Reflections on High Yield Routine: Todays Number

Donna Robertson
3/1/15
I chose Todays Number as the high yield routine to implement in my third
grade classroom and to test out in the other grade spans. I will start with the earliest grade
span, which includes my own grade.
The first implementation was with the number 12. I saw that we would be doing
some work with the word dozen and I wanted to start making the connection between
the number and the term prior to that. I modeled a few ideas I had on the number 12 and
then had them get into their small groups to come up with more ways to represent, model,
show, or tell about the number. I was hoping to see the term dozen on someones math
journal page, but didnt. So during our debrief, I asked if they could think of anything
that could be bought at the grocery store that comes in sets of 12. This seemed to stump
them so I drew an egg carton, and then someone was able to think of eggs coming in a
group called a dozen.
The first day was very successful in that the class was excited and enjoyed talking
over and sharing what they knew about the number. They knew I was circulating among
the groups to find examples to share with the whole class, and it pushed them to keep
thinking. Now, if I dont have a Todays Number posted each day on the board, someone
will ask what it is. I love seeing their enthusiasm to talk over their math thinking in this
way.
In the weeks since our beginning this strategy, I have seen the following happen:
an EL student creating story problems involving the number as the solution, place value

representations, number bonds, arrays, fact families, area models, labeling numbers as
even or odd, and the most amazing was the use of the word prime for the number 11.
And so, as we continue to use this strategy, we are able to refer back to previous
days work and keep building on concepts. I have been very pleased with the success in
my classroom.
I have tried out the strategy with some fifth graders from my school. The level of
discourse was rather low, but I felt the students may have been uncomfortable with the
unusual situation. There was also a general lack of confidence in their own abilities to
represent and/or tell about the number. I gave them the fraction 4/6, thinking that they
may be able to come up with the simplest form. They didnt during their work with each
other, but a few did after I asked a few questions and got out the fraction circles. I saw
some incorrect assumptions, such as thinking that 4/6 and 4.6 were equal. I hope the fifth
grade teacher will want to try this out some more with her math classes. It would be
interesting to see if it brings about more discourse and confidence in those students.
When working with the eighth grade students, I chose the number -5. The small
group I worked with seemed relieved since they said they have been working on integers.
They had number lines, opposite of 5, -5 + 5 = 0, behind the zero, -14 9 = -5, and a
drawing of five cold cubes. They all seemed to have good understanding and
obviously have been using the hot/cold cubes model. I enjoyed listening to their
discussion because they had real confidence in what that number represented.
I was thinking this morning of another routine I would like to implement
with my own class. Their word problem solving skills need boosting. If I dedicate at
least one day a week to giving them a word problem without a question and ask them to

find ways to visually represent the problem in their journals, then we could share the
representations and create a variety of questions which could be solved. I think I will call
the strategy, Whats My Story? Ill let you know how it goes!