Number Agents

another message here

Well we are two weeks into our formal Number Agency.  I have to say because the time was taken at the beginning of term to really hook children in and build belief that this years Number Agency seems already so much more settled. It is incredible to see how well the children have settled into the flow of agency and the Professor (in puppet form) and Cowgirl Calculation have been excellent additions. Children are already showing an early understanding of subtraction and addition and can identify the villain responsible for any havoc cause...knowing if things are being added or taken away.  I am also noticing their number knowledge and number sense going from strength to strength. A basic sequence looks like this at the moment: 1. Warm up (usually a song or materials based game) 2. Professional development with the professor...at the moment our focus is understanding what the written number actually means (number sense) using patterns and materials 3. Alarm goes off an...

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Something I have learned through this journey is to embrace mess.  Our classroom and the environment around it can look like a tip at times, but the play going on within it is simply amazing.  Something that has come about quite naturally is that children respect each others items.  Not once have I had to remind them about respecting each others work.   With the start of Number Agents this week came a lot of spin off play, totally led by them.  It was awesome to see.   One of our invitations today was to create the farmers farm out of loose parts...they had a lot of fun.  Some stuck at it longer than others, and that is ok.   A play-based environment is such a wonderful way to bring new children into the classroom as well, I don't ever remember visit days being so easy. New friendships abound in our play-based classroom.  It is amazing to watch children's social skills and ability to empathise develop so quickly, just because...

Message From Head Agent

We kicked off the first session with this message... Message from Head Agent. A couple of things I talked to mine about today that I think are important in this approach... 1)This is imaginary, we know that right....but it is still fun eh! 2)Being an agent is like being a superhero, we are not always that superhero...we change into an agent and then we change back :) 3)Our existence is secret from Mrs Allen, she must never know what we are really doing. (they love this...) Sitting in the portal/agency area was our confidential box.  We had a look at the map and the check in and check out system and I used storytelling to get them into agency. They were super excited and this can be a hard balance as they have so much they want to add to the conversation and whilst their imaginings are important we do get sidetracked...so keeping them on track is a priority. There was a little of setting up to do and agency did take us a little longer today, but I think I can get it do...

We have been managing to make the majority of our day play-based.  We do spend a short time on daily six each day, read with children individually and have one 'writing session' per week.  Of course Number Agents also takes up part of our day.  Our play makes the most of outside when the weather permits and we also have a lovely native garden area (or bush as the children call it) where we can play.  Play ranges from kicking balls, scootering, bike riding, water play, deconstructed play which mixes a range of items, teachers,  puppets, shows, sheet huts,  etc etc etc...basically whatever the children decide to direct themselves into.  The other day, they even put on their togs and went running in the rain...fun! We are only five weeks into our term (didn't start till the 7th)  and I already noticing some very positive things. *Happy kids, very happy kids!  I've always prided myself on making school as fun as possible, but now it truly is....

I'm really happy how the last few weeks have gone.  Children are super excited to be in agency and thanks to seesaw I think their parents probably have more of an idea of what they have been talking about :)   So my planning for the first week is done (I only teach three days a week, so that is why there are only three days)   I have no idea how it will go yet, each class is different and this year will be the first year I have used the professor in the form of a puppet.  Usually I go into role as the professor and will be interested to see if the buy in is better or not.  The professor comes in to teach 'required' knowledge or strategy and until I get a gauge on where they are at a little more, I will just work on the basics, which I believe along with a good foundation of number sense are incredibly important.   I will also be using Cowgirl Calculation for the first time to explore the agent talk moves.  I always find this one of th...

This is not the clearest image, but you get the idea.  Last fortnight we spent time hooking in, this was incredibly, out of the world successful😃 This week we have moved onto building belief via the voki and messages on our wall.  During the last phase of hooking in, this photo appeared. Later one we got this message from head agent. We worked on blueprints for our agency (blueprints was a word suggested by one of the children.)  We also came up with a little chant...completely off the cuff!  So cool! The message on the wall changed.  The children were so observant, they noticed the photo and words had changed and one of them even dragged a parent in to read the sign for them...:)   We then received this message. Our agent numbers appeared in a bottle (in our portal area.) With great excitement we got dressed up and had our agency photos taken and added our assigned numbers....their excitement was palpable...it is...

😎 I LOVE NUMBER AGENTS! Number agents is a teaching approach that I developed based on Mantle of the Expert (of which I did the university paper and had used in my class for a few years)  and current maths PLD.  It is an approach that has transformed my teaching and the whole 'feeling' about maths in my classroom, it fits beautifully into my play-based room and there is a very symbiotic relationship.  I wrote the book because I wanted to share this approach with others...after all why should I have all the fun!  Seriously I believe it is good enough to warrant sharing. These are the things I love most about teaching this way: 1)It is fun...absolutely fun!  The drama, play, use of puppets, and encounters with the villains are fun and the look on the 'agents' faces is absolutely priceless. 2)Materials are encouraged and used widely, but they don't need to be expensive.  The materials you and your agents use and prefer are not prescribed by this ...