Annie Forest

I LOVE COUNTING COLLECTIONS! I can't believe I didn't know about them before, but after watching an ICTM webinar by Denise Brown ( check out the recording here !), I was hooked! Immediately, I reached out to a few teachers in my district that also watched the webinar. I co-taught a counting collections lesson in each of their classrooms, one kindergarten and the other 1st grade. Wow. It was amazing. Then, I saw another ICTM webinar by Kassia Wedekind ( see that one here !) where she talked about nudges during counting collections. Ah ha! Another amazing idea. Now I wanted to try more counting collections lessons. Luckily, we had a teacher institute day coming up and one of the original counting collections teachers agreed to present the idea to all of the kindergarten and 1st grade teachers. She did an awesome job sharing how she was using the routine in her classroom. Next, I put together a traveling "Counting Collection Collection." I went to the dollar...

Wait, that just looks like strips of paper ?! Yep, that's what it is. Introducing my FAVORITE fraction manipulative. No need for fancy plastic fraction tiles, no purchase order necessary, no app to download. Just find some paper and cut it in strips. It can even be "GOOSe" paper (good on one side), as in scrap paper ! Here's why I love it: 1) It makes fractions visual . 2) It relates to tape diagrams. 3) It helps make connections of where fractions go on the number line. 4) It's a manipulative that won't expire. It always works, even when students start exploring decimals and percents. 5) It's fun! I have done this lesson with lots of kids over the years. It works great with grades 4-6.  Here's the procedure: 1) Put a lot of strips of paper out! (you want kids to have access to extra in case they "mess up") 2) Have students start with 1 strip and fold into halves. This is usually accessible for ...

IT'S HERE!!! If you are like me, you feel a little sad about the end of summer but also super excited for a new school year. I love the new school supplies, fresh start, classroom decorating , meeting new kids, and a chance to try new things! I wanted to put together a post that compiled all of my favorite past posts related to stuff teachers think about at the start of a new school year. First, I like to sit down and write out my goals . I think about what I want to keep and what I might want to change . There are several things that you might have done in the past that you might want to rethink. For example, grading , getting rid of your teacher desk , or even how you speak about gender in your classroom . How are you going to arrange your classroom? How will you make seating charts that encourage collaboration ? Think about small changes you could make that will have a big impact. Here are a few . Think about how you might want to treat mistakes in your clas...

This is a strange time of year to be writing about seating charts... I mean, it's almost the end of the school year! No one is making seating charts right now. ...or, is it that strange ? This is the time of year that is perfect for reflection . Thinking about what went well and what you want to change for next year. This actually might be the perfect time as you are thinking about how you might want to set up your room for next year! So, what are you thinking about trying for seating next year? Are you a desks in rows kind of person? Pods? Partners? Do you have a rug where kids come for math talks? Do you want to try flexible seating ? No assigned seats? Randomly selected partners? Carefully chosen groups? There are SO MANY choices and decisions to make when it comes to classroom environment and seating arrangements. I wanted to share something I tried with my middle school students. If I had a class of my own again next year, it is what I would be doing. Now, it's ...

I love the NCTM article, Never Say Anything A Kid Can Say,  by Steven Reinhart. I reread it often and it always reminds me of something to work on or try so that I can have a more student-centered math class. I have recently been sharing 3 of my favorite tips from the article at PD in my district. These three tips are small changes that you can make that have a BIG impact on your classroom. I vlogged about those three ideas. Enjoy! ;)

Mistakes aren't just okay , they are gifts ! Six years ago, I was attending some amazing professional development as part of the West Cook Math Initiative- now called Metro Chicago Math Initiative . We had a frequent guest facilitator, David Foster , leading us in a math talk and then discussing re-engagement lessons. I will never forget the day that he said, "Mistakes are gifts." In fact, I believe he said he had heard this from a teacher in Japan that was explaining the role that mistakes can play in helping students understanding mathematical concepts. Bottom line, I don't know who to give credit to for this quote, but it certainly has had an impact on me. It is something that I repeat to students that I teach, teachers that I coach, and participants in professional development that I lead. I just can't say it enough! Here's my vlog of my reflections on this idea: If you like the idea of using mistakes in your classroom, consider re-engage...

This is my first attempt at "vlogging." It's blogging but with video! This is pushing me out of my comfort zone a bit because, as most people, I hate seeing myself on video or hearing myself talk!! And look how my face is frozen in a weird way on the video below. Ugh! But I think this is a powerful way to reflect on my practice and share ideas I've done in the classroom, so I'm giving it a try. I hope you find this idea helpful. I call it "strategic eavesdropping." It is a teacher move that you do in the classroom as students are working or discussing. You do this to find students work/thinking to share to the group and facilitate class discussions. It is probably something that you are doing already! What makes this a little different than just walking around and listening to kids talk is the  strategic part. You are going to use what you overhear to plan, in the moment, for how to reveal student thinking to the group. Give this video a watch and ...

There are days leading up to break when you want to do something: 1. "mathy" 2. low-tech 3. fun 4. engaging that will keep everyone's attention! It's that time of year when teachers need a math game idea. My post about  activities to do the last weeks of school  is one of my most viewed because of this exact thing. I wrote about this game, "Draw 10", in the post I mentioned above, but I don't think it got much attention, probably because I didn't explain it well or give examples of how it will look as you play it, so I wanted to fix that. This game is fun for grade levels 3-12. With younger kids you will want to play the whole numbers version, while older students will be more challenged by the decimal version. ((Speaking of older kids, it would be really interesting if someone adapted this into another base besides base-10!)) To play Draw 10 you will need: 1. The game boards printed for your students. I usually try to fit quite a f...

I am really lucky that I get to be home with my kids right now while I'm on maternity leave. While on leave, I still want to feel connected to my work. I'm keeping up on Twitter and taking on a few PD leadership opportunities in my district. When I came across a great activity by Sara , I just knew it would be one I would want to try if I was in the classroom this year. So, I passed it along to all my middle school math teacher friends. A few teachers tried it out and were nice enough to send me pictures! How amazing that I got to see the smiling faces of kiddos excited and happy to be in math class?! It makes me happy to be connected with teachers and classrooms!

Yesterday I presented to some math teachers about visible student thinking ( check out the slides here ). One of the ideas I talked about posing a picture, problem, or visual and asking kids what they notice and what they wonder. I just recently learned about this and started using it with my students last school year. It's one of those things that is so simple but so powerful. If you haven't heard of this idea before, please note that I completely borrowed this idea. Annie Fetter did an Ignite about it a few years ago. When you just ask kids what they notice and what they wonder, you are really helping them to understand that they already have mathematical ideas going on in their mind. The other great thing is that every student can participate right away. No matter their skill level, students notice and wonder things. There are no "fast finishers" yelling "DONE!" and students that struggle can contribute as well without fear of being ...

Here is my criteria for what makes good mathy activities for the end of the school year: -no/low tech (we have 1:1 devices, but the last few days of school usually mean all devices are turned in) -still incorporate math or problem solving in some way -fun and engaging video credit:  http://sci-toys.com 1. My favorite activity is one I've done every year. Kaleidocycles . When I first starting doing them, over 10 years ago, I had to figure it out on my own. Now, there are tons of online tutorials (check youtube) to explain how to color, fold, and glue. You can also check out my blog post about making these . Kid love them, trust me. It's been my go-to activity for the last two days of math class for years for a reason! :) 2. 5x5 Game. Check out Sara's blog post about the rules . She calls it "the most amazing game" and I trust her judgement. :) I haven't tried it yet, but I'm leaving it as sub plans for the last days of school becau...

I plan to blog again soon showing my "after" pictures. I still have a few finishing touches to add (even though students start tomorrow!). For now, I wanted to focus on two new ideas that I'm trying in my "new" (to me) classroom. I'm moving from the 7th/8th grade hallway on the 3rd floor down to the 6th grade hallway in Room 211. If you are a number nerd, like me (but I'm no Terry Tao ), you will appreciate these facts about my new classroom number: -211 is can be made by adding three consecutive primes: 67 + 71 + 73 -If you multiply the digits, you get a number that is still prime (2 x 1 x 1 = 2 ) -If you add the digits, you get a square: 2 + 1 + 1 = 4 -211 is the 47th prime number (and 47 is also prime) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Okay, back to my classroom. One new idea I'm trying is ditching the teacher desk! Again, I'll share a pic soon of the completed room. I'm so excited about how much room I've gained by getting rid of tha...

It's almost time to go back to school... while my brain has been engaged with teaching professional development and participating in Twitter conversations with #MTBoS tweeps all summer, there is something special about the start of the school year.  When it's time for back to school, teachers either feel dread or excitement, or sometimes a complicated combination of both! I tend to lean more towards excitement. I love new school supplies and the chance to start fresh. I have lots of new ideas that I want to use in the classroom. Here are a few for this year: 1. I want to try  vertical non-permanent surfaces . 2. I did interactive notebooks last year and would like to do them again. I found lots of great inspiration  here  and  here . I bought some buckets at the dollar store to keep them organized on the tables this year. My system last year wasn't that great. (more on that later) 3. I really want to try  choral counting .  This video ...

I will be presenting again to teachers in my district. The topic is Math Discourse: Let's Talk About Math! Looking forward to talking and learning with some fabulous educators!

When I create a presentation about the topics of math discourse or collaborative learning, I usually include a slide about, what I call, "kind reminders." In my classroom, I expect groups to handle minor issues as a group. If someone isn't contributing or if they are being annoying (I teach middle school, so this comes up often!), I want them to address the group member in a respectful way. I believe this helps students have ownership over their group, find ways to resolve conflict, and it also frees me up, as a teacher, to help groups with the  math  instead of having to address misbehaviors. The slide that I made to share with students is a t-chart showing what group members should address and what I will address. I recently edited the slide with a line to cross out the word bossy. The slide now looks like this: So, why did I cross out the word "bossy"??? I've been doing some thinking about this lately after reading a few things t...

Have you tried this fun and addicting online game called Kahoot ?! Well, it all the rage right now, especially in education technology. You play the game on a device (tablet, computer, or phone). You project the questions on the board and students answer the (multiple choice) questions by clicking on 1 of 4 shapes on their device. Speed and accuracy are rewarded and after each question, a leaderboard is displayed showing where the top players stand. In honor of the ISTE Conference taking place right now, I wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts about Kahoot! as an educational tool. While there are definite positives, I do have a few words of caution that I think are important to consider when deciding how this activity might fit into your lessons. Positives: -It is so fun! Adults and kids alike really enjoy it (including me!!) -Everyone stays engaged, the whole time, even if they aren't "winning" -You can use pre-made questions or make your own -It'...