Previews

Skills are typically illustrated concretely. Students must understand the specific representations or models to illustrate the skill and the specific thinking they will use as they perform the skill symbolically or mentally. Unfortunately, not all students will be prepared to make the connections they need in order to learn a specific skill with understanding.  It simply takes some students longer to make sense of these new representations and thinking than our traditional curriculum provides.

By using brief two- to three-minute conceptual previews for about two weeks prior to teaching a skill, students are given an extended amount of time to understand and make sense of the thinking needed for that skill.  Each set of Thinking With Numbers materials is accompanied by previews for the thinking strategies used.

The following strategies are part of the Addition/Subtraction materials:

• Counting On
• Counting Back
• Counting Up
• Use Doubles
• Make Ten
• Use Ten

The following strategies are part of the Multiplication/Division materials:

• Repeated Addition
• Use Patterns (Multiplication)
• Split Into Parts
• Repeated Subtraction
• Use Patterns (Division)
• Use Multiplication

Example Preview

“Use Doubles"

Day 1 – Ask students to double each of the numbers up to 15. Some students may need to put counters in egg cartons, for example, 3 in the top row and 3 in the bottom row. Then have them tell how many in all and give the number sentence.

Designate some days as “double day.” Throughout the day, say a double and ask a student to double that number. Appropriate numbers can be selected for each student. Later “doubles plus one (or two) day” can be used to help students learn to double a number and add 1 (or 2).

Note - The Thinking With Numbers materials include 9 more days of previews for this strategy.

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