Wagner’s Classroom-Math Missions

Fourth Graders delve into math in many different ways. We

deconstruct new concepts through whole class and partner
discussions, offering various strategies to work through these
new concepts. We also meet in small groups during
workshop time to focus on challenges to move beyond the
lesson of the day, beyond concepts on unit tests, and/or
work on error analysis to understand errors that happen on a
test. This allows for complete understanding of the math
problems, as well as individualized goal setting and
instructions.

One area that the students really enjoy is our Math Mission.
Math Mission occurs during workshop time when I am working
with individuals or small groups. Students have a “mission” to accomplish that includes
a variety of math tasks. For instance, Math Mission 1 focused on reinforcing place value
and securing basic fact fluency through the use of task cards, drill sheets for fluency, a
spiral review packet, and a math project. Students work at their own pace,
accomplishing a specific task before moving on to another
math task. There were two projects offered during Math
Mission 1. Place Value Detective was a large packet of place
value tasks where students solved problems (clues) to discover
certain “crimes” and which character in the project was the
“criminal”. This project required the students to use critical
thinking skills, and solving real world word problems as they
moved through the tasks. The
spiral review worked on place
value requiring students to
write numbers in standard
form, word form, and
expanded form.
Math Mission is an exciting time of day for both students
and myself as it allows for individualized instruction when
the students meet with me, and goal-setting as they
decide the order of the tasks they will accomplish, the
strategies they employ for completing the tasks, and
their sense of achieving their goals. Look for this packet
to come home as students complete their mission, and
move on to Math Mission 2!