“It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
I was working with a school a few weeks ago as we planned for the remainder of the year. The things we identified, at the beginning of the planning process, were the most challenging topics or concepts that the teachers were going to teach in mathematics. The concept that appeared on every grade level’s list was problem solving. Especially challenging was making a decision about which strategy or operation to use.
I have to admit…when I was a student I didn’t really care for word problems. It’s not that I didn’t know how to calculate elapsed time. I just didn’t care when Mr. Jones would arrive at his house if he left the airport 3 hours earlier and drove 55 miles an hour. When my students rolled their eyes at the problems they were required to solve I wanted to roll my eyes, too!
One of things I do to decrease the number of eye-rolling exercises for my students is give them problems that are fun and engaging. I try to do this at least once a week—especially during test season. It keeps the thinking energy at a higher level!
My favorite is “The Balloon Building Task.”
Have a camera ready. Then, give this task to your students and watch what happens. After observing the results from the first balloon tower building, have your students reflect with their group and create a better plan based on their observations of all of the Balloon Towers. Give the task to them a few days later. You’ll be amazed at their application of what they’ve learned from experimentation, meaningful problem solving, and decision making that is done in a systematic way. Be careful! You just might become addicted to the thinking energy in your room!
Note: This is a great task to do with a faculty. The laughter and the team building that occurs will be worth the $5 an administrator, or staff developer, spends on balloons and tape!
“We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run over.” -Aneurin Bevan