Tuesday, December 20, 2011

This afternoon is the first school dance of the year and I am sure everyone is very excited.  If I am able to take some photos, I will post them of members of the class.

The second Math test I reviewed and gave to the class yielded some better results, but the vast majority of the class is still having difficulty with the concepts.  When a number of students are not understanding, I believe that the issue has to do with my delivery and teaching. In reviewing some of the lesson plans from the JUMP Math program, I came across this website that has to do with learning about elapsed time:  http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/ElapsedTime/

After a review in class and some exercises, I will allow students in the class to try this online game to assist them in their reviews.  Here are also some notes and handouts used in class to support our learning of time:

The concept of subtraction is very difficult for many in the class.  I will place emphasis on counting by 5s to figure out the differences.

The use of  the number line helps in visually being able to track the passage of time.

Instructions on how to calculate the elapse of time.  Using this in conjunction with the number line is helpful.

There have been noted improvements in how the class delivers information with the Community Circle.  While there are very few students who are able to capture the full expression of expectations of the exercise (who, what, when, where, how, why + feelings + reflections and thoughts), I am hearing a lot more details from the class.

Here are some images from the dance:

HOMEWORK:  Clock portion of time quiz.  A review will be done in class tomorrow for the elapsed portion of time and telling time from words (e.g. thirty-three minutes to three = 3:27).