Increase Student Engagement by Using Picture Books to Launch the Notice & Wonder Routine
The Problem
How do you respond to your students when they say that math (outside of arithmetic) isn’t important. Or they ask, “When am I ever going to use this?” Do you tell them that they need it to do well on the ACT/SAT to get into college? Or do you use that as an opportunity to spark their imaginations?
Unleashing Wonder
Look at the image below. Pause and take a moment to study it. What do you notice? What do you wonder?
Did taking the time to pause, notice, and wonder about the photo change your perspective or mood? As adults (like our teens) we get accustomed to the world around us and often overlook the beauty and wonder of it. Yet if you’ve ever been with a toddler, they stop at everything and wonder. They ask questions. They are curious. They want to know more. They want to stop and study their newly found treasure. Whereas we, as adults, just let the world pass without even noticing it—even more so in the age of smart phones.
Reignite your student’s curiosity and created excited learners by retraining them to be like toddlers. Encourage them to pause and wonder. Then use that as your hook to talk about math. Math is all around us if we just take the time to look. One of the best ways to ignite that spark in the classroom is to implement the Notice and Wonder Routine. This is one of the easiest routines to add to your classroom, and it brings such great results as it increases student engagement and trains students to actually pause and think about what they are doing.
Launching the Notice and Wonder Routine
As a teacher I loved integrating picture books in my classroom. However, it was always hard to find a good tie-in, so one of the purposes of my blog is to give you ideas on how to integrate picture books in your math classroom. 😊 If you want more great lesson ideas, subscribe to my blog!
A great book to introduce the Notice and Wonder Routine is Noticing by Kobi Yamada. You may even have the kids sit in a circle on carpet squares. Even my high schoolers loved doing this as it hearkened back to their easy preschool days.
Noticing by Kobi Yamada
Pre-Reading
Have the students look at the cover. Ask them questions such as the following: What do they notice? What do they wonder? What do they think the book is going to be about?
Reading
Stop on the following spreads and discuss the book as a class.
Spread 3
In the book the woman said, “I like to think of myself as more of a noticer really.” Why did the woman define herself as a painter instead of a noticer?
Spread 7
Discuss the quote: “’The more you pause and allow for the extraordinary,’ the painter explained, ‘the more you find it.’”
Ask students the following questions:
- Have you ever looked around and noticed something extraordinary. Share some examples.
- Why do you need to pause in order to see the extraordinary?
Spread 8
After reading the spread, ask your students questions like the following:
- Does anyone have an idea of what you want to study in college or what you want to be when you grow up?
- How would a [insert your career choice] notice about the mountain?
- What would a mathematician or an engineer notice about the mountain?
Spread 9
Ask your students the following questions:
- Why did the protagonist wonder what she wasn’t noticing or what she was missing?
- How can you do a better job noticing other people?
- How can you do a better job noticing the world around you?
Spread 12
Ask your students the following questions:
- Why is it important to notice other people?
- How could noticing other people improve our class culture?
Spread 15
Discuss the following: Is there any room for imagination in mathematics? Explain.
Spread 17
Discuss the following:
- Do you agree or disagree with the author when she states, “one of the best things you can be is interested?” Explain your reasoning.
- What are practical ways to be more interested and curious about the world around you? What are practical ways to be more interested and curious in math class?
- Is there anything I as teacher need to change to allow for more curiosity in class? Please write it down as an exit slip. Make sure you are respectful and constructive.
Post-reading
Discuss the following questions with your students:
- On spread 2 the painter says that questions, what-ifs, and the why-nots make a day exceptional. Do you agree or disagree and why?
- On spread 3, are there other careers besides painters where noticing is important? What about in math class, is noticing important?
Introduce the Routine
Now it’s time to connect this routine to mathematics. Use a picture, a story problem, a 3-act task, or a numberless word problem, and have students implement the Noticing and Wondering Routine. After implementing the routine, have students restate the problem in their own words. If there is no question stated in the problem, have students formulate one (extremely useful for statistics lessons). If there is a question stated in the problem, have students decide which information is important, and have them come up with some strategies to begin problem solving. You may also want to draw attention to any patterns that are evident.
Resources
Here are links to some “Noticing and Wondering” routines, which you can also find on my Teacher Routines page.
- The Math Forum at NCTM’s Beginning to Problem Solve with “I Notice, I Wonder”
- Erikson Early Math Institute Early Math Collaborative’s Notice and Wonder
- Beetle’s at the Lawrence Hall of Science’s I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of
- Institute for Arts Integration and Steam’s See Think Wonder Routine
- See, Think, Wonder Chart
- Universal Publishing’s Notice and Wonder Chart
Standards Connection
The Noticing & Wondering Routine is a great tool for implementing the following Standards of Mathematical Practice:
- S.MP.1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
- S.MP.7: Look for and make use of structure.
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Comment
What is one thing that you notice about the world today? What is one thing that you wonder? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
