The ninth grade class did really well with today's lesson on conjunctions and disjunctions. (For those who are not versed in formal logic, that's "and" & "or" statements.) Starting with everyday examples that were obvious to them really helped, situations where you have to do both ("and") as opposed to situations where it's okay to do one or the other or both, as long as you do at least one ("or"). Then when we started doing it with mathematical statements, it was pretty clear.
We'll see how they do next week on conditionals, though. It can be hard enough normally to explain why an "if-then" statement can be true even if the hypothesis (the "if") is false -- let's see if I can explain it in sign!
You know what I love about that class? The way two out of the three students (and sometimes the third does, too) will continually go back to their notes as they work on practice problems or homework. They actually get the concept that "hey, we did a problem like that during the lecture, and it made sense to me then -- maybe I should look back and remind myself what we did." It's nice to see.
On the opposite end of the logical spectrum, I survived my first SST (Student Support Team) meeting today. An hour and twenty minutes after school with all the teachers who have this kid, the principal, another administrator, school psychologist (I think), a counselor, and a couple other people whose jobs I'm unsure of. I walked out of the meeting with my cooperating teacher and her sister (who's also a teacher there), we went back to the classroom, and the sister said, "So what exactly am I supposed to be doing?"
All that time, and no one in the end could say what specifically had been decided on. I realize now that I've been spoiled with administrators who really knew how to run a meeting. People who wouldn't finish a meeting without declaring, "So this and this and that have been settled, and so-and-so will be in charge of this and get back to us, etc."
Regarding the same meeting ... I really hate hearing about parents who won't accept their kid's deafness. (As in, Dad says the kid's not deaf.) What do they think they're accomplishing by denial? Fine, maybe they see it as a traumatic situation and difficult to accept, but come on -- be the adult, get over it, and do what's best for your kid!
Now I get to make sure I'm ready to videotape my lesson with the 6th graders tomorrow. I don't really mind it, because it's good for me to be able to see myself and find ways to improve. But I'm not especially thrilled about it either. And since all my classmates are going to watch it during the week after student teaching is over, I've decided to also tape a lesson with the 9th graders next week, on the chance that one of the two will be exceptionally good.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
So THAT'S Where the Problem Starts!
Overheard coming from an elementary classroom downstairs, regarding a math lesson:
"No, you don't have to think, just use your fingers."
Could this be why I have several middle school kids who have more than half the multiplication facts memorized, and yet NO addition or subtraction facts?
On the plus side, the 6th graders this afternoon were a refreshing change. Plenty of calculation ability. One even figured out 39/3 = 13 in his head, no problem.
Also, in the modified 6th grade class, I have two kids who don't think Roman numerals are easy (who does?), but they think they're fun to figure out. I introduced it to them Tuesday, and both then and today they said they want to do more of them. Go figure. (Wait till I show them how years are written at the end of movies -- that should blow their minds...)
"No, you don't have to think, just use your fingers."
Could this be why I have several middle school kids who have more than half the multiplication facts memorized, and yet NO addition or subtraction facts?
On the plus side, the 6th graders this afternoon were a refreshing change. Plenty of calculation ability. One even figured out 39/3 = 13 in his head, no problem.
Also, in the modified 6th grade class, I have two kids who don't think Roman numerals are easy (who does?), but they think they're fun to figure out. I introduced it to them Tuesday, and both then and today they said they want to do more of them. Go figure. (Wait till I show them how years are written at the end of movies -- that should blow their minds...)
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Sixth Week, FINISH
A boy who won't stop making "jokes" about shooting people or having a weapon, another who still isn't making friends because it's easier to make enemies, and some so-so test and quiz grades. My first week fully in charge of all the classes, and I survived.
Actually, it wasn't as bad as all that. The modified classes took pretty well to all the measurement lessons, and the fifth grade class seemed to like the Touch Math lesson I did on Friday. During my three prior years of teaching, I'd seen a few kids do this funny thing they'd learned in elementary school, where they touched the point of their pencil to certain places on the digits to figure out a calculation. Now I know how it works (and where the "dots" go on each number), my cooperating teacher and I have decided it will be particularly useful for the modified classes to use the method.
Most of these kids are still using counting strategies to add and subtract. Most deaf kids don't count out loud -- they count on their fingers. They have a slight advantage over most kids who try to count on their fingers -- with the ASL number system, they can count indefinitely on one hand. So, to do a problem such as 7 + 5, they might hold five on their passive hand, start with seven on their dominant hand, and move it along their five fingers as they count '8-9-10-11-12'. The weakness (and really, really annoying thing for both me and my cooperating teacher) is that they have to drop their pencil, figure it out, then pick up their pencil again to write down the answer. If they're doing a three-digit plus three-digit problem, that's three put-down-and-pick-ups just for one problem.
With Touch Math, their pencil can stay in their hand the whole time. For 7 + 5, their passive hand would hold seven, then they would tap their pencil on the "dots" for the five one by one, as their passive hand counted up from 7 to 12. They get through their problems a lot faster, they actually think it's fun to do, and some kids noticed on their own that for addition, it's faster if you start from the larger number (because they visually saw it had more dots to count on).
Now my big wish is that more of the kids would notice the easy things, particularly with subtraction. For instance, the idea that a number subtracted from itself is always zero. Or, a number subtracted by the number just before it is always one. It's very frustrating watching kids count their way through 9 - 8 over and over. Basically, they're only understanding subtraction as "taking away" that many, instead of the "difference" or how far apart those two numbers are.
This week is Spring Break (thank goodness!) That means I have time to really think about some lesson planning, so maybe I'll come up with something to help them get a broader view of subtraction.
Actually, it wasn't as bad as all that. The modified classes took pretty well to all the measurement lessons, and the fifth grade class seemed to like the Touch Math lesson I did on Friday. During my three prior years of teaching, I'd seen a few kids do this funny thing they'd learned in elementary school, where they touched the point of their pencil to certain places on the digits to figure out a calculation. Now I know how it works (and where the "dots" go on each number), my cooperating teacher and I have decided it will be particularly useful for the modified classes to use the method.
Most of these kids are still using counting strategies to add and subtract. Most deaf kids don't count out loud -- they count on their fingers. They have a slight advantage over most kids who try to count on their fingers -- with the ASL number system, they can count indefinitely on one hand. So, to do a problem such as 7 + 5, they might hold five on their passive hand, start with seven on their dominant hand, and move it along their five fingers as they count '8-9-10-11-12'. The weakness (and really, really annoying thing for both me and my cooperating teacher) is that they have to drop their pencil, figure it out, then pick up their pencil again to write down the answer. If they're doing a three-digit plus three-digit problem, that's three put-down-and-pick-ups just for one problem.
With Touch Math, their pencil can stay in their hand the whole time. For 7 + 5, their passive hand would hold seven, then they would tap their pencil on the "dots" for the five one by one, as their passive hand counted up from 7 to 12. They get through their problems a lot faster, they actually think it's fun to do, and some kids noticed on their own that for addition, it's faster if you start from the larger number (because they visually saw it had more dots to count on).
Now my big wish is that more of the kids would notice the easy things, particularly with subtraction. For instance, the idea that a number subtracted from itself is always zero. Or, a number subtracted by the number just before it is always one. It's very frustrating watching kids count their way through 9 - 8 over and over. Basically, they're only understanding subtraction as "taking away" that many, instead of the "difference" or how far apart those two numbers are.
This week is Spring Break (thank goodness!) That means I have time to really think about some lesson planning, so maybe I'll come up with something to help them get a broader view of subtraction.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Flying Solo
My cooperating teacher was out to a workshop today (New York state, changing the math core again), so I was "on my own"... with the usual assortment of TAs, plus the science teacher next door popping in to make sure everything was going okay when the TAs left for lunch.
Actually, it went more smoothly than I had any right to expect. First block was prep -- got everything for the day completely ready with tons of time to spare. The two modified classes were pretty well-behaved, which is remarkable considering the "hot-spot" student in each class reportedly got off to bad starts in first block. During "advisement" time, two kids were on field trips, two were signed up by another teacher, leaving me with one easy-to-manage kid, plus another who dropped in because their regular teacher was off with the field trip. That same field trip meant my third block class (the 8th graders) turned into another prep, and fourth block was the 6th grade -- they had a test.
My birthday yesterday was nice enough, considering it's the middle of the week and I had to teach and all. My coop. teacher made chocolate-covered strawberries! That was really nice of her. The kids enjoyed signing (not singing) "Happy Birthday" every time they saw me. And I made them figure out my age by solving a single-variable equation (a good review).
I'm very tired, because I still don't manage to go to bed early enough, considering I have to wake up at 6:00. Next week is Spring Break -- hopefully I'll catch up on sleep and a few other things.
Tomorrow, I get to teach one of the modified classes about volume. They've done all right with perimeter and area so far. Hopefully the little boxes I made out of inch-grids (during all that prep time) along with some one-inch cubes will help make the idea concrete enough for them to grasp.
Actually, it went more smoothly than I had any right to expect. First block was prep -- got everything for the day completely ready with tons of time to spare. The two modified classes were pretty well-behaved, which is remarkable considering the "hot-spot" student in each class reportedly got off to bad starts in first block. During "advisement" time, two kids were on field trips, two were signed up by another teacher, leaving me with one easy-to-manage kid, plus another who dropped in because their regular teacher was off with the field trip. That same field trip meant my third block class (the 8th graders) turned into another prep, and fourth block was the 6th grade -- they had a test.
My birthday yesterday was nice enough, considering it's the middle of the week and I had to teach and all. My coop. teacher made chocolate-covered strawberries! That was really nice of her. The kids enjoyed signing (not singing) "Happy Birthday" every time they saw me. And I made them figure out my age by solving a single-variable equation (a good review).
I'm very tired, because I still don't manage to go to bed early enough, considering I have to wake up at 6:00. Next week is Spring Break -- hopefully I'll catch up on sleep and a few other things.
Tomorrow, I get to teach one of the modified classes about volume. They've done all right with perimeter and area so far. Hopefully the little boxes I made out of inch-grids (during all that prep time) along with some one-inch cubes will help make the idea concrete enough for them to grasp.
Monday, April 11, 2005
Random Notes
- The measurement lesson with the modified classes today was kind of so-so. Actually, 5/6 of the sixth grade class was fine. The fifth grade class was a little shakier, even though it was majorly simplified, but I think most of them got it in the end. A 40-minute (really 35-minute) class period just isn't quite long enough sometimes to emphasize and practice like they need to.
- There I sat eating lunch, and right outside the window fly two red-tailed hawks, no more than 20 feet away. Benefits of the school's location right above a river? Mom will be jealous; it's apparently common to see them out the windows.
- My federal tax refund has been direct-deposited into my account! $$ is good to have.
- I just made my flight reservations for next month. I'm going to try flying Delta this time, connecting through Cincinnati (oh, the memories!) Arrive May 20th, 2:17 pm. Leave again June 4th, 8:29 am. (If it seems a little early, make the little sister drive me to the airport...)
- The 8th grade quiz -- interesting mistakes were made. Always enlightening to see who's clueless and who's just not careful. (Not one got through the whole quiz rounding as directed.)
- The 6th grade -- test on Wednesday ... it'll be interesting to see what they remember and what falls out of their brains between now and then.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Fifth Week, FINISH
Halfway there! (Really more than that since week after next is Spring Break -- no school for a full week.)
Starting Monday, I'm in charge of all the classes. Not too big a deal, except that I'm finding the modified classes difficult to prepare for. Every course needs a backbone -- a textbook, core curriculum, something. The modified classes have the students' IEP goals, but they make for a very broad and less-than-sturdy backbone. Feels a little too much like flying by the seat of my pants. Really, I think I'd be okay working with courses like this, if I started with them from the beginning of the year. It's a difficult situation to jump into the middle of.
Other than that, the 8th graders have a quiz Monday/Tuesday, the 6th graders have a test Wednesday, and the 9th graders are starting on inequalities. Two of the three ninth graders really aren't as solid as I'd like when it comes to solving equations, so I'll need to re-emphasize the whole "inverse operations" idea when working with inequalities.
That's what I need to work on preparing today, plus a week-long unit on measurement for both modified classes. We're going to have to start simple -- "Here's a line, here's a ruler, here's how you measure to the nearest inch/half-inch." Several of them are still so clueless about fractions that measuring more precisely in inches will be a big leap. *sigh*
Starting Monday, I'm in charge of all the classes. Not too big a deal, except that I'm finding the modified classes difficult to prepare for. Every course needs a backbone -- a textbook, core curriculum, something. The modified classes have the students' IEP goals, but they make for a very broad and less-than-sturdy backbone. Feels a little too much like flying by the seat of my pants. Really, I think I'd be okay working with courses like this, if I started with them from the beginning of the year. It's a difficult situation to jump into the middle of.
Other than that, the 8th graders have a quiz Monday/Tuesday, the 6th graders have a test Wednesday, and the 9th graders are starting on inequalities. Two of the three ninth graders really aren't as solid as I'd like when it comes to solving equations, so I'll need to re-emphasize the whole "inverse operations" idea when working with inequalities.
That's what I need to work on preparing today, plus a week-long unit on measurement for both modified classes. We're going to have to start simple -- "Here's a line, here's a ruler, here's how you measure to the nearest inch/half-inch." Several of them are still so clueless about fractions that measuring more precisely in inches will be a big leap. *sigh*
Thursday, April 07, 2005
I Hate Daylight Screw-Up Time!
Overslept this morning, yet still made it to school at the exact same time as usual... so typical of me...
Busy week, as evidenced by the lack of posting. The two boys in the modified 5th grade class often seem like they can't get along to save their lives. One is the new boy. He comes from a very different world, so the school for the deaf has been a bit of a culture shock. He speaks fairly well, and is only now really beginning to learn sign. (Today I noticed him signing without speaking a little more often, which is a good step.)
He's had a lot to adjust to, but he isn't exactly making it easy on himself. A lot of the time he's very sweet, but then sometimes he'll go a little "tough guy" and pick on other kids. The other boy in the class has somewhat been the target this week -- more in other classes than math, apparently. So the other day, he came in and eventually let loose with a rant to me about how the new boy shouldn't be here because it's a school for the DEAF and he's hearing, he talks and doesn't sign, and he hopes the new boy gets sent to the major local mainstream program.
There's up to four adults in that class at any given time, and up to three of us spend most of our time trying to make sure those two stay apart and don't bother each other.
Mathematically speaking, things are going about as they're expected to. The 8th graders are doing pretty well -- they get a quiz next week. We counted and realized there are less than 10 class sessions remaining until their state test, thanks to block scheduling. The 9th graders took a quiz today -- not very pretty. Same old teacher dilemma -- they seem to understand so well in class, but it never shows up that way on assessments.
The 6th graders are doing great. Yesterday I did a lesson on symmetry, similarity, and congruence, and they were totally into it. Even the newer boy in that class, who just started here this year -- another who is a little awkward socially and is only slowly developing sign skills -- even he was enthusiastic. I had to keep a mental checklist to make sure I called on everyone fairly evenly -- they were all begging to be called on almost every time.
Speaking of the 6th grade, I need to finish getting ready to play a review game with them tomorrow. They get to learn Review Baseball, since they seemed interested when they saw the poster still hanging after 8th grade one day.
Busy week, as evidenced by the lack of posting. The two boys in the modified 5th grade class often seem like they can't get along to save their lives. One is the new boy. He comes from a very different world, so the school for the deaf has been a bit of a culture shock. He speaks fairly well, and is only now really beginning to learn sign. (Today I noticed him signing without speaking a little more often, which is a good step.)
He's had a lot to adjust to, but he isn't exactly making it easy on himself. A lot of the time he's very sweet, but then sometimes he'll go a little "tough guy" and pick on other kids. The other boy in the class has somewhat been the target this week -- more in other classes than math, apparently. So the other day, he came in and eventually let loose with a rant to me about how the new boy shouldn't be here because it's a school for the DEAF and he's hearing, he talks and doesn't sign, and he hopes the new boy gets sent to the major local mainstream program.
There's up to four adults in that class at any given time, and up to three of us spend most of our time trying to make sure those two stay apart and don't bother each other.
Mathematically speaking, things are going about as they're expected to. The 8th graders are doing pretty well -- they get a quiz next week. We counted and realized there are less than 10 class sessions remaining until their state test, thanks to block scheduling. The 9th graders took a quiz today -- not very pretty. Same old teacher dilemma -- they seem to understand so well in class, but it never shows up that way on assessments.
The 6th graders are doing great. Yesterday I did a lesson on symmetry, similarity, and congruence, and they were totally into it. Even the newer boy in that class, who just started here this year -- another who is a little awkward socially and is only slowly developing sign skills -- even he was enthusiastic. I had to keep a mental checklist to make sure I called on everyone fairly evenly -- they were all begging to be called on almost every time.
Speaking of the 6th grade, I need to finish getting ready to play a review game with them tomorrow. They get to learn Review Baseball, since they seemed interested when they saw the poster still hanging after 8th grade one day.
Friday, April 01, 2005
Fourth Week, FINISH
I can hardly believe I'm almost halfway through student teaching already.
Things are still going well. My supervisor came to observe me yesterday. It was my first day teaching the ninth graders, but everything went fairly smoothly. I just got his notes and feedback today, and it was all really positive. One area for improvement was showing more enthusiasm -- something I do better at when it's not the first class of the day, not my first day teaching a group, and not my second language -- but I'll keep it in mind as something I need to focus on.
The sixth graders were crazy with April Fool's Day in homeroom this morning, trying to get everyone right and left. One girl kept trying to pull the exact same thing on several people, pointing and saying, "Look, your mom's right there, look!" My response was to not break eye contact for a second and say, "My mom's two thousand miles away, try again."
Just in time for the weekend, I seem to have come down with a slight bug. Yesterday I thought it was allergies, but today it feels like something else. I was able to function all day at school just fine, though, so if I just rest this weekend, I should kick it easily enough.
Mathematically, the students are hanging in there. Funny how they seem to understand and do it right when you're there with them, but when they hand in their homework or take a test, you wonder if some kind of "invasion of the body-snatchers" phenomenon has taken place. So we'll review and clarify a few things next week. (And the ninth graders will take a quiz Thursday -- lucky them!)
Things are still going well. My supervisor came to observe me yesterday. It was my first day teaching the ninth graders, but everything went fairly smoothly. I just got his notes and feedback today, and it was all really positive. One area for improvement was showing more enthusiasm -- something I do better at when it's not the first class of the day, not my first day teaching a group, and not my second language -- but I'll keep it in mind as something I need to focus on.
The sixth graders were crazy with April Fool's Day in homeroom this morning, trying to get everyone right and left. One girl kept trying to pull the exact same thing on several people, pointing and saying, "Look, your mom's right there, look!" My response was to not break eye contact for a second and say, "My mom's two thousand miles away, try again."
Just in time for the weekend, I seem to have come down with a slight bug. Yesterday I thought it was allergies, but today it feels like something else. I was able to function all day at school just fine, though, so if I just rest this weekend, I should kick it easily enough.
Mathematically, the students are hanging in there. Funny how they seem to understand and do it right when you're there with them, but when they hand in their homework or take a test, you wonder if some kind of "invasion of the body-snatchers" phenomenon has taken place. So we'll review and clarify a few things next week. (And the ninth graders will take a quiz Thursday -- lucky them!)
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