Thanks for the great conversation!!! I'm walking away with some new ways of using using tools that help students facilitate and communicate their thinking. Have a great evening!!! #ElemMathChat

A8: I've also been leaning into AI for great ideas on creative visual lately. Chatty, Gemma, and Magic School are all great! #ElemMathChat

@mnmmath.bsky.social That's so cool! I love those balance pictures. I'm literally using a set of those tomorrow as I workshop with about 25 middle school math teachers ;-) #ElemMathChat

A8: I had the privilege of co-authoring the Seeing the Math You Teach. This book spotlights a plethora of strategies we use to help students get beyond memorizing and remembering. This book is heavy on visuals and light on text. www.corwin.com/books/seeing... #ElemMathChat

@mnmmath.bsky.social I agree - I also want students to learn to sketch their own visuals. That said, I like to include mats for things that students may find more difficult to create from scratch - hundred charts, ten frames, grid paper, geometric figures, etc. #ElemMathChat

A6: There are so many strategies to visualize. If you're looking for a resource to help YOU see various strategies and representations, check out this free resource. It's great for helping PARENTS see the math, too! Math Power (free PDF): tinyurl.com/5xknefzf #ElemMathChat

A7: Side-by-Side Math provides a learning sequence that helps students connect their thinking with physical, visual, symbolic, and verbal representations: tinyurl.com/mrv9y367. #ElemMathChat

A6: That list is quite incomplete - there are so many strategies to visualize. So...if you're looking for a resource to help YOU see various strategies and representations, check out this free resource. It's great for helping PARENTS see the math, too! Math Power (free PDF): tinyurl.com/5xknefzf

A5: I include laminated mats with the manipulatives “tool kits” at each table. Students can use laminated mats OR simply write on a white board/paper. This is especially helpful with representations that are tougher to sketch, such as ten-frames, hundred charts, or decimal grids. #ElemMathChat

A5: I use lots of visual representations while I’m talking with students. I literally walk around with a clipboard and skinny markers so I can sketch a number line, a number bond, or a picture to illustrate as I talk math with the kids. And I invite them to do the same! #ElemMathChat

@mfannie.bsky.social So true - feedback is key to helping students manage precision with visuals that facilitate and/or communicate thinking #ElemMathChat

@mnmmath.bsky.social Yes! Asking questions and really listening can reveal so much. Sometimes our best-made plans fall flat, and they'll let us know if we listen #ElemMathChat

@mnmmath.bsky.social Yes! Asking questions and really listening can reveal so much. Sometimes our best-made plans fall flat, and they'll let us know if we listen

The key words in @mfannie.bsky.social 's last poast were "once they understand them." How do we develop that understanding??? Here's a free resource that many teachers and leaders find useful: Math Power (free PDF): tinyurl.com/5xknefzf #ElemMathChat

A4c: For older learners, let’s help them see how to transfer their thinking from fraction manipulatives, such as pattern blocks, to diagrams, tables, or symbols. #ElemMathChat

A4b: Explicitly helping young learners sketch counters, such as teddy bears, using x’s, circles, or tallies rather than actual pictures of the teddy bear counters is very beneficial. #ElemMathChat

A4a: I find it helpful to explicitly help students create visual representations on white boards side-by-side with a partner who is either using manipulatives or recording with symbols. Check out this Corwin blog post on Side-by-Side Math: tinyurl.com/mrv9y367. #ElemMathChat

Yes!!! And white boards and markers right alongside those manipulatives!!! #ElemMathChat

@anneliserecord.bsky.social - You're so right!! Sometimes other students need to see the visuals, and sometimes we do, too! Check out the new book I wrote with my friends Katie and Chryste...Seeing the Math You Teach Seeing the Math You Teach (NEW book): tinyurl.com/mwk8tj26 #ElemMathChat

A3: I also find that we teachers sometimes need a brush-up on the visuals. Because when WE can see the math, THEY can see the math!!! #ElemMathChat

A3: One issue I find most important to address right away is making sure that students understand the visuals so that they use them organically rather than simply copying what the teacher is doing. This is what Peter Liljedahl refers to as “mimicking", and mimicking is not thinking. #ElemMathChat

As with manipulatives, using visual tools provides two important avenues to thinking: FACILITATING thinking and COMMUNICATING thinking. #ElemMathChat

A2: We’ve known the research about CRA for decades. I’m a HUGE advocate for using manipulatives, and visuals can never replace physical tools. That said, sometimes a quick sketch can help students communicate their thinking and even help facilitate new thinking. #ElemMathChat

@mnmmath.bsky.social - I just taught a 6th-grade BTC lesson today, helping students connect tables, graphs, and equations. It was amazing to see what the students were able to teach themselves using the visuals as supports

A1b: Oh…and let’s remember that virtual manipulatives are also visual representations!!! #ElemMathChat

Hey Annie - I love that your working with the next generation of teachers!!! #ElemMathChat

A1a: The visual I can’t live without include Ten Frame Sketches, Number Bonds, Bar Models (Tape Diagrams), Number Tracks/Number Lines, and Area Models. Of course, I love many others. #ElemMathChat

Hey Ann Elise! Great to see you here!!! Congratulations on that soon-to-be-seen grandbaby!!! #ElemMathChat

I'm Kim from Phoenix, AZ. Today I"m joining in from Honolulu, HI. We had a blast co-teaching BTC lessons in 4 classrooms today!!! #ElemMathChat

I'm Kim, from Phoenix, AZ. Today I'm joining in from a school library in Honolulu, HI. We had a blast co-teaching BTC lessons in 4 classrooms today and then discussing next steps.