Inside the Classroom: Beck Elementary - Jasmine Juneau
Inside the Classroom: Beck Elementary - Jasmine Juneau
Inside the Classroom is a series that will visit Northwest ISD campuses throughout the year and highlight the magical moments that happen between teachers and students each and every day across the entire 234 square miles of NISD.
Inside a welcoming classroom donned with racing-themed decorations from a past unit, Jasmine Juneau’s fifth-grade students are prepping for a game of “Not Carrot Sticks.”
It’s just the second full week of the school year, but district fifth-grade students are already diving deep into their curriculum, and Ms. Juneau’s math class at Beck Elementary is the first stop for NISD’s Inside the Classroom series.
The learning target, “we will explore input-output tables,” is very clearly written on the white board, and Ms. Juneau is prepared to teach her Beck Bulldogs how to “accurately determine and/or use the algebraic expression with a given input-output table.” That may sound daunting, but she has packaged the lesson inside a game of “Not Carrot Sticks” that has the class buzzing.
As students open their notebooks to an input-output table, the picture of a glass jar full of some mysterious items (not carrot sticks) is shown on the monitor in the front of the room. Ms. Juneau asks students what they think is in the jar, but instead of raising their hands, five students immediately stand to indicate they have a guess.
This is one of the most unique aspects of Ms. Juneau’s teaching style. She asks students to stand and talk when called upon instead of raising their hand and speaking from their seat. Ms. Juneau reminds the other students to turn and look at the speaker, giving them their complete attention. The stand and talk method keeps students active, promotes public speaking skills and helps classmates to hear their answers much better.
As the lesson continues, students guess how many of the mystery items are in the glass jar, then they begin to receive clues in the form of algebraic expressions. These clues are used to eliminate numbers from the input-output tables and ultimately leave only the correct guess remaining.
The expressions get progressively more complex with Ms. Juneau reminding students that the challenge is a good thing as “positive struggle helps us grow our brains.”
For each of the seven clues, students work out the problem alone and quietly for about one minute. During this time, Ms. Juneau is constantly walking the room and checking in individually with students.
Then, a bluetooth speaker begins playing music cued up by Ms. Juneau, and this is the signal that it’s time for students to work with a partner and discuss their findings. After a quick partner discussion, Ms. Juneau initiates a class discussion that sees more students stand and talk with their whole class about their findings.
As the seventh clue is revealed, students have an opportunity to make their final guess. Ms. Juneau asks for a drumroll and the students happily oblige. Students find out there are 43 of the mystery items in the jar!
Thirty minutes have passed since “Not Carrot Sticks” began and students have been engaged and cheerful for the entire lesson. They’ve used critical thinking skills while furthering their understanding of algebraic expressions and input-output tables. They have learned and laughed together, and it’s only 8:30 a.m.
Check back regularly all year as we will continue to visit students and teachers throughout Northwest ISD and offer a rarely seen look Inside the Classroom.