Action Plan
Planning for Implementation
My goal was to have students play math games for at least ten minutes per day, four days a week. I initially planned a math game for every day in the six-week period, knowing that there would likely be some days where we would run out of time to play a game. Almost all of the games I chose were from my district's 'Everyday Mathematics 4' curriculum, and all games aligned with the concepts students were either currently learning or had previously learned.
Games played during the six-week action research period:
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"Egg Carton Doubles" (Jan. 28)
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"Fishing for 10" (Jan. 29)
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"Penny-Dime Exchange" (Jan. 30)
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"Rolling for 50" (Jan. 30; Feb. 7, 20)
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"Base-10 Exchange" (Feb. 3)
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"Penny-Dime-Dollar Exchange" (Feb. 4, 27; March 2)
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"Roll and Record Doubles" (Feb. 5)
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"Salute!" (Feb. 6, 11, 24, 26)
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"Subtraction Bingo" (Feb. 10)
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"Shaker Addition Top-It" (Feb. 12, 13, 18, 21)
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*Adding Sticks (March 3, 9) (*not an Everyday Math 4 game)
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"Time Match" (March 4, 5, 6, 12)
"Time Match"
"Rolling for 50"
"Penny-Dime Exchange"
Prior to implementation, students worked individually or in small groups with me and my associate to complete three tasks:
1) a pre-test containing various number sense problems;
2) an attitude survey about different areas of math; and
3) individual goal-setting in the area of math.
My associate put together a pre-test containing number sense-related questions and problems. Part 1 of the test covered concepts that we had already learned, and Part 2 contained concepts that we hadn't learned but would cover over the six-week period.
Pre-test
Part 1
Click image to open PDF.
Part 2
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Attitude Survey
I put together this math attitude survey to give students the opportunity to show their feelings about math. I talked through this survey individually with each student, explaining what each part meant and what each face indicated.
For the first and last sections ("Math overall" and "Playing math games"), I explained to students that a smile indicated that they always loved these two activities, a medium face indicated that they sometimes like it and sometimes didn't, and a frown indicated that they never liked the activity.
For all the other sections, I explained to students that a smile meant that they were great at it and could always solve those problems, a medium face indicated that they were okay but needed a little more practice with those problems, and a frown meant that they needed a lot more practice to get better.
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Goal-setting
I worked individually with students to create three "I will" statements related to each student's goals in math. I started by asking each student, "What is one thing you want to get better at in math?", and continued asking until each student had three math goals. I then had each student sign their goal sheet, explaining that their signature meant they would promise to work hard to get better at those three things. I also signed my own name, telling students that my signature meant I would promise to help them to get better at those three things.
My research showed that playing math games allows students the opportunity to practice number sense skills and concepts in an engaging and social way. Students in primary grades still learn primarily through play; utilizing math games allows students to engage in play that is directly connected to their math learning. These math games were developmentally appropriate for students because they were practice for concepts that had already been taught to all students. All of the games were also related to various number sense concepts, providing many opportunities for the students to engage in number sense practices (counting, adding, subtracting, place value, and so on). All of these games also contained manipulatives and/or physical game pieces; research has shown that using manipulatives gives students a concrete way to think about more abstract concepts, such as addition and subtraction. The manipulatives were also extremely important for my six English Language students, because the physical pieces allowed these students to engage in the math concepts even if they didn't have the English vocabulary for talking about the concepts.
Most of our games were played in pairs of two (except "Salute!", which had three players, and "Subtraction Bingo" and Adding Sticks, which were played whole group). I put students into pairs based on observed math ability; I placed the higher students with medium students, and medium students with lower students. This grouping was purposeful to allow students to get the most out of the games, with one student who had slightly higher math ability who could help their lower partner with the concepts in the game when needed.
Students were encouraged to talk about the game with their partner(s) while they played. While students were playing the games, I would walk around and observe students playing. I also asked questions to students to gain insight on their understandings of the math concepts. I took notes on several of these conversations, following the outline on the left. Research has shown that having discussions between student-student and student-teacher allows students to gain a deeper understanding of the skills and concepts being used during the math games. Students are able to learn through discussion with peers, and they are able to learn by thinking of the concepts in different ways when asked explicit questions by teachers.
These conversations allowed me to know if each student: 1) knew how to play the math game correctly; 2) was able to problem-solve and think about the problem in different ways; and 3) understood the math concepts within the game. I kept these notes in a binder to look back and check in with certain students when needed.
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Who, When, Where
Every student who was present in the classroom participated in the math games each day. As previously stated, most games were played in pairs, and I grouped the pairs together based on observed math ability. For "Salute!", I also put the groups of 3 together based on math ability, and for "Subtraction Bingo" and Adding Sticks, all students played together in a whole group.
I planned to play a math game each day; to the right is a calendar of the games that were actually played and the amount of time we played each game. On most days, games were played for around 10-15 minutes. The games were played after that day's regular lesson, or as a station during periodic Math Station days.
Games were generally played in our classroom; occasionally a paraprofessional would take a few of the pairs out to the hallway to play with her to provide extra support as needed.
The Games
Click image above to view as PDF.
Click image above to view as PDF.
Differentiation and Diverse Learning Needs
For students who struggled to understand how to play the game or struggled with the math concepts within the game (such as adding or subtracting), I provided those students with materials that would help them to be successful. These materials included extra manipulatives, a number grid, or a white board slate, depending on the game. I also worked with students who needed more direct teacher support to help them understand how to play the game, as well as played with certain students if needed until they were able to play with a peer. Occasionally a paraprofessional would also play with these students to provide that extra assistance when available.
For students who excelled at the game, I encouraged these students to try to play the game without supports such as number grids or manipulatives to encourage fact fluency. I also encouraged these students to try certain games using double-digit numbers rather than single-digit.
Before implementing my action plan, I knew several of my students would benefit from having an assigned seat to sit at every time they played a math game, such as at my table or at a desk close to my table. These students had previously shown me that they can be easily distracted, so having them sit at specific spots to play games allowed them to focus on the games and stay on task. There were two specific students who had an assigned spot to sit with their partners while playing the games.
Culturally Responsive Teaching
"Base-10 Exchange"
"Egg Carton Doubles"
Collaboration and Stakeholders
During this study, I collaborated with several different stakeholders both in and outside the school. Internally, I collaborated with my grade-level team, the English Language teacher, and my principal. My grade-level team discussed and strategized about the best ways to introduce and play each math game, and we planned our math lessons together each week. I also collaborated with my building's English Language (E.L.) teacher, and we discussed how the games and manipulatives would benefit not only the English language learning students, but all of my students as well. My principal checked in every so often with me to see how my action plan was going and to hear how it aligned with our building's year-long improvement goal, which was also focused on improving math achievement.
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Externally, I collaborated with my cadre associate and university professors. My cadre associate met with me weekly to help me plan and prepare for my study, helping me to create materials, working with students on the pre- and post-tests, and assisting students while playing games. My professors collaborated with me by giving me feedback on my action plan and literature review, which gave me the background I needed to start my study within my classroom. These professors also offered advice and guidance during the implementation process.
My instruction reflected culturally responsive teaching through a variety of practices. First, the very activity of playing math games fosters an equitable and accessible learning environment through the use of manipulatives and play with peers. These materials were available to all students in my classroom, and all students were able to participate in the games regardless of background since we had covered the underlying math content in class.
In addition, playing math games allowed students to show their knowledge in various ways. They showed what they knew through the playing of the game; they talked about what they knew verbally through peer-peer and student-teacher conversations; and some students also showed their knowledge in some games by what they wrote down on a record sheet or a white board slate.