Starting this month, Magma Mondays will release three problems per grade band each month. The problems are intentionally sequenced:
First problem: The most approachable, with a low barrier to entry so all students can get started.
Second problem: Encourages students to make sense of structure or relationships, requiring a bit more persistence.
Third problem: The most extending, designed to stretch thinking, surface misconceptions, and generate richer discussion.
Teachers can use one problem or all three, depending on their instructional goals and time. There is no single “right” way to use them—a Magma Monday problem can be a warm-up, discussion starter, or a short problem-solving block. Some teachers use one problem per day, others spread them across a week.
Focus for January
This month’s Magma Mondays emphasize how students get started with a problem. The goal is to slow down the rush to calculate and give students time to make sense of what they see before choosing a path forward.
When students are encouraged to notice details and ask questions first:
More students are able to participate.
Discussions are grounded in the mathematics rather than guessing a method.
How the Problems Are Designed
January’s problems are open at the start but still lead to a single numerical answer. Students can enter by noticing patterns, relationships, or structure—and different students are likely to notice different things. There is no expected starting strategy, and that is intentional.
Example – Grades 3 to 5:
Students can begin by drawing, adding on, or organizing information in a table. Some may notice how the pattern grows, others may focus on differences between patterns. The important work happens before solving, when students decide what matters and how to start.
How to Launch a January Problem
Display the problem and give students quiet think time.
Ask what they notice and record responses without evaluating them.
Ask what they are wondering or what might help them solve.
Students do not need to agree before starting. Noticing can continue as they work.
What to Listen For
Which details students focus on first
How students decide what to do next
How students revise their thinking as they work
These moments often reveal more about student understanding than the final answer.
Share Your Classroom Experience
If you try a Magma Monday problem this month, we’d love to hear how it went. You can reply directly with:
A quick note
A photo of student work
A question
Later this month, we’ll share classroom examples showing how students used their noticings to guide problem-solving and discussion.
Magma Mondays are designed to help students learn that figuring out how to start is part of doing math.