danielle_journal3


 * Journal Assessment #3**

Today was the Friday before Valentine’s Day, and a week long vacation for the first grade students in my cooperating teacher’s classroom. It was also a Friday that students did not switch classrooms, and they had P.E. as well as a Valentine’s Day special. As a result, the students were not formally assessed, as they usually are on Fridays. However, before morning meaning students are supposed to mark their number in a box on the message, indicating what they plan to do over the weekend. The boxed choices included play outside, visit a friend, go to a new place, read a good book, see a movie, or other. After every student in the classroom did this, my cooperating teacher would ask, “How many students signed up for each box?” The class would then count together how many numbers were in each box. My cooperating teacher recorded the number of students doing that particular activity next to each box. After, she would ask students to add together the numbers next to each box on one side of the chart and then the other. The number of students who were planning to play outside, visit a friend, and go to a new place totaled 6 (5, 1, 0 respectively.) The number of students who were going to read a good book, see a movie, or other totaled 11 (3, 3, and 5 respectively). Following this task she asked students what 6 plus 11 equaled. She advised students, “count on from 11, we are adding 6 to 11.” Students quickly responded 17. Then she asked students, “if we did a fact family what would it look like?” One student shouted, 6 + 11 = 17 and the teacher would write it in a heart. She wrote a 6 and an 11 in the humps of the heart and the 17 at the point. Then she asked for volunteers to tell her others number sentences, which she wrote on the morning message. She called on different children for each sentence. Another student said, “17-11 = 6.” The next student stated, “11 +6 = 17.” The teacher responded, “ Oh, a turn around!” The following child volunteered stating, “11 – 17 = 6.” The teacher stated, “Okay, if I have 11, can I take 17 away?” The student thought about this question, while other students answered “No.” After, the teacher asked the class, “What number needs to be first?” The students replied, “the bigger number!” The teacher then reminded children; “the biggest number is always at the end of the sentence when we are adding, but when we subtract the biggest is always where?” Her students finished her sentence, “at the beginning of the sentence.” Then she asked the student, “So, what would another sentence be?” He said, “17-6 =11.” once more for another math sentence. After creating fact families, the teacher asked the students another question once she finished taking attendance. She stated, “We have four friends absent, how many are present today?” No one was answering, so I was unsure if the students knew how many students are actually in their class. Then the teacher asked, “How many friends are in our class?” She answered, “20.” Then advised children, “Take 4 away from 20. Count backwards from twenty four times.” She called on a student who was raising their hand, but they were unsure. Another student volunteered saying, “17.” Then the teacher asked, “How did you get 17?” She counted backwards, “20, 19, 18, 17. ” This student was counting backwards from twenty four times, but was starting with 20. The teacher then said, “When we start counting we don’t start with 20, we start with 19.” So she asked everyone to count with her, “19, 18, 17, 16.” My cooperating teacher does not teach math to her first graders, however it was nice to see her incorporate math into the morning meeting. I believe that this informal assessment was purposeful because my cooperating teacher was having students apply their knowledge of counting, adding and subtracting numbers to the real world. She gathered data by asking students what their plans were for the weekend and then used that data to have students compute solutions and come up with equations. Then she asked students a realistic question about how many students were present in the class that day. The results were informative for both situations. During the first situation, while all of her students participated in counting, only some volunteered to give addition or subtraction sentences. There were three students that provided fact families or were able to create a sentence, however that fourth child struggled. I enjoyed listening to how my cooperating teacher dealt with that situation because she made comments and asked this student questions to get him back on track. Then she offered him another opportunity to create a sentence. This feedback was helpful to this particular student as well as others that may have thought that same sentence was correct. In addition, the advice was a review for students that understood the concept of where the biggest number goes when you add or subtract. The second math event that occurred with her class was when students were trying to count 4 back from 20. Students trying to calculate the total number of students present had difficulty because they were using their fingers and starting at 20 rather than 19. I felt that students would have better understood this concept if the teacher explained that from 20 to 19 is one jump, 19 to 18 is the second jump, 18 to 17 is the third jump, and 17 to 16 is the fourth jump backwards. This may have helped them to understand why they are not starting with the number twenty, but 19. This part of the assessment may have had more meaning for the children if the cooperating teacher asked a student to justify the correct answer, 16. The teacher just stated, “When we start counting we don’t start with 20, we start with 19.” Then she counted with everyone, “19, 18, 17, 16.” Despite this set back, I feel that my cooperating teacher asked some important math questions and students were able to apply math concepts to what they were doing at morning meeting. My cooperating teacher and her students received instant feedback as the teacher is discovering where her students are struggling math-wise, and she is able to share the results with the students’ actual math teacher. Also the teacher provided assistance with comments for students with incorrect answers.

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