Monday, April 22, 2013

Final blog post!

Based on my vision from last week I want math to be a large focus in my future classroom.  Math is such a large focus for standardized testing and should be a large focus in class.  As stated last week I want math to be largely done with a discussion.  I understand that it is not always practical to conduct a discussion every math lesson.  I think doing some worksheets can be useful if paired with actual instruction.  One lesson in particular that is standing out in my mind is learning how to regroup and borrow. Most (if not all) of my students in my current placement (2nd grade) have no idea what is actually happening when we regroup and borrow numbers.  I have been trying to show the students via base ten blocks what is actually happening when we regroup/borrow.  I think allowing students to explore concepts is also very important.  

The video that we watched exploring halves is a very good representation of what I am envisioning.  It was very inspiring to watch the students explore and begin to understand what having a half meant.  I would love to work in the time and materials to have my future students explore many math concepts.  I could allow the students to work in groups and explore a given concept.  After they have time to explore I could give them time to journal on their experiences.   After they explore, discuss, then write about their exploration I could give them a "post test" to discover what they have learned.  This will allow me to find out if my methods are working for my students.

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