Class 7: Personal Reflection - Week of October 27-31, 2015

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.

Bedtime Math can be found at Barnes and Noble. 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/reviews/bedtime-math-laura-overdeck/1122518873?ean=9781250035851

        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.