Category: Clothesline Math

Clothesline Math and the Power of Discourse

January 30, 2018

I want to share with you a video that shows the raw power of using Clothesline Math in your classroom to promote student to student discourse. I share this video because I want you to see how clothesline activities generate student to student discourse and promote student thinking and math development. And I want you to feel empowered to use this tool in your classroom. And I invite you to share what you learn in your elementary, middle, or high school classrooms.

Clothesline Math Fun 2 (6th Grade)

March 7, 2017

This write-up is about my experiences in three 6th grade classrooms using the clothesline to encourage students to develop strategies on how to solve equations and reason about the value of expressions. We addressed many of the 6.EE standards. However, this particular lesson pathway is appropriate for 6th-9th grade students depending on their learning needs.

Clothesline Math Fun 1 (4th Grade)

February 24, 2017

The clothesline is a simple low-tech visual and effective manipulative at fostering student engagement, using student arguments and reasoning to structure classroom discourse, exposing student misconceptions, and helping students attend to precision.

Clothesline math activities are fun for teachers and students! I encourage you to try them out for yourself. To help guide your thinking, I’m writing up what I’ve learned from my experiences using the clothesline as the backbone of some lesson inquiries I’ve conducted. This write-up is about my experiences in 4th grade classrooms using the clothesline to encourage students to develop strategies on how to plot and compare values of fractions on a number line (4.NF.1, 4.NF.2). However, this lesson particular pathway is appropriate for 4th-9th grade students depending on their learning needs.