pictures available as well as many fun formats. The book can then be downloaded as a pdf for a small price, printed in hardback for a larger price, or simply viewed online for free. Depending on the age of the students, the online form could be a great resource for when they finish work early.
In writing my original math story, I wrote it with a few students particularly in mind (pictured above). I have worked with these students in the past, and it is typically a struggle to get them to interact with the books we are reading. When I wrote this book then, I used characters that reflected them and I used their names a few times in the book. When they knew that the book was about them, they were very engaged and couldn't wait to continue solving math problems. This showed me the importance of finding and utilizing resources that students will be engaged in. If a student is not engaged in a resource, it doesn't matter how wonderful it is, because they will not give it their full attention. I found that personalized books are a simple way to engage students.
It is also crucial that a resource be worthwhile and extend the students' knowledge. If it is only engaging, what is the point? I believe that original math stories are great for this portion of demonstrating knowledge of resources, as they can be easily adapted for the needs of students. If a teacher notices that students are struggling with mental math, for example, a math story that has the students practice mental math strategies can be extremely beneficial. Math stories are also great because they allow students to see math in a real world context, as well as practice and check their answers. Math stories can also provide different levels of scaffolding for different students.
I had so much fun creating my original math story, as well as reading it with the students that it was designed for. In my future classroom, I think that it would be awesome to write math stories about my students that helps them to practice a skill that they are struggling with. It would be even better if the students could help me to write the story and then each have a copy to take home.