CAY-ENNE YOU DO IT? “SPICY” MATH CHALLENGES IN KINDERGARTEN
Kindergarten mathematicians are deep in their learning about subtraction, flexing their counting, grouping, and numeral writing skills to play games, solve problems, write number sentences and tell stories about “taking away.” In whole group discussion we define subtraction and discuss how it’s similar to and different from addition. Students share their math thinking and strategies, including a wide range of approaches, like counting up, using fingers, using manipulatives, using a ten frame, and thinking about the problem in terms of number pairs they already know. To stretch their math challenge, teachers also present some “spicy math” station work, introducing games and problems that are more complex, take longer to solve, and that build on students’ prior knowledge to practice their Math Process Skills.
In one recent Spicy Math problem, students in a small group worked on the following: A kid has a costume bin at home. In it they have big ears, monster horns, or a mask they can wear on top. In the middle they can wear a cape or a special belt. On the bottom they can wear boots or fancy shoes. How many different costume combinations can they make? Using small picture cards to show each element, students worked in pairs to make a prediction, then to make combinations. Teachers support by documenting their combinations pictorially, numbering each combination for later reference. Students work together to build new costumes, checking their ideas against the pictorial list of costumes already documented, and then strategizing to make a unique costume. Puzzles like this are highly engaging for students, and focus their math learning on Math Process Skills, like seeking patterns, making predictions, persevering with novel problems, visualizing their math thinking, and understanding and talking about the reasoning of others.