Best Guess Spelling

My first real foray into public schools was last year when my daughter started Kindergarten.  I spent a great deal of time there and as a result had numerous opportunities to look at student work posted in the hallway.   Admittedly, I found myself appalled by the poor spelling of the intermediate elementary grade students.  I began to hear words phrases like "invented spelling" and my first reaction was WHAT?!  What has happened to conventions?  I was deeply skeptical (and fairly uninformed).  As I looked more into this inventive spelling, I discovered the following:

Micromanaging Math

I know.  In general, "micromanaging" is considered a negative thing.  In the context of teaching math though, micromanaging may be just what a teacher needs to do to help ensure success. The reading "Orchestrating Discussions" (Smith, M.S. et al. 2009) helped me reflect more deeply on how lessons and discussions in math need to be carefully "orchestrated" by the teacher prior to the lesson.  The authors provide a good framework for such planning called the "Five Practices Model" (pg. 550). These practices include everything from considering the range of possible student responses before the lesson to "sequencing" and "connecting" those responses thoughtfully in order to optimize student understanding.