A Menu of Consolidation Activities (Building Thinking Classrooms In Mathematics)

As I learned the Building Thinking Classroom Practicesone at a time this year, consolidation was one of the last I implemented.  In part, I saved it for the end because it is near the end ofLiljedahl's recommended order for implementing the practices.

​The other part of the story, however, is that I dragged my feet on it because, for me, it was the most intimidating practice.

Time and experimentation, however, have served me well with this practice.  I usethin-sliced curricular tasks more days than not with my 6th graders, and I've come to rely on a menu of activities during consolidation that I can flexibly sequence to really do the trick.
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1. Share the Learning INtention (Under 1 Minute)

First, I always share the day's learning intention to kick things off.  As we're settling in to consolidate, I simply show a no-frill slide on the screen that says "Today, I want you to learn how to ______________."

And that's it.

This simple statement serves four purposes:

1. It reminds the students that every thinking task I give them is purposeful and has intention
2. It kicks off the sequence of closing activities with a statement of accountability
3. It introduces the mathematical language associated with the completed thinking task
4. It sends the message that your time to begin owning the day's learning for yourself (independent of your group) is beginning.

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2. Success Criteria - Where Does this Fit in The Broader Topic of Study? (2-3 minutes)

I give students a map of "success criteria" for each major topic/unit.  It gives them a quick view of what we'll learn, how it fits together, and what the progression of depth looks like.

During consolidation, I ask students to spend a minute or two with their thinking groups looking over the success criteria and trying to find which ones were covered by the thinking task they just completed.  

I have a full post, including video, about this particular activity.

This activity serves four purposes

1. It reminds the students that every thinking task I give them is purposeful and has intention within the broader unit of study
2. It continues the sequence of closing activities with added accountability
3. It forces students to grapple with the mathematical language associated with the completed thinking task
4. It starts the process of organizing and taking ownership of the "messy," group-based understanding they formed during the thinking task

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3. "Silent Solo" Formative Writing (2-5 minutes)

Next, I typically as students to informally write out what they learned, figured out, or came to understand during the thinking tasks with a 3-minute"Silent Solo" formative writing time.  Formative writing, as I tell the students every single day as they get started, is ​the best way to begin organizing the likely "messy" understanding begun during the thinking tasks into a "neat and tidy" one as well as to begin transferring that understanding from a group-based one to an individual one that they own for themselves.

"Three minutes," I also remind them as they begin writing, "is not nearly enough time to write out all that you learned, but it is all we've got, so I should see you writing for the full three minutes."

The writing here is completely open-ended.  I give them very little guidance except for it should address what you understand from today's thinking task and it should be writing (as opposed to jotting) - complete, well-written sentences.

This activity serves four purposes:

1. It further reminds students that the thinking task had purpose and intention behind it
2. It continues the sequence of accountability-building
3. It give students an opportunity to apply the mathematical vocabulary and conventions - which were not likely used during the thinking tasks - for the first time
4. It continues the process of organizing and owning the learning intention

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4. A "Good Question" (2-5 minutes)

I've found good success lately by asking a "good question" to round out the consolidation.  This question usually gives a bigger picture look at how well the groups came to understand the main point of the task, but without simply asking them to solve another problem.  Some options I've enjoyed, depending on the nature of the task:

• a "reverse" question - here's the answer; what might the question be?.  For example, if we're learning to multiply fractions, I might ask "the product is 1/2.  What two fractions might I have multiplied?"
• a spiciness ranking question (link to explanation, with video examples)
• some type of question that can be answered mentally and through discussion if the concept has been attained well enough

This question gives me one last shot at getting some thinking out of them if I ask it correctly.  It presents a small spin on the learning that hopefully adds a little extra perspective to put a cherry on top of the day's learning.
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5. Vocabulary and Conventions (2-5 minutes)

Last but not least, if there are any new vocabulary words or conventions that we need to add to the day's notes, we add them in consolidation.  I've done a full post on this that has more details.

How Do I choose menu items For the Day?

Ideally, all five of these menu items make it into every day's consolidation.  They all have a role to play and they all fit in just about every lesson, so I have all five planned into my lesson each day.  However, if I'm limited on time I'll make decisions on what to skip.  By the time I get to consolidation, I often have a good feeling for what can be skipped based on how the task went.  If it was highly calculation-based, the Silent Solo isn't as essential as it might be for something more conceptual in nature.  Some lessons don't directly address a success criteria - they lay the groundwork for doing so later.  Some days, all the vocabulary and conventions are repeats, and I can cut a corner there, too.

When the time comes, I usually have a good feeling for what can go if time is short.

Consolidate With Confidence!

Consolidation, for most, is the most intimidating practice in a Thinking Classroom.  Slowly developing this menu and sequence of options has really helped me to gain confidence in doing so.  All of these menu items keep the kids thinking and help them organize and own the learning from the thinking task without my spoon-feeding it to them.  After a long stretch standing up, spread out, and working separately, consolidation offers us a time to come together and sort things out before returning to our own agenda and responsibilities.  It's great - and I dare say I even look forward to it!

What other menu items have you found to be helpful in consolidating?
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