Equity and Access Through Counting Collections in Grades 3-5

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Holiday Inn Portland, Multnomah Room, Lower level

Young mathematicians are motivated by the challenge of organizing, counting, and representing collections. This session introduces counting collection trajectories, formative assessment tools that allow elementary teachers to understand and advance student thinking in grades 3-5. Participant Learning: Participants will learn the benefits of counting collections, deepen their understanding of the progression of students’ counting development, and explore ways to assess and advance student thinking using counting collections. Participants will engage in counting collections from the perspective of a student. Then, as teachers, they will discuss the many benefits of students counting a collection. Participants will also spend time examining the counting stages through which students progress as they develop number concepts and become skilled in the use of increasingly sophisticated counting strategies. Finally, participants will distinguish between questions that assess learning and questions that advance learning, and how each question type is useful to move student thinking and understanding forward.