Math Reflections

26 January 2013
One of my most common questions about my Interactive Math Journal has to do with the reflection section.  I have included a page of suggestions in my math journal resource for reflections - but because a lot of these suggestions are for creative, higher-order thinking skills, a few teachers have contacted me, telling me that some of their students struggle with the reflections.

In all honesty, I have been blessed with a pretty creative class the last two years - probably 80% of my students have no difficulty coming up with a reflection for the left side of their pages.  And because we always share our reflections (either by doing a pair-share, or by inviting students to come up and show their work under the document camera), the students are exposed to a lot of different ideas each week.  That being said, I do have a few that struggle coming up with an idea - or when they do come up with an idea, it's not a true reflection of the work done in class - perhaps they've done a great little comic, but it just mentions the concept - doesn't really show or explain it.

For this reason, I've created a new product that I hope can help your students with their reflections in math class, Math Reflection Fans.  This isn't just for math journals, though, it's also for discussions during math class, for reflection after problem-solving activities, for diagnostic assessments, or for summative assessments.  I've based the reflection questions on the 6 levels in Bloom's revised taxonomy:  Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create.  There are over 100 different questions and prompts included - at least 15 different questions for each level.  I've also included a checklist page for each of the different levels - the students can use it to keep track of what questions they've answered, or the teacher can use to keep track of questions asked.  If you wish, you can click on the picture or the title link to preview the product.



We also do a lot of problem-solving and three-part math activities, so I'm excited to use these fans during these activities, as well.  

I use my question fans ALL the time in the classroom - I usually choose one or two and put them under the document camera to project for the students.  For this reason, I like to keep them close by.  I hang them from the handles on my filing cabinet (which is right behind my desk).  My document camera is on the table right beside my filing cabinet.  I find this so handy - I don't have to search through my books or binders to find a great question, and I don't have to waste paper typing one up and then photocopying and cutting for the students.  Easy Peasy!!!

Be sure to check back in tomorrow - I've got a great math journal idea for metric conversion, and we used my math reflection fans for our reflection - here's a sneak peak ...

Happy Saturday!


Jen

8 comments

  1. I use to do math journals when I was in the classroom. I loved using them but mine were not nearly as organized as yours. I love the reflections piece and the work you have put into helping your students in this area. My district is changing up our math with moving to Common Core. This year we are just becoming familiar with the standards. Next year we are going to dive into mathematical practices. I think math journals would go great with where we are going.
    Thanks for sharing :)
    Antoinette

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  2. I love the fact that it is not a cold Math journal, but interactive, flexible.. you can incorporate the reflection strip and more...
    Thanks Jen!

    I am your new follower!

    Best,
    Ramon
    Fonts 4 Teachers
    Fonts 4 Teachers in TPT

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Edit!! I think I'm a little tired, I've been misspelling everything! What I meant to say was...

    These are unreal! I'm so excited to implement more of your wonderful resources in my classroom :)

    I really like the way you are storing your fans, I think I will something similar. Thanks Jen!

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  5. I agree that your storage idea is great! I need to do more with reflecting in math.

    Thanks-
    Jane
    Learning in the Little Apple

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  6. This looks awesome! Thanks for sharing your ideas!

    Swimming into Second

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  7. Great job as usual!! I don't know of a teacher who is as creative as you. I'm going broke with ALL your great ideas. I can't wait to use these in my class.

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  8. I've got to say, I love all your products. I purchased your interactive math journal file and it has revolutionized the way I teach math. The kids are engaged, learning, and loving it. Just purchased these, and I can't wait to try them out with my students!

    http://fabulousinfifth.wordpress.com/

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