top of page

Key Questions and Comments 
Ms. Watson anticipates the struggles that students will have.  Consider how this extra preparation helps to guide her instruction.

During this lesson, students are circling, drawing, and discussing.  Notice how these strategies help to keep students engaged with the task.

​The teacher mentions the importance of building confidence in her students.  This is fundamental to student learning. Is there an area in your classroom where this might be a need?

The students are using the academic vocabulary in their discussions.  Think about how this expertise helps students to master the new information.

Ms. Watson identifies the challenges on the teacher side of word problems.  What are some of the challenges in your current unit of teaching? Consider how identifying these ahead of time can be beneficial.  

Description of Video

Ms. Watson, fourth grade teacher at Meridian Ranch Elementary, discusses the strategies she uses to guide students through multi-step math problems.  

Timeline

0:26 Teacher discussion of math word problem focus
0:57 Typical student struggles
1:51 Keys to student success
2:20 Teacher guiding students through lesson
3:22 Challenges from the teacher perspective

Topics

Math Word Problems
​Scaffolding Learning

bottom of page