[Looking for other grade levels? The button below allows you to download all of them or you can look here.]
If you’ve been looking for a way to challenge your students that was simultaneously accessible for all students but still challenged your high flyers, then you’ll love the problems on my Open Middle Depth of Knowledge matrix. I’ll be releasing each grade level separately but if you want to see all of them now, you can download high quality, printable PDFs by clicking the button below.
It includes:
- Elementary & Secondary matrix (a selection from 8 grade levels)
- Elementary matrix (kindergarten through 5th)
- Secondary matrix (6th grade through calculus)
- 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 matrices (separate matrices for each grade level)
You’ll notice that the first problem in the column is traditional and familiar. It’s something you’d expect students in your class to eventually be able to figure out. Then look at the Open Middle problems at DOK 2 and DOK 3. You’ll notice that they’re on the same topic, yet are significantly more challenging. You may start to wonder whether or not your students can solve them, and what that may imply about how well they understand the concept.
- I’ve recorded a free webinar with versions for elementary (K-5) and secondary (6-12) math teachers called Why We Should Reconsider Using Worksheets (And What We Should Be Doing Instead) where I make the case for less worksheets and more Open Middle problems like these.
- I’ve written a book called Open Middle Math: Problems That Unlock Student Thinking, Grades 6-12 that walks you the entire process of using problems like these including:
- how to choose a problem
- how to prepare for a lesson
- how to facilitate classroom conversations
- what to do when things don’t go as expected
- how to make your own Open Middle problems
It’s available now in paper or Amazon Kindle versions.
- I’ve created an online workshop called Empowered Problem Solving that I offer every fall and spring where I dive deep into how to implement these problems (and others like my real world lessons) so that you feel prepared to use them with your students.
- The DOK 2 volume of rectangular prisms problem written by Joe Schwartz.
I am a assistant principal in the state of Tennessee and just found out about your resources through Twitter and really like what I am seeing! I do however want to ask if these DOK worksheets line up with the Tennessee Math Standards or could I share the standards with you and get more input as to how they line up? We are constantly looking for ways to help our teachers better our students and prepare them for end of course assessments. Thank you in advance for responding!
Hi Charlie. The Tennessee standards are basically Common Core so it should be essentially the same.
Hi! I am so thankful for your Depth of Knowledge resources for 5th grade. I noticed there are questions from eight topics. Are the other topics available and I am not seeing them? Or, how were these eight topics chosen versus the others? Thank you in advance!
I picked these eight topics because they were easier topics to show a single topic at three different levels. There are plenty of other 5th grade problems here: https://www.openmiddle.com/category/grade-5/
I’m sure I could make others too, but 8 examples felt like it was enough to give people a feel for their potential.
Understood! Thank you for your reply!
Hello, I like what I am seeing, I am from Texas and we don’t do Common Core. Do your worksheets line up with Texas TEKS?
This is not meant to be a worksheet or something you would give to your students. This is meant to be a way to show how we can take a single concept and interact with it at increasingly deeper levels. If you don’t use Common Core, then I would pay more attention to the row labeled “Topic” and look for topics that align with what you teach.
Mr. Kaplinsky, I’m working on a teaching assignment and your site has helped me tremendously. Thank you for making things so simplified!!
Dawn F.
That’s great to read. I’m glad this was helpful.
Do you have the DOK matrix for whole number division and decimal division for fifth grade? This chart is very helpful. Will all the standards be added?
I’m probably not making many more of these matrices. I do hope to make ones for K-2 but I’ve been backed up. Have you checked out what’s on openmiddle.com?
https://www.openmiddle.com/category/grade-5/number-operations-in-base-ten-grade-5/
Where can the full DOK Matrix be found?
I’m not exactly sure what you mean, but there is a green Download button near the top of the page and a link above that to matrices for other grade levels.