Measuring Mathematical Proficiency through Closure Activities WMC Conference May 8 th, 2015 Presented by Jamie Bernath
Presentation Overview What is the purpose of closure? Explore Daily Closure Activities Explore End of Unit Closure Activities
Purpose of Closure Closure is a tool that is two-fold. For the teacher, it is a tool used to assess student s knowledge (formative assessment). For a student, it is used to formulate the new material and make it their own (review of the concepts). Closure can be used to wrap up a lesson and assess what student s understand and where they still have questions. Closure can also be used at the end of a unit or units to assess student s knowledge.
Daily Closure Ideas Hot Potato Exit Slip Elevator Talk Silent Debate Math Talk Carousel Dyad Fortune Cookie Reciprocal Teaching Walk and Talk We will be doing four of them, the rest are described in the handout so you can use them in your classroom when you return.
Hot Potato Watch this short clip to see what it looks like.
Hot Potato Description Every team has one sheet of paper and each student has a different colored pencil. A problem is given to the group and placed in the middle of the table. Person 1 writes the first step of the solution process, explaining aloud, and passes the paper on to Person 2. Person 2 makes any corrections and adds the next step, explaining aloud, and passes the paper on. Process continues until the problem is completed. Fitting Lessons: solving +/- fractions and solving algebraic expressions
Hot Potato Turn and talk to the person next to you about How can student s mathematical proficiencies be observed through this closure activity? When can you see yourself using this in your classroom?
Carousel You will need one writing device per group. I have 3 posters with a question on each. Discuss your answer as a group, record your answer (s), then pass it to the next group. When we are finished, we will do a gallery walk so everyone can see all the responses.
Carousel Turn and talk to the person next to you about How can student s mathematical proficiencies be observed through this closure activity? When can you see yourself using this in your classroom?
Carousel Description Write a different problem/topic/question on large poster sheets hung on the walls or on each table. Each team is given a different colored marker. Each team goes to a different poster, discusses the topic and decides what to write. Teams rotate to all of the posters, adding to what was written by previous teams (have a team limit). When done, each team does a gallery walk. A large group discussion/debrief can then be held.
Unit(s) Closure Activities Magic Book Scavenger Hunt Graphic Organizers Self evaluations/reflections
Magic Book Description: A magic book is a fun creative way to practice math skills. Great closure activity to use at the end of a unit. Example:
Scavenger Hunt Each team has a unique clue card and recording sheet. With your team, go around to each situation and write down what clue would match the situation. Move to an available pink situation card. Continue until time is called.
Scavenger Hunt Turn and talk to the person next to you about How can student s mathematical proficiencies be observed through this closure activity? When can you see yourself using this in your classroom?
Scavenger Hunt Description A great closure activity for the end of a unit (or several units). Challenging problems are placed around the classroom. Students travel around the room with their group to answer the questions. QR codes can be used to give groups clues on how to solve the problem.
In conclusion: Do an elevator talk with the person next to you about one strategy you learned today that you would like to implement in your classroom next week.
Thanks for coming to my presentation. The power point will be on the WMC website. This information and more can be found at www.cpm.org My contact information: Jamie Bernath Parkview Middle School Ashwaubenon, WI jbernath@ashwaubenon.k12.wi.us
More Closure Activities
Exit Slip Students answer a question pertaining to the lesson and turn it in to you on the way out the door. Variations: turn in the next day or as a warm-up Examples: 1) Why do you divide by 2 when find the area of a triangle? 2) Solve 5x + 20 for x=-3
Elevator Talk Students have 30 seconds to explain the topic to a stranger (partner) as if they know nothing about it.
Silent Debate Students pairs: One is pro, the other is con Each pair has one pencil and one sheet of paper. A topic is given, the pro goes first. The pro makes a supportive statement in writing. The con reads the statement and then writes a comment against the topic. The process repeats 3-4 times.
Math Talk Have posters, with a topic on each one. Each person has a writing utensil. Not talking. People write something about the topic. When it s done, it s done.
Dyad Each person is given equal time to talk. The listener does not talk, it isn t a conversation. Confidentiality is maintained. Maintain eye contact and good body language.
Fortune Cookie * Choose 5-6 questions and put in an envelope. Each team receives an envelope. One person draws a question, and makes one statement about the topic, then passes it on. The next person adds their own statement or responds to the previous statement. When everyone has responded to the first statement, another person draws from the envelope and repeats the process.
Reciprocal Teaching In pairs, Person A pretends that Person B was absent and explains a concept. Switch roles and continue.
Walk and Talk Students are in pairs. Teacher assigns a topic. Students walk around the classroom (or outside) and discuss the topic. Can also be used with a Dyad format.
Graphic Organizers Graphic organizers can be used for closure at the end of each unit or lesson. They allow students to visualize their newly learned concepts and make connections.
Self Evaluation/Reflections Self Evaluations/ Reflections give students an opportunity to reflect upon their own learning. Example: Think about what you have learned so far about rates and unit rates. What is the difference between a rate and a unit rate? Write a Learning Log entry that explains how to find a rate and a unit rate from a table. How can you compare rates using a graph? How can you find a unit rate from a graph?