Week 2: Sharing During Mathematician's Chair

Week 2 will focus on helping kids feel comfortable sharing in Mathematician’s Chair. In the first few weeks of school, kids are still very shy. It’s hard to get them to share about what they did the previous night, much less share about a math problem they just solved. So I have chosen problems that are fairly easy, although the answer may not be obvious. There may also be more than one answer, which will encourage lots of discussion.



Start by reading the problem to the children. Let them work individually or in small groups to solve it. If the answer requires writing, encourage them to use “kindergarten” (phonetic) spelling. It may not be pretty (or even decipherable) at this point in the year, so expect to go around and do a lot of dictation. It is more important, right now, for kids to be able to talk (than write) about their solutions.

When most of the children have completed their solutions, bring them to Mathematician's Chair to share/discuss their answers. (See tips here.)

Day 1

You will be amazed with the variety of answers kids will come up with for this question. Of course, there is The fish--because it lives in the water. But then again, it might be The cat--because it can't swim. Or The fish--because it doesn't have legs. Or The cat--because the dog will chase the cat and the cat will eat the fish, but the dog and the fish will get along just fine!

Day 2

Seems simple--3 tails, 3 cats, right? But wait--maybe it's 10 cats, but only 3 are sticking out their tails. Or maybe its Zero cats--there are puppies in the box. Here's a great question for Mathematician's Chair: Can there be just 2 cats in the box?

Day 3

Again--let them come up with creative answers, as long as they can explain their thinking...
Is it a dog? Cat? Elephant?

Day 4

I actually have a box that I hide things in. I give the kids clues and see if they can guess what is hidden inside. You can change the object and clues. The answer is a button, but one year, some guessed: An apple with worm holes. This is a great way to start working with attributes.

Day 5

Again--there are multiple answers to this problem. Let the kids explain why their answer is the best answer. This introduces TEK K.2A Use language such as, including before or after, to describe relative position in a sequence of events or objects.