First Grade #anyqs Cookie Eating Contest

This morning I got asked by one of the first grade teachers in my building if I would be willing to come into her classroom and teach a math lesson.  After hearing me talk about the need to step away from our textbooks, have more math discussion, and encourage students to develop the questions, she wanted to see what that would look like in first grade.  Of course, I happily accepted.

Immediately I started brainstorming how I could put together an #anyqs type video that was simple enough to bring about first grade discussion on addition and subtraction.  It's not often that I get the chance to work with our younger elementary students in the classroom.  The last time was over 10 years ago.  I don't remember much about that lesson on measurement other than making one student cry when I told him to stop sticking his measuring tape up his nose.

I enlisted the help of my wife, son, and daughter.  My wife held the video camera and let us borrow two plates of cookies that she baked for her high-school science classes. (We did eat a few of them before giving them back, but it was for a good cause.)  My kids played starring roles.

Here's what I came up with:

I'll pause it a few times during the lesson to see if we can get some good mathematical discussion going.

Let me know what you think.  Any changes you'd suggest?  I've done a ton of this type of lesson w/ my fifth graders before, but this is my first shot at doing it in the primary grades.

Math Inspiration from No-hitter Graphic

As a lifelong Mets fan, Johan Santana's no hitter on Friday night was awesome.

Finding this graphic in my Google Reader account from metsblog.com this morning was pretty cool, too.  

Source:  Metsblog.com

If you haven't seen Dan Meyer's 101 Questions Blog, it's worth checking out.  It's filled with examples of short videos, pictures, and other graphics produced by math teachers with the hope of sparking student questions which lead to great learning (Check out hashtags #101qs and #anyqs on Twitter).  For more information on this type of math pedagogy, check out Dan's dy/dan blog.  

This graphic immediately made me think of mathematical questions like "What's the probability that the Mets will get another no-hitter this season?" and "What is the percentage of games with a no-hitter the Mets have now in their history?"  I wonder if my students will have a similar reaction.  I guess I'll find out Monday when I show it to them.