3-Read Friday #007

Time, planning, and mathematical literacy

Here are three blog posts that I found interesting this week.

1. I haven’t got time by Paul Cline

Wow, this is a powerful post that addresses head-on one of the most common complaints a teacher has: they don’t have enough time. They don’t have enough time to do a proper prior knowledge check, co-construct another example before independent practice, or fully engage students in their feedback. Paul makes a compelling argument that spending more time on things like these will save teachers more time in the long term.

2. Filling the Planning Gap by Pete Foster

There’s loads of great stuff in Pete’s blog about improving lesson planning, but two things really stood out to me. The first is the illustration of Doug Lemov’s concept of ratio, complete with some common classroom practices. The second is the idea of extending the We Do part of a worked example to ensure all students are at the point where they are ready to engage and thrive with independent practice.

3. Mathematical Literacy & Communication by Amie Meek

This blog opens with a startling finding: weak readers struggle more in maths exams than in their English Literature exams. Amie and Emma go on to share some great strategies for improving students’ ability to understand and communicate in maths - regular use of choral response has been a big change in my practice as of late. There is a nice link with Paul’s blog above: these strategies take more time in the moment, but should save lots of time in the long run.

If you found this edition of 3-Read Friday useful, feel free to share it with colleagues. Also, you can check out all the back issues of my Eedi newsletter and Tips for Teachers newsletter here. But, most importantly of all, have a great weekend.

Craig