Guided Math Book Study Chapter 8

Thanks for stopping in!  I read this book last summer when I was trying to figure out how to get guided math up and running in my first grade classroom.  It was interesting to reread it again this summer. 

This chapter focuses on assessments. It talks about using assessments to drive your instruction.  This past year I spent much more time getting to know my students mathematically by having conversations with them.  I still used paper and pencil tests, but my interviews gave me a different glimpse at my students' mathematical understandings.

One area that I really focused on was helping my students learn their number combinations.  They each worked on a different number based on a hands-on assessment.   I had some students who were still struggling to learn the combinations to 5 and others who were already working with combinations of 15.   By using counters and talking with the students, I learned a lot more about their misconceptions and working strategies.  Children who I thought were doing well based on their written work, turned out to just be really fast counters!   I have attached the assessment our team used to this post, as well as the sheet I sent home to the parents letting them know what number their child was working on.

How do you think you will use assessments in your math class next year?  I would love to hear your ideas.