- • Wonder Gove: Work Together as a Team. Have students look for ways the • Wonder Gove: Work Together as a Team. Have students look for ways the students work together during the video.

- • video, say: Maria had trouble building a tower. Talk to your partners • video, say: Maria had trouble building a tower. Talk to your partners about ways the friends work together to help Maria. Remember, when walk talk to our partners, we sit “knees to knees.” Then, we decide who shares first. I say something, then my partner says something. We keep taking turns until the teacher gives a signal. (Model with a student if needed).

knees to knees

- • students share their ideas with the class. As students • students share their ideas with the class. As students share, generate a “Math partners…” chart (see right). This chart may be displayed and added to throughout the school year.

Math partners… • listen • take turns • talk quietly • explain their thinking • are helpful. • encourage each other

Sample Chart: Only record items students share.

- 2. Introduce today’s task.
- • introducing today’s math task, arrange students in pairs. • introducing today’s math task, arrange students in pairs. Distribute blocks and/or multi-link pop cubes. Allow 2-3 minutes of free exploration time.
- • students are busy exploring, build a block tower that is taller • students are busy exploring, build a block tower that is taller than a drink bottle/cup.
- • students back together (away from the blocks). • students back together (away from the blocks).
- • task. Say: Today’s math task is partners will work together to build block • task. Say: Today’s math task is partners will work together to build block towers, just like Maria did with her friends.
- • Look at my tower I’ve made (place drink bottle/cup beside it). How does my tower • Look at my tower I’ve made (place drink bottle/cup beside it). How does my tower compare to this drink bottle/cup (i.e., bigger/smaller/taller/shorter)? Turn and talk with your partner.
- • challenge is to build towers taller than this drink bottle/cup but shorter than this • challenge is to build towers taller than this drink bottle/cup but shorter than this cereal box. As you work, be sure to remember the things mathematicians do when they work together.

### Explore:

- 3. Allow 8-10 minutes for partners to build their towers. This exploration time is useful for observing and collecting formative data on students’ current level of understanding. If students are productively grappling, walk around asking questions to elicit thinking (see chart). If the class shows unproductive frustration, pull students back together. Redirect the entire class by asking questions to elicit thinking.

Observation	Questions to Ask
They are each building their own tower, rather than working together.	Students may not have had previous experiences working with partners, and need help getting started. How many towers did Maria and her friends build when they • were working together? What can you do to start building one tower together (take turns • adding blocks)?
Partners are disagreeing or one is doing all the work.	Refer to the “Math partners” chart. What is one thing you and your partner can do so that both of you • are building the tower (take turns adding blocks, talk about where the blocks should go, etc.)?

NC DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION FIRST GRADE