My students need to have a document camera so that they are better able to share their thinking as they continue to develop their mathematical literacy through show and tell.
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
Show and Tell has been known for oral language development for the early primary grades. Well, what about Show and Tell to build mathematical literacy? I teach 4th grade mathematics to regular and special needs students that are in one class. My students come from a low socioeconomic community. Many are from single parent homes and/or homes where the adults have a limited education. These children do not get the opportunity to get involved in situations at home that build mathematical literacy. Most of my children have caregivers that have limited mathematical skills and knowledge and, as a result, the only mathematical conversations that they have are in the classroom, where it is my ultimate goal to improve upon their mathematical literacy through Show and Tell.
We do a lot of problem solving using drawings and manipulatives. In addition, my students are required to show ALL of their work. My problem solving activities also require the students to explain their thinking to me and their classmates. During the process, I find students doing some extraordinary thinking when challenged and probed, and I'd like for them to share it with the entire class. This does not work the way I would like because they either only show and tell to a few students (their table partners) or they have to rewrite it on the overhead which can be time consuming and, as a result, they become a little discouraged because they had to rewrite it so that everyone can see it and they wind up losing a lot of what they told me earlier regarding the thinking behind their solution. The process of Show and Tell not only works with problem solving but also with solving mathematical equations in general. When students see how their classmates have solved a problem it opens up doors for them to think differently, "out of the box." This is especially true for my struggling students.
A document camera would work perfectly for building mathematical literacy through Show and Tell. It would allow for students to show their original document using the document camera (without having to rewrite it) and focus on explaining their thinking. The document camera would save time and allow for MORE students to share with the WHOLE class at one time versus just a few. The whole idea behind Show and Tell in mathematics is to expose students to different ways of thinking and to realize that there is more than one way to arrive at a solution in mathematics, and as a result, their mathematical literacy is being further developed. The document camera can make it happen.
You will make it possible for every one of my students to improve upon their mathematical literacy through Show and Tell. In the long run, Show and Tell will improve upon their ability to think in general.
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