December 17 Everything in nature adheres to the cone, the cylinder and the cube. This statement, from the artist Paul Cezanne, sums up the ongoing work of our pre-kindergartners as they explore mathematics and art through sculpture. This week, their explorations focused on two- and three-dimensional shapes. On Monday morning, the children were greeted with [...]
December 10 “How many ways can we learn about perimeter and area? We sing it, we draw it, we build it, we count it,” said Ms. Twarog. To prove her point, a group of third graders jumped at the chance to show what they know. They bounded to the front of the classroom for a [...]
December 3 In 1956, Benjamin Bloom, a professor of education at the University of Chicago, created a method for ranking cognitive tasks according to their level of complexity. Known as Bloom’s Taxonomy, the organizational system has been a foundational tool for teachers ever since. The taxonomy begins with the least challenging level, knowledge and remembering. [...]
Elementary school mathematics revolves around a set of core concepts, which become more sophisticated and elaborate as learners gain skill and build understanding. One of these principles, known as number sense, is on full display in second grade this week. Through a series of activities focused on word problems, the students have been expanding their [...]
“Find a rock with a plaque on it. Count the dots. Multiply by 31. Head out at that number of degrees.” Upon reading these instructions, a group of 5th graders eagerly gathered around a stone at the edge of the woods. They counted, calculated, positioned their compasses, and proceeded off in the direction indicated by [...]