Dyana+_Journal+4

Dyana Brown Assessment Journal #4 Today, the students in the first grade started learning about different shapes as an introductory to geometry. The teacher first gave the students pattern blocks so that the children could explore how the different shapes work and relate to each other. Then, the teacher called the students to the rug and read the students a story in big print about the different shapes. The story was called, __Shape Hop__. After reading the story the teacher went over five different shapes: oval, circle, square, rectangle, and triangle. After identifying the different shapes in the story, the children were given a mini printed out booklet of the same big book that the teacher had just read to them. They were instructed to color the shapes throughout the book so that one type of shape was the same color throughout the book. For instance, all the triangles had to be one color and all the rectangles had to be another so that the teacher new that the students could distinguish among the different shapes. After the teacher gave the students the instructions at the rug, they were called by group to return to their seats. At their seats, the students colored the shapes independently. When they finished coloring, the teacher provided the students with a “Shape Hop” game where the students practiced in pairs. This game required the students to roll one dice, use people that they created as their markers, and their counters as their manipulative to help them finish the game. Each time their marker landed on a space that had a picture of a shape, they had to cover the shape with the counter. The first person of the pair to finish covering all of the shapes with the counters first, was the winner of the “Shape Hop” game. Most of these activities required the teacher to assess the students through observation except for the coloring book. The coloring book is a great way to assess whether or not the students not only were listening to the story in the beginning, but also understood the directions and could distinguish between the different types of shapes that the teacher had gone over. The game was also a great motivator and introduction for the students to learn the differences between the 2-D and 3-D picture shapes. The way the games were set up (in pairs) was pretty effective because it kept the students engaged throughout the entire time.