Summary of Readings:

Chapin, S. H., O’Connor, C., and Anderson, N. C. (2009). Classroom discussions: Using math talk to help students learn. Sausalito, CA:
Math Solutions. Chapter 9 – Planning Lessons

When planning a lesson teachers need to keep in mind that not all students are going to be at the same level and this needs to be considered to make sure that all students are participating in the lesson and comprehending what is being taught. There are four main components for planning a lesson plan that the chapter talks about. These include identifying the math goals, anticipating questions, asking questions and planning the implementation. Each of these goals all work together to help a math lesson go smoothly in all directions. The chapter discuses what ways there are to form good questions that students are going to respond to and link to what they are learning in math, generating questions that will give students assessment type answers that they will have to think about. The chapter explains many examples that teachers have used and how students respond to help tie in each of the four components for planning a lesson and the benefit that the students and teacher will receive.

Stein, M. K. (2001) Mathematical argumentation: Putting the umph into classroom discussion. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle
School. 7(2), 110‐112.

Some main points of this article include getting students to be interested in classroom discussions and the different ways that that is possible. The classroom needs to have a comfortable setting where all students feel comfortable to participate. The article suggests getting students to take sides on different instructional positions in math and having those discussed in the classroom. This gives students something to think about and participate in with their own thoughts and ideas. The article discusses different ways to make sure that all students are incorporated into the tasks and supplies that are needed to work with some tasks because having those supplies is vital to the outcome of the discussion. Walking around the room and making sure that students are working and participating correctly within the math instruction. Lastly it is important to get students involved and enthusiastic in explaining their thoughts and ideas to other students.

Atkins, S. (1999, January). Listening to students: The power of mathematical conversations. Teaching Children Mathematics, 289‐ 295.

This article is very insightful and sheds light on the different ways that mathematical conversations can take place in a classroom during a math lesson. This article focus’s on student to student interaction during a math conversation verses a teacher to student interaction. A teacher demonstrates how a math conversation takes place within her classroom about cubes and the faces of cubes. She reflects on the way the two different conversations went and what the students were getting out of the conversations. Students were able to help answer each others questions about angles and cubes through conversation. The teacher was in the classroom but the students were doing most of the talking and learning on their own.

Kazemi, E. (1998, March). Discourse that promotes conceptual understanding. Teaching Children Mathematics, 410‐414.

This article is about two teachers who demonstrate two different ways to perform sociomathematical norms in their classrooms. The teachers were explaining mathematical concepts within their classroom and both teachers had the same classroom norms but the outcome of the math discussions were completely different as well as the students interest in math. The classrooms were all different in the way that the students discussed math and how math was incorporated into their own thinking processes. Within the article there are four socimathematical norms that are listed within working in a classroom. These include, explanations of math, errors and exploring wrong answers, mathematical thinking and collaborative work. These four discourses are helpful in working with students and math and getting students to think about math in different ways.