Introduction
Whether teachers realize it or not, they are continuously scaffolding instruction for their students. The dictionary definition of scaffolding is: a temporary structure on the outside of a building, made usually of wooden planks and metal poles, used by workers while building, repairing, or cleaning the building. This definition applies quite well to its’ educational connotation. Instructional scaffolding is temporary. It allows students to build, repair, and/or polish their understanding of concepts and skills. It is used temporarily to support students as they develop the required knowledge/skill needed to do something independently or progress to the next level of a skill. (For additional information on instructional scaffolding read the article – Instructional Scaffolding – Constructing Learning)
The Good Neighbors’ Cheese Feast – A Cheesy Mouse Tale of Subtraction with Regrouping was created with scaffolding in mind. The goal of the author was to construct a supporting framework both conceptual and procedural that students can hold on to and refer to as they learn the subtraction algorithm and the regrouping concept and process. The author assumed that students will possess a basic understanding of subtraction and subtraction fact knowledge prior to hearing/seeing the book. As the book is read aloud, students are unaware of the scaffolds being constructed in their minds. Later, with teacher guidance and support, they will come to realize how to utilize these scaffolds while learning the subtraction with regrouping process.
The goal of the author was to construct a supporting framework both conceptual and procedural that students can hold on to and refer to as they learn the subtraction algorithm and the regrouping concept and process.
Layers of Scaffolding
Place Value Scaffolds
The characters’ names are similar to the place value names: Onesie/ones, Tenor/tens, Hund-Red/hundreds. The characters’ size corresponds to the value of the place value his/her name corresponds to: Onesie/ones/small sized, Tenor/tens/medium sized, Hundred/hundreds/large sized. The characters’ house location corresponds to the location of the ones, tens, and hundreds place: Onesie lives in the house to the far right, Tenor lives in the house between Onesie and Hundred, Hund-Red lives in the house to the far left. The characters’ blocks of cheese mirror the base ten blocks: Onesie’s cube/units (1), Tenor’s stick/longs (10), Hund-Red’s slab/flats (100). All these elements together provide students with a solid scaffold for basic place value understanding.
Schema Scaffold
The story’s narrative creates an overarching scaffold for students – a schema for the subtraction with regrouping process. The characters’ primary goal: to cook/bake a cheesy dish given a recipe and limited supply of ingredients, establishes a schema for the subtraction with regrouping process. The experience of baking/cooking given a recipe and ingredients is an experience common to all students. Connecting new learning to an existing schema builds the students’ conceptual understanding of subtraction with regrouping. Learn more about subtraction schema. (For additional information on subtraction schema read the article – No Gimmicks, Just Schema – Subtraction with Regrouping)
Sequence Scaffold
The The story’s narrative provides a sequence scaffold for the subtraction with regrouping process. The story’s plot mirrors the sequence of the subtraction algorithm. Onesie is the first to attempt to follow his recipe and make his cheesy dish. When he realizes he doesn’t have enough cheese cubes, he turns to Tenor for help. Tenor makes his cheesy dish next, and Hund-Red makes hers last – the same order place values are addressed in the subtraction algorithm.
Base Ten Visual Model Scaffold
The characters’ cheese blocks provide a base ten visual scaffold for the subtraction with regrouping process. The cheese blocks being given to a neighbor, sliced, and used in a recipe mirrors the subtraction with regrouping process as demonstrated with base ten blocks. The cheese slicer used by the characters to slice one larger block into ten smaller blocks is the icon for the regrouping process (one larger unit regrouped into ten smaller units). The base ten blocks model allows students to see how quantities within place values are manipulated throughout the subtraction with regrouping process for true conceptual understanding.
Conclusion
The combination of scaffolds, makes a strong supporting structure for students, and its construction is so effortless – reading the book aloud to students! Providing this initial support sets students up for success as they learn and retain the subtraction with regrouping concept and skill.
