I Just Know It!

"I just know it" are words that no mathematician would ever utter. No, instead mathematicians must provide proof of their conjectures and generalizations about their math ideas that convince their peers they are correct. Mathematicians do this by having clear representations and multiple pathways to solutions, not just by being "good at math." In our classroom math is the authority, not status.

 Your fourth grade mathematicians are being asked to think critically about strategies for multi-digit addition and subtraction during this unit. They have shown different strategies for dealing with these types of problems and have discussed how some solutions are more efficient for certain problems. For example, we had a great debate about how you would solve 999+1,765. "Why would you go through all of the hassle to do the standard algorithm (regrouping) way?! It is SO much more efficient to just add 1 to 999 and take 1 from 1,765!"

This type of conceptual understanding of numbers and how they work is essential to developing into strong mathematicians. We must be able to think flexibly about how numbers work in order to find strategies that help us to be accurate and efficient. Then we need to be able to communicate, discuss, and represent those ideas to our fellow learners.

The kids know that I  love teaching math because everyday my mind is genuinely blown by the way that we can think differently about these concepts. I have told them my woes of workbook pages and procedures that I never understood when I was in elementary school and they remind me everyday that we never stop learning!