For my Math Methods class, I had to both observe a math class for an hour, as well as design a lesson plan to teach to a math classroom with two other pre-service teachers. Throughout the class, I learned techniques for teaching math, as well as tools for making it more hands-on and engaging for a variety of learners.
During my observation for this class, I observed a fourth grade math class learning about place value. The class practiced looking at two different numbers and comparing them. The students had to identify if the numbers were greater than, less than, or equal to the other number by looking at each place value digit to see if one number was bigger than the other. The students started by doing problems together as a class and then transitioned to a whiteboard game that provided formative assessment for their teacher. It was great to see how math was being taught before I began crafting my lesson plan for my field experience.
For my lesson plan, I was placed in a kindergarten classroom. The co-operating teacher had me an two other pre-service teachers each design a lesson that taught the class about ordinal numbers. We broke down the material so that I taught first through fifth and another teacher taught sixth through tenth. The third day of this field served as review and reinforcement of skills taught the previous two days. In my lesson, students performed a long jump and used sticky notes to mark their place. We were able to determine which students came in first place, second, third, fourth, and fifth place. Then we took different sports balls and placed them in order from largest to smallest and vice versa. From there we determined which was the first largest or smallest with labels. Finally, I had students label different athletes in order from first to fifth place independently. Each student got a strip with five different athletes on it, and using cards had to identity what place each athlete came in. We concluded the lesson by helping Sammy the Soccer Player (a paper cut out doll) get dressed for soccer practice by putting things on in order. In the next two days, students would continue to help Sammy get ready for soccer practice. This served as a review of what was taught the first day and in the future, and helped to tie all three of our lesson plans together.
Although the student understood the concept I taught them, not everything went as planned when I taught. The independent practice was a little complicated for kindergarten students. In the future, I would do a more simplistic activity to reinforce the concepts taught in this lesson. But this instance taught me to be flexible and to adapt to lessons that do not always go as planned. It is so important to learn from our mistakes as educators and to reflect in order to improve for the future.
During my observation for this class, I observed a fourth grade math class learning about place value. The class practiced looking at two different numbers and comparing them. The students had to identify if the numbers were greater than, less than, or equal to the other number by looking at each place value digit to see if one number was bigger than the other. The students started by doing problems together as a class and then transitioned to a whiteboard game that provided formative assessment for their teacher. It was great to see how math was being taught before I began crafting my lesson plan for my field experience.
For my lesson plan, I was placed in a kindergarten classroom. The co-operating teacher had me an two other pre-service teachers each design a lesson that taught the class about ordinal numbers. We broke down the material so that I taught first through fifth and another teacher taught sixth through tenth. The third day of this field served as review and reinforcement of skills taught the previous two days. In my lesson, students performed a long jump and used sticky notes to mark their place. We were able to determine which students came in first place, second, third, fourth, and fifth place. Then we took different sports balls and placed them in order from largest to smallest and vice versa. From there we determined which was the first largest or smallest with labels. Finally, I had students label different athletes in order from first to fifth place independently. Each student got a strip with five different athletes on it, and using cards had to identity what place each athlete came in. We concluded the lesson by helping Sammy the Soccer Player (a paper cut out doll) get dressed for soccer practice by putting things on in order. In the next two days, students would continue to help Sammy get ready for soccer practice. This served as a review of what was taught the first day and in the future, and helped to tie all three of our lesson plans together.
Although the student understood the concept I taught them, not everything went as planned when I taught. The independent practice was a little complicated for kindergarten students. In the future, I would do a more simplistic activity to reinforce the concepts taught in this lesson. But this instance taught me to be flexible and to adapt to lessons that do not always go as planned. It is so important to learn from our mistakes as educators and to reflect in order to improve for the future.
place_value_service_learning_lesson_plan.docx | |
File Size: | 40 kb |
File Type: | docx |
day_1__ordinal_numbers_first-fifth_.docx | |
File Size: | 56 kb |
File Type: | docx |