First entry

My goal is to try and write a weekly journal about student teaching to help remember the special moments.  I thought I would share them with you.  This is my first entry......

Last week I experienced an “A-ha” moment with a student.  We were working on number sense in math and were using a 100’s chart to fill in missing numbers.  I noticed that one particular student was struggling with this assignment and was getting upset that she couldn’t complete her math graphic organizer.  I pulled the student aside and began working individually with her.  As I was providing this student with extra support, my brain was churning away, thinking about what tools/strategies I could use to help her understand this mathematical concept.  I tried pointing to the specific numbers and even tried circling the numbers, but nothing seemed to click for the student.  While observing the student struggle, I realized that she was getting frustrated because she couldn’t focus in on one number, or even a few numbers because there were 100 numbers that were confusing her.  As a result of this, I asked Mrs. Young (my mentor teacher) if she had a 100’s chart that we could write on.  She grabbed a 100’s chart that was laminated and said we could use dry erase markers.  Now that I had a clearer visual for the student, I still had to think of a way to isolate the numbers that she needed to focus her attention on.  After playing around with multiple strategies, I found a way that worked for the student.  For example, if the question asked which number comes first, 21 or 46, we would circle both numbers and then she would take the dry erase marker and “follow the trail” (as I named it) starting from 0 until she hit the first number.  Then she would continue on the trail until she hit the next number.  This strategy especially helped the student when she had to list numbers from least to greatest.  The integration of the hands-on and visual component really helped the student and instilled her with confidence that she could do it.  I was so proud of not only the student, but I was proud of myself.  At that moment, I felt like I was flying in the air.  This was the first time in my teacher career that I experienced a student’s light bulb switch from on to off.

Thanks for reading! :)  I am in my third week already and everyday I feel like I am following my dream.  I have a wonderful class and my mentor teacher is incredible. Stay tuned!