I ran across this book after attending a virtual session at KCM last spring. I loved the thinking the routines shared by Mr. San Giovanni required of me and how open ended some tasks were.
The book has been on my shelf since last summer. I’ve flipped through it and scanned some of the tasks. Listening to Eric Milou & Steve Leinwand on a Making Math Moments Meaningful podcast, I was reminded of this book.
As I read through it this rainy afternoon, I feel its a quick implement to get kids engaged from the moment they enter class. 5 minutes is ideal: 1 to ponder, 2 to discussion in pairs/triads, 2 to share their reasoning.
It outlines the Five Practices for Orchestrating Productive Discussions from Smith & Stein as a structue in planning for a routine. For those not familar: anticipate, monitor, select, sequence and connect. I know this will often run over 5 minutes for me, but if students are engaged and sharing I feel it will bring value to our classroom.
The routines seem very flexible and you are encouraged to modify and create your own tasks. The tasks and examples shared in the book are great starting points.
I would love to have a colleague to share and reflect with. If you have used these routines, I would be grateful to hear your experiences, bounce some ideas on creating new tasks within each routine.
My intention is to utilize each routine 6-8 times over a 2 week period. This will allow students to become familiar with the structure. I intend to use content themat should not be new, but more review or remind from fall semester. There are 5 routines, so this will take us through spring break, I think.
Please feel free to share ideas or join in the fun!
the radical rational... 