In this elementary-focused session, participants will explore how coherence in mathematics emerges through intentional connections among addition and subtraction problem types. Educators will examine common word problem structures—such as joining, separating, part-part-whole, and comparison—and how these problem types develop across grade levels. Using the progression outlined in the TEKS, participants will analyze how learning builds over time and how connecting new problem types to students’ prior experiences supports deeper understanding. The session will highlight models and representations that support student reasoning and help teachers plan instruction that tells a connected, meaningful story of addition and subtraction.
This session focuses on how problem-solving routines can strengthen student sense-making, communication, and perseverance in mathematics. Participants will experience and practice pairing Read-Draw-Write with routines such as Three Reads and numberless word problems to support students in making sense of problem situations before focusing on computation. Emphasis will be placed on how these routines help students slow down, attend to meaning, and use representations to articulate and refine their thinking. Participants will explore how consistent use of these paired routines supports students in persisting through challenging tasks while deepening conceptual understanding. Teachers will leave with practical strategies for embedding these routines into daily instruction to make student thinking visible and support meaningful mathematical reasoning.
Building Thinking Classrooms using engaging thinking tasks provides teachers the tools to construct a collaborative thinking culture in the classroom. At the start, beginning tasks are non-curricular and encourage the students to develop a culture of collaborative thinking. When later tasks become curricular, the students have developed a collaborative way of thinking so that everyone works together to solve problems.
