Math Class #7

I learned a lot in class today, some specifically about math, and more about teaching with technology in a classroom.  For math, I learned about measurement and how you can use anything to measure with.  It was also so cool to see the wolframalpha site in action. 

What really resonated me and will most affect my own teaching is what we talked about with technology.  Part of what was bothering me with implementing technology in the classroom and assigning technology as homework was that some students may not have access to a computer or the internet at home.  What Robin said today about how students 20years ago had to go to the library to do research for projects was an "a-ha" moment.  I was one of these students, and it did not seem out of the ordinary to do this.  This is the same for the students who now do not have access to technology at home.  They have a wonderful resource nearby: the public library.  Or alternatively, they can use a classroom computer before or after school, or a library computer at recess. 

The more we talk about technology, I wonder how technology will continue to change the teaching and learning in the public schools.  When I was in high school and took the SAT, we had to do all of our calculations by hand.  A few years after I graduated, students were able to use calculators.  How important is it for us to teach the "long way" of performing math calculations, etc. vs. letting the students use the technology?  In the near future will there be an app that measures items, as Robin suggested?  Will rulers go the way of protractors?  I wonder if math curriculum will change or if we will continue to teach antiquated methods.

Using Photostory with children

This is a Photostory I made with my daughter tonight.  She is in kindergarten, and is working on reading and writing.  This just shows how you can use Photostory even with younger kids.

Technology and Classroom Management

This week I was able to use the iPod Touch in the classroom.  I have been struggling to keep the students on task.  I am constantly stopping, asking for their attention and voices off.  They will be quiet for a minute, but then the chatter starts again.  I was getting very frustrated, and seeing that they were tuning me out, I grabbed my iTouch, started the stopwatch and put it under the document camera.  Once they calmed down I let them know that this was the amount of time that they now owed me from their recess time, and if they continued to talk I would start the timer again.  It worked like a charm.  :) 

Math Class #6: Making Geometry & Data Tables Fun

So last week I talked about how I really struggled with the tangrams, and that I am not good at geometry.  This week we got to play with Geometer's Sketch Pad.  So I am still not good at geometry, but I had fun with it this week.  I learned a lot about shapes and how to manipulate them to make objects.  It also reminded me of the importance of seeing problems multiple ways.  Many of us used different shapes to make the pieces needed for the face.  So there are ways to make pieces of math that students' may dislike fun for them.

I love the technology piece, but I am struggling with how to get it into the classroom.  In my main placement classroom, the teacher has a computer and there are two other computers that I have never seen used.  Computer Lab time is a rarity and it is usually for praticing typing.  How do I bring a cool program like Geometer's Sketchpad into the classroom for all the students?  I don't think it would be beneficial unless they all could "drive" the mouse and have the hands on experience with it.

I see the implications for these tools in my future practice.  Geometer's Sketchpad would work if we had a larger amount of computers in the class, or if we took turns on the computers while the other kids worked on a different aspect of math.  I would like to use Fathom to make graphs and tables using students' own information so that it is relevant to them.

Math Class #5: Cotton Ball Frogs & Tangrams

Monday's Math was a session filled with fun manipulatives.  The first was constructing frogs out of cotton balls and making them hop by launching them off of paperclips.  From this lesson, I saw again the value of having the kids compile their own data in a fun way.  We all had a blast making our frogs jump and recording the distance. 

For me it was fun playing with the tangrams until we had to construct the giraffe.  This further reinforced for me that I am not a spatial visualizer (Good thing I never went into the field of ultrasound tech like I had once thought about!)  This assignment brought up my frustration level, but also made me realize that most people have strengths and weaknesses when it comes to math.

My question is: how far into frustration do you let a student struggle?  Should the group members jump in to help, or should a student have to try and work it out on their own?

The applications I see for my class are making math fun!  Students won't even realize they are learning because they are so absorbed in a fun activity.  Also, I want students to see their math strengths.  Even if they think they aren't good at math, there should be an area that they feel confident in.

Update on my Literacy Buddy

I have learned a lot about my buddy, A. over the past few weeks.  On the examiner word lists, A. scored in the independent and instructional range up through high school.  She is often reading books that above her grade level, such as Little House on the Prairie or Harry Potter.  While she is very fluent and scored above the 75th percentile on the 4th grade fluency test, we found that she is lacking in comprehension.  A. seems to have a desire to quickly read through a book.  She reads often and usually chooses series which she tries to finish as quickly as possible.  Because of this, her comprehension suffers.  When questioning A. about the Amelia Earhart passage, we found that she missed the explicit questions, indicative that she was rushing through the reading and not thinking about what she read.  She needed to look back in order to even find the information that we were questioning her about.  We found the same results on her retelling of a passage of Harry Potter that she read aloud to us; she left out important information.

Our plan for the next class session is to have A. read the other 4th grade passage and ask her to slow down.  That is also the goal for the lesson that we will create for her: to have her read slower and stop to think about what she is reading.  Currently, when she picks up a book after stopping for a period of a few hours she has to reread a page or so to refresh her memory as to what is going on.  We are hoping to get a better idea of what level of book to choose for her for the lesson, as we suspect she may either be reading at a level that is too high for her, or it may just be that she needs to take higher level books at a slower pace. 

My current thinking on iTouches

My thinking about the iTouches hasn't changed much in the past month.  If anything, I have an even stronger desire to use them in the classroom as I see all of the potential benefits. 

One problem that is nagging at me is the financials that go along.  I understand that if they are in the classroom, the district or the PTA will have paid for them, so it is not the initial cost that I am concerned about.  When I was reviewing apps for math class, there were quite a few apps that were intriguing, but were not free.  What if there is an app that we really want all of the students to have?  Where would the money come from? 

Another part that goes along with this is whether or not the students would be able to take them home, and if the student loses them, what happens?  What if they cannot afford to replace it?  Many of the potential applications that the iTouch could be used for with my students would involve taking them home.  I realize that this might not be possible with the responsibility level of a 3rd grader. 
(See similar thinking on the following blog: http://hla-c.blogspot.com/2011/02/we-need-place-to-go.html#comments)

I hope the time is not far off when I will be in a classroom that has iPod Touches for all of the students to use.  As educators we need to keep the children caught up with all the technology and show them how to use it not just for entertainment, but for education.

Math Class #4: Oh no, not geometry!

So as Robin has mentioned multiple times, when you ask someone about math, they have a strong reaction.  As for me, I really enjoyed math to a certain point.  Algebra made complete sense to me and I liked to do it.  But if you say the word...ge-om-etry...I'm going to freak out!  I am not one who can mentally picture 3D items; my nemesis on tests are those problems that give you a 3D item unfolded to a 2D item and you have to be able to visualize it in 3D.  Not happening. 

In class I did learn to fold the 3D box, as well as to face my fear of geometry and folding.  I also saw the implications for classroom practice which was the power of showing someone step by step and working together.  If you give me a set of written directions to fold an object such as a paper crane, I will fail every time.  If you actually demonstrate it step by step, I will be able to do it.  I know this applies to my students also.  Each of my students has strengths and weaknesses in math, and it is my job to help them to be successful.