Math Journal

In my math group students often use their journals to work through and show math solutions. I base many of the problems we use on  Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) . CGI is a process developed by Elizabeth Fennema, Thomas Carpenter, Penelope Peterson, and Megan Franke and outlined in their book Children's Mathematics: Cognitively Guided Instruction.

It works to build on the math knowledge that students have. A part of the process is for students to solve a variety of types of problems using strategies that make sense to them: modeling and manipulatives, counting strategies, and combining numbers in different ways. Students work to communicate these strategies in their journals. We then share strategies together, so students can learn from their classmates’ process. 

I often work to use the students' names in the problems we solve. That adds to their enjoyment of the process. For some the problems are challenging, and they work hard to come up with their solutions and record them. Other times students easily come up with answers in their heads. Then the challenge is to understand the process they used and represent it in their journals.