Aboyit Elementary fifth graders present ‘building thinking’ math activities to board

Nine fifth‑grade students from Aboyit Elementary and their teachers presented classroom strategies and demonstrations designed to develop student problem solving and collaborative thinking.

Teacher Miss Amick and the school’s leader explained the school’s math bowl — an extracurricular competition that draws multiple fourth‑ and fifth‑grade teams and has placed in the top 10 in the state — and a professional development initiative at Purdue Fort Wayne to implement thinking-classroom strategies.

During the demonstration students worked timed multiple‑choice problems and discussed a classroom activity about palindromic numbers and the concept of “depth” (how many steps it takes to reach a palindrome). One presenter explained, “a palindrome is just a word or number that is the same forwards and backwards,” and students described how persistence and pattern recognition helped them solve the problems.

Why it matters: The presentation highlighted classroom-level curriculum and instructional practice that classroom teachers and school leaders say build deeper mathematical reasoning beyond rote procedures. Board members applauded the students and encouraged family involvement.

Details from the presentation: - The math bowl uses 30‑, 45‑ and 60‑second timed problems solved in small teams. - Teachers described a “building thinking classrooms” model that uses standing collaboration, groups of three, and vertical whiteboard spaces to surface student thinking. - Students described exercises including palindromes and operator‑placement puzzles that require pattern recognition and persistence.

The board thanked the students and staff before continuing with the rest of the agenda.