I am really excited to say that I have gotten the chance to teach math this whole week. It has been a great experience even though it has just been a week. I think I have learned a lot of things by just being the “teacher” in the classroom during math time. I think every day I get a little better at teaching. It has also been nice because my teacher and I have gotten a chance to talk at the end of every day and discuss my lesson and what was good and what I can improve. I think it is interesting because I had plans for my unit and what I was going to do every day and those changed. At the end of the day I would reflect on what happened and look at my formative assessments and gain information about what I need to do differently the next day. Even though I had plans set for everyday I have been changing the plans after I teach the lesson before. My CMT is very big on reflecting and I love that we get a chance to reflect and brainstorm together after the day is done.
There are many things I am still learning about teaching fourth graders. It is difficult for me to teach at a fourth grade level. I think all week I have been working on how to explain something in math terms to a fourth grader. I did get a compliment from my CMT about my academic vocabulary I have been using during my lessons. There are things that I find difficult to explain to them because they may not have the background knowledge I expect. I am really happy with the way my students are able to find equivalent fractions using models and pictures. Now that they have mastered that I am working on showing them how to create equivalent fractions using just the numbers. This is a difficult transititon for my students and is something they are not quite grasping yet. It is what I am going to work with them at the beginning of next week.
I have been trying to keep with the norms of the classroom. Each day I have been starting math class the way my teacher begins. I also gave the weekly math test today at the beginning of my lesson. One of the norms my CMT has complimented me on was how I have insisted the students use sign language when they are responding to me. I also have done stations the past few days which is something my teacher does a lot. The students are also accustom to having speed games on the computer where they play against the teacher. I have created a speed game to challenge the students. It has been a good week and I am excited to continue teaching.