So What Do Teachers Do On a PA Day???

Professional Activities Days are an opportunity for teachers to extend their own professional learning and this past Friday, our focus was on MATH!  As 21st century learners, today's students face a quickly changing world and their learning should reflect the skills and competencies that will be essential in the future. We need to teach them how to THINK and be PROBLEM SOLVERS, not just be rote learners. We as teachers have an important role in giving students the opportunities needed to become patient problem solvers. However, math class will look very different if this is our focus-- it will need a makeover.

The Ontario Ministry of Education has developed a renewed math strategy. If you are interested in learning more about the strategies and focus, please follow the link at the bottom of the page.  SCDSB has created a Math Action Plan to complement this initiative. 

As part of this Math Action Plan, the Board has established the following teaching and learning goal:

If we, as a community of learners, have daily opportunities to solve problems, supported by technology en​​abled learning environments, essential practices and learning skills, then we will demonstrate creativity, critical thinking ​and conceptual understanding in learning and life.

As teachers, we discussed this goal, what the implications are for our classrooms and participated in a variety of math activities which model the creativity and critical thinking that we hope to develop in our students. The activity below is an example of a problem solving activity that challenged us to solve a problem, demonstrating creativity and critical thinking skills.

Paper Folding Activity

For each part of the problem, start with a square sheet of paper (or a square sticky note) and make folds to construct a new shape.

1. Construct a square with exactly ¼ the area of the original square. Convince yourself that it is a square and has ¼ of the area.
2. Construct a triangle with exactly ¼ the area of the original square. Convince yourself that it has ¼ of the area.
3. Construct another triangle, also with ¼ the area, that is not congruent to the first one you constructed. Convince yourself that it has ¼ of the area.
4. Construct a square with exactly ½ the area of the original square. Convince yourself that it is a square and has ½ of the area.
5. Construct another square, also with ½ the area, that is oriented differently from the one you constructed in 4. Convince yourself that it has ½ of the area.

As our year in Grade 5 progresses, we hope that your child will not only come home excited about what he/she is learning, but also about how he/she is learning it!

 Ontario Renewed Math Strategy