GCF (greatest common factor) and spending ‘too much time’ on math topics. These are the middle school math ideas I’m thinking about today.
There were times during the school year when I’d think I had spend too much time on a math topicβ¦.not because the kids seemed bored with it or anything like that, but because I had to get so many concepts covered that I was afraid Iβd run out of time (I’m sure you know the feeling!).
So, spending more time than I was βsupposed toβ occasionally stressed me out.Β But most of the time, I was glad I spent so much time on some concepts, even though I appeared to be βbehindβ when talking with other teachers about where we were in the curriculum.
- When I say that I spent more time, itβs not that I made the students do worksheet after worksheet; instead, we’d practice/interact with the same skills in several different ways.
For example, before a holiday break one year, we worked on finding GCF (greatest common factor). Prior to 6th grade, most of the students had only been taught one method to find GCF: listing out the factors.
- When I taught GCF, I also taught students the prime factorization method and the ladder method (you may already know that I LOVE the ladder method, for most sets of numbers:-).
So, we worked on finding GCF, and then we had the holiday break.
Day 1 of GCF Review
1)Β Partner up (using the equivalent expressionsΒ partnering cardsΒ for extra reinforcement of that concept!) and
2) Write short paragraphs to explain each method (and include their own examples).
- That activity took most of the math class (after our warm up and reviewingβ¦.only a 40 minute class).Β
Day 2 of GCF Review
- listΒ factors
- findΒ GCF of given numbers
- solve quite a few GCF word problemsΒ
The students in the first class period didnβt even get half-way through the task cards, and I started thinking, βOh, no, now we have to use another day to finish this tomorrowβ¦or maybe we shouldnβt finish, we should just move on.β
BUT, as I listened to my studentsβ discussions, class after class, I decided that weΒ definitelyΒ needed to finish the next day.
And I definitely needed to continue to spend the same amount of time on topics that I had been spending, in all the different ways I employed, because what I heard from observing students confirmedΒ that spending this time is what’s best for them. I heard:
- Quality math discussionsΒ
- Students giving math advice to each other
- Students finding factors of larger numbers by testing divisibility rules (without me advising them to!)
- Students usingΒ different methods to confirm answers
- Students helping one another by pointing out one anotherβs mistakes (politely) β which means they can identify mistakes in work!Β
I was so impressed with several things I observed during these days:
- Students’ ability to communicate about how to complete a problem
- Students’ ability to communicate disagreement with aΒ Β partner
- Students turningΒ to each other for help and trulyΒ tryingΒ to figure out the answer before asking me
- An increased use of math language!
I loved to walk around and listen to my students. I had my students work in partners and groups quite often throughout our studies of various math topics, and their discussionsΒ continually improved throughout the year, as did their collaborative thinking skills.
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Was the extra time I spent on GCF and other math topics worth it? Absolutely!
GCF Task Cards
βGCF & Factors Footloose Task Cards