1. K-2 Breakout/ Session 3
Parallel Tasks

2. Minds-On TPS – choose one:
1. Show how you would share your grilled cheese sandwich with one other person, OR
2. Show how you would share your grilled cheese sandwich with 3 other people.
Whole group sharing
Make grilled cheese cutouts

3. On-going assessment
With a partner, tell how you would respond to a colleague who says:
You can’t use parallel tasks since you have to stick to the curriculum expectations.

4. Assessment of Learning
What role might parallel tasks play in assessment of learning situations?
Thinking or communication would be assessable using parallel tasks
“Freeing kids up from problem-y things and focusing on communication”

5. Example 1 – Grade 2/3
More parts, more conditions

6. Anticipating problems
What obstacles might students experience in solving this?
This thinking needs to happen before the students tackle the task
Scaffolding – means something different in literacy; just ask a little question

7. Example 1 Common Questions: Could your number have been 3? 4?
How did you decide what numbers to try?
How did you solve the problem?
Would there have been more answers if we hadn’t limited the number of markers?
How would you find them?
Common questions are designed to debrief the problem

8. Example 1 Scaffolding Questions:
Here are some markers. How would you show that there is 1 [or are 2] left over when you make groups of 3?
How do you know there were more than 4 counters?
Having those questions in your back pocket is the key
A lot of scaffolding that happens is you do most of the thinking and the kids fill in the blanks

9. Revisit plenary task of common questions and scaffolding questions

10. Action: Consider the following tasks
Choice 1: Jelly Bean Counting Contest.
You've won! You guessed the closest number to the number of jelly beans: 63. How will you count the jelly beans to make sure the number is right?
Choice 2: Your school is collecting pennies for donations to the food bank. You look in your mom's wallet. She says there are 25 pennies. How will you count them to make sure she is right?
Big Idea:
BI 2 Classifying numbers or numerical relationships provides information about the characteristics of the numbers or the relationship.
B3 There are many equivalent representations for a number or numerical relationship. Each representation may emphasize something different about that number or relationship.

11. Questions Are they parallel tasks? Explain.
To which Big Ideas are they connected?
In grade one, which curriculum expectations would be reflected in this activity?

12. Counted by 1s

13. Making tens

14. Counting by 5s

15. Making tens to 63 -
From ten frames to towers

16. Action continued… Instead of: Use blocks to show the number 15
Try these:
Option 1- Choose a number between 1 and 10. Show that number with more than one group.
Option 2- Choose a number between 20 and 30. Show that number with more than one group.
Common questions:
What number did you represent?
How did you know what number was to choose?
How did you know what groups to make?

17. Common Questions What number did you represent?
How did you know what number was to choose?
How did you know what groups to make?

18. Revisit: Steps for Creating Parallel Questions
Select the initial task.
Anticipate student difficulties with the task (or anticipate what makes the task too simple for some students).
Create the parallel task, ensuring that the big idea is not compromised, and that enough context remains common so that common questions can be created.
Create at least three or four common questions that are pertinent to both tasks. You might use processes and big ideas to help here. These should provide insight into the solution and not just extend the original tasks.
Ensure that students from both groups are called upon to respond.

19. Your turn Choose one question and in pairs, create two parallel tasks:
1) How many wheels do four tricycles have? Show your work with an addition sentence? (p.46)
2) What things come in 2s? Draw pictures to show your ideas.
3)Alex and Alyse are twins who are having a birthday party. They have 16 candles. How many candles are there on each cake?
Possible responses:
How many wheels would three bicycles have? Show your work with an addition sentence.
What things come in 3s? 4s? 5s?
Two cakes have 16 candles. How many could there be on each cake? (webcast)
Parallel tasks could also be about structure. Eg. You pick a number and show what things come in that number.
Parallel tasks also provide opportunity for bumping level up, rather than down.

20. Consolidation: Sharing parallel tasks
Whole group share
Did the step by step process help?
How do you see these parallel tasks supporting your students?

21. Session 3 B: Common questions
Minds on:
Revisit the grade one parallel task
63 jelly beans, or
25 pennies in the change purse
What common questions could we ask to create an inclusive math talk community?

22. Common questions for the task
Describe how you counted your blocks.
Why did you chose to count them that way?
How is your way similar to your friend’s way of counting?
What makes it easier to count lots of blocks?

23. Common questions
“Common questions should be carefully crafted so all students can participate together in follow-up discussions, regardless of the choice of task taken,” Good Questions, p.12
They connect to the big idea embedded in the task
They expose mathematical thinking about an important concept
They provide valuable assessment information

24. Video – Dr. Small
Show shortened version of webcast clip on initial assessment – parallel task
Monograph
- Read the section on parallel tasks
- Discuss new learning with partner
Share the monograph

25. Creating common questions
Take the task you worked on in the previous session and write 2-3 common questions for class discussion.
How many wheels do four tricycles have? Show your work with an addition sentence? (BI- Kto3, p.26)
2) What things come in 2s?
3) Alex and Alyse are twins who are having a birthday party. They have 16 candles. How many candles are there on each cake?

26. Peer feedback on common questions
Take a few sticky notes
Circulate and read the parallel tasks and common questions created
Feedback prompts are on your tables..

27. Assessment – on the side…
Do parallel tasks fit into:
Assessment for learning plans
Assessment of learning plans
If so, how???

28. Reflections on creating common questions
What did you find easy?
What did you find difficult?

29. Minds On: Scaffolding questions
Questions designed to encourage thinking
Avoid leading students to solutions, rather open up or redirect their thinking
Revisit the grade one parallel task
63 jelly beans, or
25 pennies in the change purse

30. Scaffolding questions
How can you arrange the cubes to make them easier to count?
What tool can you use to help you count your cubes?
Show me what you have done so far.
Go have a “spy walk” to see what others are doing – One rule: it is a silent walk

31. Posing Powerful Questions Template

32. Session 3C: Putting it all together
Your turn to try creating a parallel task
Select a Big Idea
Select an expectation
Find a workable question/activity from your resource or create a new one
- Use the PPQT template
Have grade 1 task exemplar done on PPQ template

33. Reflections on Day 3
3-2-1