This week one area I have been focusing on in my teaching is helping my students learn different math strategies for completing addition problems. Because we do not have the traditional math manipulatives at Costa Verde School—like base-ten blocks or Unifex cubes—I have been trying to help students recognize and master different ways of solving addition problems. Drawing pictures is the strategy I have been focusing on when working with the second grade students. While teaching students how to use pictures to solve math problems, I realized that it is VERY important to teach them how to keep their drawings organized as well. When the drawings do not stay organized, the problem does not stay organized either and thus the drawing process is not a useful tool for solving the problem. The second grade students loved using drawing to solve math problems. They even asked me if they could do more problems for homework! It was exciting for me to see them having fun while doing math.
In addition to the second graders, I have been teaching my first graders strategies for solving simple addition problems as well. The strategy that seemed most successful and fun for them was using little spool beads to act as counters. I taught them how to count out the amount of spools they need for the problem (ex: 1 + 7 needs 1 spool in one pile and then 7 spools in a second pile) and then to count them all in total to find the answer to the addition problem. The students seemed to really enjoy using the spools while practicing addition and their answers to the problems were more accurate than when they used their fingers as a strategy to solve addition problems. Again, I think organization is the key! I have learned with both my second and first graders that teaching problem organization during math is just as important as teaching how to actually do the problem. Organization cannot be taken for granted or assumed as something the students will automatically do. Before teaching math by myself this was not something I really realized or thought much about.
Another thing I learned from teaching math this week is that repetition is necessary in order to help students master a new concept. I think that often it seems boring to have students do that same type of work more than one day in a row. However, it is beneficial for them. They need to practice the same concept over and over again (yes in slightly different ways each time) in order that the concept is engrained in their brains. I feel like before my experience of lead teaching, I often thought I would not be considered a fun teacher if I did not have a novel activity for the students to work on each day in math. That is, I thought the students would find me boring and would be bored. This week I discovered that that is far from the truth. Students get excited when they catch on to a new concept and want to keep practicing it. Sure, it is good—and often necessary to tweak a math activity so that it isn’t completely the same each time, but the concept should stay the same. Repetition and practice is important in math!
Well, that’s all I have for now! More to come later this week!
2nd Grade Drawing Strategies
Our beach view from our new bungalow.
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