Note: If you'd rather skip my rambling free write, go on ahead to the bottom of this post for information about how to access curriculum maps and planning guides for grades K-6 (7-8 are coming soon!).
Since I was a small child, I have been crazy about maps. My parents were some serious outdoor enthusiasts to the tune of multi-week canoeing excursions in parts of Ontario only available to those willing to bump along class four roads for several hours. When Nixon resigned, we didn't hear about it until weeks after the news went viral (before that was even a thing) in the United States. In 1978, my mother wrote the book pictured in this post providing advice for those looking to do extended wandering in the woods with their toddlers. It is long out of print (if you can imagine that...), but highlights two principles that have shaped my outlook in so many ways: the importance of exploring (and savoring!) wild places, but also the need for planning ahead and knowing where you are.
I remember my father meticulously slicking waterproofing over our maps months in advance of a trip. Then he would pour over those maps for hours. On the river, he would keep the maps between his ankles in a watertight cartridge box that he purchased for this purpose from an Army-Navy store in Boston. Although we kept the maps close by, we didn't look them over constantly. We didn't need to- my parents had studied them enough to have a feel for how the river progressed through the terrain. And we couldn't - we had to keep our attention on aspects of river that can never be mapped: the mainflow, the chutes, the swirling eddies that hint at a rock just below the surface. There are two viewpoints: one at the water level and another at the map level. Good navigation requires shifting focus between the two levels fluidly at just the right time.
Recently, I had a conversation with Lisa (a sixth grade teacher with whom I am lucky to work) about this balance between the water view and the map view when solving math tasks. She told me about one of her students. The girl was madly (in a good way) solving a problem at the water level and paused with a puzzled expression. She told Lisa that she couldn't remember where she was. Lisa pulled out her figurative map... "What did you just do? So what was the problem all about? What was your plan? What did you do first? Why? And then what?"
We both agreed that it's important for students to have a sense of adventure, to explore the wilds of math. Yet, it's also important to be able to pull back, pause their progress to reflect, to get the picture of where they are, where they've been and where they're going.
I shared with Lisa how overwhelmed I was at the zoo in Washington DC last April vacation with the heat and the herds of strollers. Just when I thought I would go mad (in a bad way), I would hit an intersection punctuated with a sign line this one:
I shared with Lisa how overwhelmed I was at the zoo in Washington DC last April vacation with the heat and the herds of strollers. Just when I thought I would go mad (in a bad way), I would hit an intersection punctuated with a sign line this one:
And aaaaah. I could regroup, reflect and return to exploring. The river rolled on. I think graphic organizers like this one can be so good for facilitating these pauses during problem solving.
As math teachers, we need a balance between the water view and the map view, too. We also need to reflect, to shift our focus between the two perspectives. I have been hearing from teachers that they would appreciate some help with their navigation. I've been working like mad (in a good way) over the last few weeks to make some curriculum maps that (I hope) will help. The idea is to make a document that balances the two views.
Okay, enough rambling! On to the real news...
To access the WCSU Curriculum Map and Planning Guide for your grade level, go to the respective tab on this blog and click on the second link under planning (see below).
Enjoy the journey.
