Little Minds Big Thinkers 71. Peter and Pam
Oct 31, 2025
The discussion kicks off with high levels of student engagement through unique problem routines. Listeners hear about innovative counting strategies that make math more fun and efficient for students. A fascinating classroom exchange highlights a student's reasoning about numbers. The conversation dives into Pam Harris's impactful problem strings, which are used frequently to enhance numeracy skills. The blending of different instructional approaches sparks creativity, emphasizing the value of mixing methods for a richer learning experience.
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Classroom Beads Moment
- Tammy describes a classroom moment where 19 students signaled thinking with thumbs and solved a bead problem together.
- She narrates a student's use of 'one less than 10' to get nine and models sliding the bead to show 10 − 1 = 9.
Keep Valuable Routines
- Tammy urges teachers to keep useful routines alongside Building Thinking Classrooms instead of rejecting them.
- She lists routines like counting collections, choral counting, estimation, and Which One Doesn't Belong as practices worth keeping.
Add Problem Strings Regularly
- Tammy explains she intentionally made space for Pam Harris's problem strings in her routine four days a week.
- She uses Pam Harris's First Grade Numeracy Problem Strings as a guide alongside thinking boards to strengthen students' reasoning.
