Personal Reflection for Math
4173 X1: My Learning & Growth
When I first started this course in
September, I was unaware of how much the teaching of mathematics had changed
since I was a child. Even though, I had been a school volunteer much of my work
centred in the area of Resource for Language Arts or helping during Middle
School Social Studies. What is impressive is the numerous ways that children
are being taught to express their math work. Being exposed to the pentomino
puzzle as well as to the video of Ms. T. Oliver has taught me that teaching
math to our students should be an enjoyable experience that is makes learning
fun for the children.
My growth has gone from the mindset of
no longer wanting to use Math worksheets. Looking back to my elementary school
days, I had never enjoyed doing math in this way, but we were not exposed as
children to other ways of doing math. As a teacher, my classroom will not be
quiet, but would be a busy, active learning environment in which children have
opportunities to work collaborately in groups, and also with manipulatives. I
believe that the use of manipulatives not only improves learning, but also
opens the door to children learning other problem solving techniques that will
grow with them. In my class children will no longer learn by rote memory, but
through being actively engaged learners. They will have many opportunities to
express their work in engaging, insightful ways.
The fundamental role that literacy can
play in math was also an eye-opener. Through this course, we were exposed to
many books containing stories that appeal to both children and adults. As a
teacher, I would appreciate being able to incorporate both math and language
arts into a lesson. It was interesting to learn how this can be done!
Lastly, my learning throughout this
course has grown through leaps and bounds. I’m grateful to have had the
opportunities to work alone, with a partner, and with groups to expand on my
understanding of elementary math. I had not realized that there was such a
degree of mathematics material through visual arts, literacy, through computer,
and other games that can expand on children’s learning. I’m grateful to have
had the opportunity to take this course, because it has enabled me to be better
prepared to teach math to children.
Two Stars and A Wish
Two Stars
1. I have
worked well on my weekly math journal.
2. Another
area that I have worked well on is in my class work.
One Wish
I need to
work on improving on my problem solving.
When, I came to Tuesday’s Math class, I
was excited to see the “Hit the Button” game on the Smart Board. I feel that
games can be useful for helping children by reinforcing their Math skills,
because children learn through play.This particular game would be helpful for children to recall division
facts and times tables whilst building on skills such as doubles and halves,
and also number bonds.
We received our picture book drafts
back. I was very pleased with my mark, because, I was not certain if I had done
the assignment correctly. It was also important for me to understand where
improvements were required. Jill’s assessment technique, “the three questions,”
was helpful in giving us a better understanding of our own work along with the
necessary changes that needed to be made.
Tuesday’s class about Mental Math was
certainly a busy night of learning. I found the class to be insightful in a
number of ways. We were provided with a definition for Mental Math and
Estimation that gave us a better understanding of what is involved when a child
is learning Mental Math. I found the Mental Math P-3 sheet to be helpful in
defining time allotments for both the Mental Math and the Math Block, and also
for providing suggestions that will better help us to the integrate blocks.
Math has always been challenging for me. Therefore,
I was satisfied with the explanation provided by Amy about, ”Memorizing a
sentence in which words have meaning.” Children in the not so distant past, had
experienced learning Math through memorization, but this fails to teach
children that there are many pathways to learning Math.When children are taught Mental Math each
school day this teaching expands their learning horizons. It was an eye-opener
to learn how many math and number concepts that children would need to learn in
Grade Primary to help them with their Mental Math in Grade 1.
My favourite resource from our Math
night was the Rekenrek. I was absolutely
astonished by the number of ways that we as teachers can help children master
basic math through this handy little device. I admit as a child that I also
would have found it enticing to use the Rekenrek as a toy!
When I was attending
elementary school children at that time were not taught Math through such a
variety of ways.I think that I would
have developed a better understanding of Math concepts had these learning opportunities
been available to my peers and myself. What I take away from our Mental Math
class is the concrete, pictorial, symbolic, and oral methods that can be used
to help children learn Math.This is
essential, because all children learn differently.
Learning about the Mental Math Facts
was certainly interesting. I had no idea that there were so many facts for
addition alone. My favourite facts were Next Number, because this was simply
about remembering the number that came next. I also liked the One Aparts,
because the child would remember that it is doubles plus one. Such as:
5=6 becomes 5+5, next
number = 13
The Plus 2’s were also neat
to learn about, because a child would simply need to know that its about the
“next Even” or “next Odd” number. For example, you could say:
“If I say 5 … you say 7.”
“If I say 2 … you say 4.”
It’s understandable that
the little ones would be confused about learning the “add zeros.” I would be
interested in observing how the children develop their strategies for mastering
these facts especially for The Last Six.
The partner bingo game would be an
excellent activity for a child to take home as homework.Even though the game we played in class
cannot be won this would still be an engaging learning game for our children.
Personal Reflection - Week of October 27- October 31, 2015
Class began with a visit to the Bedtime
Math website. We were encouraged to do the Pumpkin Face Off! Activity.
http://bedtimemath.org/fun-math-pumpkin-carving/
This served as a good site
for introducing technology night to us. I had not seen Bedtime Math before. It
would be a great site to use with elementary students in the classroom, because
each day there is a new problem provided. One aspect that I did not like is
that the author divides the children by wee ones, little kids, and big kids. If
an older child were struggling with Math, he or she might be only able to to
complete the wee ones problems. This may make them feel alack of confidence in
themselves. Perhaps the problems could be worded differently, so they could be
more inconclusive. I also took the opportunity to look up the books on amazon.
The books would be engaging for children and parents.According to Amazon, the book in the series
that I looked at is aimed towards 3-7 year olds, but I believe the books can be
extended to children that are slightly older.This may also serve as a helpful resource book for older children as
they work on acquiring Math skills.
We also had the opportunity to visit
the AVRSB Learning Portal.I was most
interested in looking up the various Mathematics rubrics, because this is an
area that I was interested in seeking further information. Some of the rubrics
that I looked at included the problem solving and communication rubric, How
close to the target are you?, and Math interview questions as well as others. My
favourite was the Math Interview Questions, because that gives a teacher of a
student’s attitude towards what they are currently doing in Math, the process
they use, and also the end products. Plus, there was plenty of space to write
longer comments. It was helpful to be able to visit this site to gain a better
understanding of the resources that will be available to us as teachers.
We were told about the Math Dictionary
for Kids. If we do not understand a concept it would be helpful to review the
terminology involved through using this dictionary. Plus, this will be a good
resource for our future students to use.
Out of the websites that we had the
opportunity to visit, my favourite was illuminations. The games were
interesting.I enjoyed played Turtle
Pond which involved estimation and angle measurement, Pan Balance shapes was
engaging, Horizontal Additional used the number line, Bingo was another fun
choice. I played Bingo - Addition and Bing – Angles.The Gingerbread game could be linked to a
gingerbread story that could be extended to Language Arts.
During my practicum, last spring, the
children were sometimes allowed to play educational games on the computer that
were Math based. I always found that the children enjoyed the games, and
through having fun with Math they gained a greater appreciation for using Math
during their regular routine Math lessons.Technology certainly can play a positive role in encouraging learning.
Virtual Manipulatives is arranged
according to grade levels: preK-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. This is a resourceful
site containing tools such as base blocks, bar chart, circle 99, and many
others. This could site could be used to supplement Math or perhaps
incorporated directly into a Math lesson.
Thinking Blocks is another outstanding
site. One game that would be fun for children to play is the Money Game. The
children are able to use a hammer to break the money down.
During our class, I enjoyed learning about
incorporating technology in Math. This is a task that I will certainly take on
in my classroom. The students enjoy using computers to play games. They also
enjoy the Smartboard. On the downside, some schools are not as equipped as others,
but this should improve in the future provided better funding or with the help
of fundraisers.
The Tumblebooks site is another that
is exceptional for use in Resource or in the classroom.I have used this site to help children that
are struggling with reading. I’m also impressed with the amount of Math based
books.At home, I watched and listened
to the book, My Odd Day by Doris Fisher.
This is an excellent book for children
in grades primary-to-three, but can also be used with older children. The
author teaches the concept of odd through her story making it fun for children
to learn what odd is all about! Plus, she follows up in another book with a
story about even.
Chapter 4: Helping Children Master The Basic Facts
This chapter covered a great deal of information.
However, I found the most important, especially for me as a student teacher is
that it educates us to not only get children involved in learning Math facts,
but teaches us the importance of allowing children to develop their own Math
strategies. While the author reminds us that knowing Math facts is necessary,
knowing the facts alone does not mean that a child has a good grasp on the
material. I think it’s also meaningful to remind us that we should not simply
be passing our own strategies on, but encouraging the children to learn their
own way of solving problems, because there are so many different ways that Math
can be done. We each learn in our own unique way how to problem solve. It can
be tempting for us to drill students, but we must ensure that they have a
strong understanding of their Math before doing drills. I also felt, that the
authors gave a positive suggestive about the role of introducing individualized
drills allowing the student to use the strategy they had learned.
The chapter contained a vast array of
activities that would be useful especially for new teachers, because we have so
much to learn about using games, activities, and techniques that encourage
children to enjoy learning. I was surprised that subtraction tends to be more
difficult for children to learn than addition. Therefore, I would be more
likely to spend greater time on connecting subtraction to addition. Learning
this, I would also spend greater time on activities that more effectively help
children learn subtraction such as “Build up through the ten frame” and “back
through ten frame activities. “ Likewise, I feel that all the activities would
be of use in the classroom. I would certainly incorporate all as I was teaching
the various Mathematics units, but also first ensure that my children
understood their own Math strategies including how to solve word problems.
Lastly, I found this video on youtube.
We often think of teaching the children alone,
but I believe creating videos that parents can also learn from and use to help
their children with homework can be incorporated. This helps parents to
understand the newer methods of Math. If the Mom or Dad were feeling excluded
such videos may put them at ease, and help them to feel they included in their
child’s learning process.
During our weekly math class I
learned two new terms, “commutative property and “distributive property.”According to the commutative property two
numbers can be multiplied together and the distributive property a single term
and two or more terms that are in brackets also known as parentheses may be
multiplied together.
The information provided during the
problem solving lessons was helpful to us, because one day we are going to need
to be modelling problem solving strategies for our students. We need to
consider all the ways that problems can be solved. I especially found the
Problem Solving (PS) sheet to be useful. One of my favourite quotes from the
sheet is, “Problem solving is also a powerful teaching tool that fosters
multiple creative, and innovative solutions.” This makes future teachers think
of the importance of incorporating Math into other subjects, because the depth
of Math will also be beneficial for solving problems in arise in Science, and
in other subjects.
It was interesting to observe different
techniques for solving the same Math question.Showing how children can pictorially use groups to represent a Math is
meaningful to future elementary teachers, because we need to be exposed to a
range of ways that children can do their work and explain their work to us. For example our group enjoyed, “The Puddle
Problem.” We came up with many ways to solve the problem through using string
to measure the perimeter, using footsteps, collecting water in a measuring cup
to predict how deep it is, and measuring depth with a ruler. I also found the problem-solving
menu to be incredible! I would not have thought about fourteen ways that
problems can be solved!
My impressions of the
children’s book, “Grandma Lena’s Big Ol’ Turnip,” is that the storyline would
appeal to both children and adults.The
pictures in the book are colourful.Repetitive
phrases make the story more interesting to young children, and are also
patterns. The humour pulls the children
in without them realizing that they are learning.Adults and children alike would laugh about
the giant turnip and the number of people required to pull it out of the
ground!
The book is cross-curricular for
covering a range of subjects. Social Studies is included, children learn about southern culture and foods, and about the importance of community. This story can
be used in Language Arts. Science is covered, children can be taught about how
seeds grow into plants. Kindness is also modeled throughout the story with Grandma
Lena’s family and community coming together to help her, and in turn she
prepares some delicious meals to feed them.
Math is represented in many ways.
Children do not realize that they are enjoying reading about problem solving,
how to pull a giant turnip from the garden, and counting is also covered. It took five people (four adults, one baby), and one dog to finally pull out the giant turnip. This covers the SCO NO3, students will
be expected to relate a numeral 1-to-10to it’s respective quality. The five people and dog pulling out the turnip helps to meet the performance indicator for N03.O1, name the number for a
given set of objects. Children can also use a counter to represent the number
of people or in this case objects. Blocks would be helpful.
Given the artwork showing the number of
people pulling out the turnip, the performance indicator, N03.02match the numerals with their given pictorial
representations is met. Children can draw the number of people and the dog
that helped. They can also represent grandma’s dishes through drawing pictures. The seeds can also be
presented by drawing a picture. The children can also count the seeds and growing plants.Performance indicator N03.03 can be met by
asking the children to hold up the appropriate number of fingers for a given
numeral.
Lastly, the story also leaves children with a positive message from Grandma Lena. “Anything
worth doing is worth doing right. “
Grade Level Performance Indicators: Grade Primary
SCO
PNO3 Students will be
expected to relate a numeral 1-to-10, to its respective quality.
Performance Indicators
PNO3.01 Name the number for
a given set of objects.
PN03.02 Match the numerals
with their given pictorial representations.
PN03.03 Hold up the
appropriate number of fingers for a given numeral.
Reflecting back to my childhood, I
believe too often that Math appeared dull. A quick lecture model, and
worksheets were responsible for many of my Elementary Math days.However, I do still recall playing Around the
World game in the fifth grade. Often, if our teacher had some additional time
to spare, he would allow our class to play this game. We were rewarded with sticker.
The competition for stickers was an added motivation, but the game on in it’s
own respect made learning much more fun. The entire class always enjoyed playing the
game.
What I have seen thus far when
completing my practicums supports my contention that learning should be open to
a diversity of resources. Educational games should be amongst the teaching
toolbox. A child’s learning process
tends to be much more engaging when learning is hands on. This would include when
working with a small group or a partner to include a game.I have seen shy students light up with
excitement not only about the game, but also about learning a new rule or how
to add and subtract when using a simple manipulative such as dice.Many games can be adaptable to help children
that may have a learning difference. For example, by pairing students that may
require greater assistance with the teacher, EA or other students and also by
modifying the game rules. Often some competition can be a motivator as long as
fun is involved for the class.
While many children do enjoy playing
Math games, having a class that is a workshop model may also present a
challenge for students that are less confident in their Math skills. These
students may require prompting by their teacher or perhaps may want to work
with others in their group. A student experiencing some difficulties may prefer
to not be the presenter for the group. Perhaps, a stronger Math student can be
assigned this task. In my own experience, The Millionaire Game was enjoyable,
but a bit of a challenge since I did not have the benefit of having done place
value in a number of years.
So, I
certainly do think of children that struggle with Math. It would be anxiety provoking
for them to be playing this game with their peers. This may also lead to
behaviours by some children, such as pencil sharpening, and so on to waste
time. Therefore, I can well understand how these games may present some anxiety
to children. I believe that teachers have a role to teach the children that we
all learn differently. Some people may struggle more with some courses than
others, but all children and adults have a valuable role to contribute in the
classroom, and in the community. We need to be aware of signs for those
children who are facing difficulties.
My group did not have the opportunity
to finish all the games. If I were to do a workshop model with my own class, I
would have fewer games or operate over the course of a few days or week. Certainly, I would embrace this teaching
model. The Place Value game was among my favourites.
Overall, I enjoyed learning about the
various kinds of Math games, I feel that by making Math an exciting subject to
learn when a child is young, that just as many students also acquire a joy for
literature; that they are more likely to develop a love for learning math. Math
games can also increase student’s critical thinking skills that will help them
to become more logical, independent thinkers. I also believe in the value of
teaching children chess to help them to develop their creativity and logical
thinking skills, as they grow older, and also in the possibilities of including
music and math together in someway. Both are linked to helping children engage
in and develop skills that will further help them in STEM based courses
throughout their educational careers.
While You Wait Activity - Number Line for Estimation
When coming into class, I found that my table was already engaged in deciphering numbers to be placed on a number line. It was interesting, because we were to represent numbers from A B C D E. The only number that had been provided was 200. This caused much thinking as well as class discussion as we all sought to estimate what should be the starting number for the number line, and where the other numbers should fall. I think that this would be an excellent activity to use in the elementary classroom with students in grade three-to-six, possibly upper middle school grades could also use this as a review. Trying to determine which number should come next in the line was certainly stimulating.
SMARTBoard Hundreds Chart The use of the SMARTBoard when reviewing our homework for the Hundreds Chart was very helpful. This activity promoted much class participation. It was useful in learning how others thought differently. There were many ways of coming up with solutions for our problems such as counting by: twos, fours, threes or circling all the twos. One of my classmates circled eleven along with all numbers corresponding with the number eleven. What I appreciated about this activity was that it was engaging and would allow elementary students to discover that there are many solutions that one can use to develop Mathematical Patterns.
Connections We read about the importance of connecting ideas in Math to our daily lives. I think this is important to teach children from an early age. When children learn that Math is literally everywhere this may help them to understand the importance of Math in their daily lives. For example, a child may be taught a recipe that he or she will be able to cook for their family. A child can also use Math to measure when cutting material or paper for a craft. Children can also be taught to see connections in Math in road work, bridges, banking, medicine, and so on. Such connections build a child's understanding much more than simply telling them to complete their Math work. Connections make learning fun!
How Many Seeds in a pumpkin?
We spoke again about the story, "How many seeds in a pumpkin?" The idea of how children can estimate is helpful for them to learn when a number needs not be exact. This book was also important, because it teaches children that size does not always matter.
Our group also had the chance to estimate various referents. One strategy was to place a hand over the objects to make a guess. Another was to guess by dividing up the various piles of animals, counters and foam shapes. I learned that differentiation can be done by in some of the piles using lower numbers.
In the case of the animals my group's estimate was 25, but some other estimations by my classmates were 40, 45, 44, and 30.
For the foam shapes our group's estimate was 120. Other groups choose their estimation to be 100, 120, 150 and 160.
Estimation using counters were also done. The counters were trickier to estimate since there appeared to be so many of them. Our group guessed that there were 280 counters on this table. Other estimations from various groups were 140, 180, 220, and 258.
Levels of Place Values
This is an important topic because, when we observe children working in groups it can appear that a child has a greater understanding of the topic than he or she actually does. However, the child may not fully grasp what we are trying to teach them. I found the information provided about single numerals to be helpful. As adult learners we have have a tendency to think that children would see numbers as we understand them, but a young child may only view a number such as 16 as a single number rather than the 1 and 6. It was also compelling to learn about how children view position names, face value, and transition to place value. Racing Game
The racing games were interesting and fun. Most importantly these games help to build on the skills we have been teaching the children.
Numeration Principles
As future teachers it will be important for us to understand where a child is struggling. We need to recall, the purpose of zero which is to hold the place value, so we can properly educate our students. Furthermore as adults sometimes we overlook what we understand. We always need to keep in mind the children's neurodevelopmental levels and skills which correlate with their cognition and understanding of concepts. I felt this area of the lesson was important. We all have a tendency to say a number incorrectly. We must model the proper way for our students in order to build their understanding. For example, stating "321 is three hundred twenty-one," without the and which is to be reserved for decimals. I will need to remind myself not to add "and" to the hundreds and thousands! Manipulatives Used ... Only Base Ten?
It is surprising to learn how many different types of manipulatives can be used in teaching Math. Manipulatives that I will find helpful in using with the children include open number line, closed number line, flats and rods, popsicle sticks, money and change. Importantly, larger numbers may be represented through using a base ten block. I was also taught in class that base ten blocks can be used to represent decimals. Amanda Beans Amazing Dream
I enjoyed hearing this story about a little girl that loved to count. By the end of the book Amanda was taught that mutiplication can help her count more quickly than counting on it's own. This would be a fun and educational book for children in grades primary-through-grade three.
This chapter
provided valuable insight into the importance of children learning problem
solving.When I was attending school, as
previously mentioned, much of my early Math involved sheet work, which was often
repetitive. I strongly suspect this is one reason that early deprivation in problem
solving skills caused lead to Math to being a struggle, but one that I’m
working to overcome!
The author did a
profound job in discussing her reasoning about the value of problem solving.
Teaching children to be able to work independently and with others to become
skilled problem solvers will help them develop critical thinking and judgement
skills.
The inquiry
process is intriguing, because it involves crucial stages. The first being able
to understand the problem, and the last being able to look back at the process.
Looking back is a crucial stage, because the students are able to share their
problem solving skills with each other.
I had never seen
a graphic organizer used in Math and feel this would help students in their
inquiry based learning. It would especially be helpful in brainstorming and during
other activities.
The explanation
and examples provided for the creation of good problemswas a beneficial
reminder that as teachers we want our students to try different ideas. We must be open to multiple ways of
problem solving allowing the children to experience growth through their learning. The array of both simple and complex problem
solving strategies is astounding!I
found the examples to be a helpful review and preparation for myself before attending
the fall practicum.
Chapter 5 Problem
"Ian has 75 cents in quarters, dimes, and nickles. He has at least one of each type of coin. How many coins could he have?"
When doing this problem, I choose to use money, because this is one way that a child can represent this problem. Personally, using change made it easier to break down the various ways of to discover how many coins Ian could have. My cooperating teacher had fake coins that she allowed the children to use as a manipulative when solving similar problems in Math.
Chapter 8: Developing Early Operational Concepts
This chapter
was filled with detailed information.Most importantly, what I took away were the similarities between addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and division.Subtraction seems like a straightforward operation, but when compared to Addition the complexity including the terminology was
surprising. For example, separation of items is involved in taking away,
comparing a larger number of items such as 7 cookies minus 4 uses subtraction,
and also that determining a larger number from the smaller to find the addend
is sometimes
necessary.
The chart for
the addition and subtraction principles is helpful in breaking down information. From a teaching
standpoint this improves our understanding, so that we can better teach
the children. Principle six involves adding or subtracting six from a
number. An example provided involved having the students walk on a number line.
This would be a fun way for children to learn this concept.
In reading
this chapter, I learned how manipulatives such as counters, game materials
(such as dice), linking cubes, 10-frames and walking on the number line are all
helpful when teaching children about addition or subtraction. It was beneficial
for me to learn that linked cubes, game materials such as cards, and number
lines have a role in teaching multiplication. This opens the door to learning
in so many ways beyond memorizing tables.
What I did
find rather cumbersome was the depth involved in the multiplication and
division principles, because, I had just covered addition and subtraction
principles.Simply, this informative
chapter contains an abundance of information to muster.
Upon arrival to Tuesday’s class, I was
surprised to learn that my classmates and I were to play a game that would
allow our classmates to learn more about our learning styles. For example, I’m
a hands on and visual learner, these were also two of the choices on our paper.
The activity was excellent, because we were able to have a short meet and greet
with our classmates. This was helpful, because, I’m still learning names. By
doing this activity we also had to think about our own learning styles. In the
classroom as an elementary teacher it is important that we know as much about
our student’s learning needs as possible.As a teacher, I may consider doing an activity such as this one in my
class, because it can also help the students learn more about themselves.
Shifts in Learning Math
The shift that has occurred in the way
that Math is being taught in the classroom makes Math more meaningful for
students. Manipulatives and games create a classroom that is invokes creative
learning. I feel that the way that Math is being taught in these classrooms
makes it compelling and fun for young learners.
As a child, my teachers at school used
to review the multiplication table with us. I also remember my parents doing
the same. Although, I’m not fully convinced that removing the tables has been necessary;
I do believe that some of the changes that have taken place will lead to
children having much more positive experiences in their learning.
I still recall doing Math sheets
throughout elementary school. One day, my second-grade teacher even rapped my
fingers with her pencil; I had been speaking with a friend when we were supposed
to be doing our math sheets! I never forgot getting in trouble, but do not
recall enjoying Math in Elementary. It would have been much more meaningful to
be able learn Math in a much more creative way. For teachers, surely this also
makes their teaching much more compelling.
When I was a child, the teacher would
sometimes mark my answer incorrect even if the answer were correct. We were
often taught that there was only one way to solve a problem as opposed to there
being multiple solutions. Allowing for
children to explore different ways of doing Math strengthens creativity. I believe this also may lead children to
embrace both Math and Sciences. As long as the child can provide their answer
and explain how he or she came up with the solution different pathways should
be encouraged rather than stifled.
Gradual Release of
Responsibility
Jill also reviewed the four parts of
the gradual release of responsibility with us.
As teachers we will need to
follow these steps:
1.Model it
2. Teacher works with
children
3. Children work in a group
4. Children work on their
own.
During my practicum, last
spring, my cooperating teacher taught me these steps. The hard part is stepping
back, because I always want to be able to help the students. However, I also realize
that by allowing for gradual release students are learning through working with
one another. They also develop a sense of pride in their work along with
independence.
How Many Feet In The Bed:
Lesson Plan
Our group spoke about the book, “How Many
Feet In The Bed.” We used manipulatives
to represent how many feet were in the bed. The group work made me think of the
importance of integrating Math related stories into one’s classroom.
This is our representation
for the pattern – how many feet?
I also took several photos of
work done by other groups.
Lessons involving stories
that include Math are important. They allow a teacher to include more than one
subject. Different cross-curricular outcomes can be met. For the students
creative and critical thinking is involved. They must as a group come up with
their own way to represent story. Therefore, problem solving is also being
taught at an early age that a child will build on throughout his or her
schooling.
Taking Inventory …
This task involved all of our group
members to imagine how the keys can be represented.
Since there is a small
number, a pictorial representation may work. However, Jill warned me that this
would not work when it came to representing larger numbers of objects. At our
table, the group brainstormed about multiple ways of representing the keys. Someone
also suggested counting by ones and twos. Since time was limited it was
difficult to think clearly on the spot. Counters and craft bundles could have been
used, because they also represent small and large samples.
Skip Counting
Skip counting is something that I do
recall from school. It can be an interesting Math activity for children. They
are learning to use numbers other than one to move backwards or forwards. I
believe this kind of Math activity can appeal to many students. They may
perceive skip counting as a game, plus they are learning to count more quickly.
Math Language: Comparative
Language
Tuesday’s class brought home the
importance of being clear in our language. Otherwise miscommunication can be
the result. I had not realized that the term “more” could lead to confusion
among young students. It was surprising that word choice can make such a
difference. Instead of using the word “more” we were taught that “greater”
should be used. Until the children are older, and using greater and less than
symbols, we can for example state: 3 is greater than 2. This will certainly be
helpful for me to recall when doing my teaching practicum.
A Sense of Number
The number charts appear to be easy to
follow. It surprised me that I did not find this exercise to be as easy as I
thought that it would be. When teaching number lines to children we need to be
just as patient with them or more so than we are with ourselves.
Video: Good Morning Ms
Toliver
(Full Video)
The take home message from watching
Ms.Toliver teach was to have a sense of confidence in our abilities in a
teacher. She is amazing teaching, because Ms.Toliver is carries an abundance
of enthusiasm both for her students and also for her subject area. She believes
in the children. By believing in them, she is teaching them to believe in
themselves. I had never seen Math addressed in such creative and fun ways!She teaches children, not only is Math fun to
learn, but also really all learning can be interesting, as well as challenging.
Although, Ms.Toliver is a Math teacher she incorporates some writing into her
course. Thereby, her teaching incorporated Language Arts. I also thought it was
fantastic that she took her students outside the classroom for them to study,
and she that Math is everywhere from buildings, to bridge designs, and even how
many kids can sit on a bench.
How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin
by Margaret McNamara
This book would be helpful in teaching
skip counting and estimation to children. When reading the book to a class a
teacher can also stop at various parts and ask for the child to predict how
many seeds they think the smaller and larger pumpkins will contain. There is also a lesson about smallest to
largest. Children learn that being the smallest is not always so bad.
It would a good book to introduce in the
fall close to Thanksgiving to provide integration of Language Arts and Math.
