Help needed

[KylaErin]

Hi all! I am a third year education student. For my math class we had to write a paper based on questions we had asked a teacher who taught in the grade level we were interested in. I have two jobs and am a full time student so needless to say I did wait until last minute to do it. The teacher I had chosen I was due to interview Friday. When I got to the school they informed me that she wasn't there that day (she had called in sick). I asked to interview other teachers but the secretary wasn't friendly so I didn't get to speak to anyone. This project is due tomorrow and I need answers to these questions because I don't want to fake a paper. I want sincere answers to the questions so that I learn something from this.

If anyone can or will I would like an elementary school teacher who teaches any grade I haven't decided yet though I am considering first or second to answer these questions. You can repost to my thread or e-mail me at EMAIL REMOVED - Send PM to This User Instead Any and all answers are welcome. Thanks so much!

Individual Project: Due on or before November 19, 2007
This project will be worth 5% of your final grade and represents a combination of
both “group project” and “report” in the syllabus.
1. Select a “favorite” grade, one that you would like to teach some day.
2. Interview and if possible “shadow” a teacher who currently is teaching this grade.
3. Write a 2 to 5 page (typed, double spaced) paper about this interview and your impression
of the teaching environment.
4. IMPORTANT: Include in your interview and paper the following question and your response...
What are the most challenging aspects and the most rewarding aspects of teaching mathematics
at this level?
Here are a few other sample questions:
1. “Getting to know you” questions like how long they have taught, where they went to school,
which other grades they have taught, what other school system(s) they may have taught in,
etc.
2. What math topics are taught in this grade level?
3. What manipulatives/techniques are used to teach these topics?
4. How does the teacher feel about mathematics in general and more specifically, how does s/he
feel about teaching the subject at that grade level?
5. Does the teacher incorporate/integrate mathematics into other subjects or other subjects being taught into mathematics lessons? (i.e. types of word problems, or looking at what aspects of math are used in other subjects).
Be creative! Find out as much as you can about teaching at this grade level in general and how mathematics is taught at this level. Your paper should indicate your own responses to and reflections about the answers given to your interview questions. How has the interview effected your feelings about teaching, particularly mathematics, at this grade level? How would you propose to help work around the challenges posed by the teacher you interview?

[Chef Dave]

This project is due tomorrow and I need answers to these questions because I don't want to fake a paper.

If anyone can or will I would like an elementary school teacher who teaches any grade I haven't decided yet though I am considering first or second to answer these questions.

I'd like to help but I'm not a current elementary teacher. I taught 3rd or 4th grade for 17 years but I'm now teaching high school.

I should also point out that your paper is supposed to include your impression regarding the classroom environment. I know you said you didn't want to "fake" a paper ... but by getting your information this way, that's exactly what you'll be doing.

Since the cooperating teacher was absent would it be possible for you to ask your professor for an extension? You could give the professor the cooperating teacher's name and school phone number to verify that she was actually sick.

[mopar]

It is always a good idea to try for the extension on the paper if possible.

I taught grades 3, 4, and 5 for a few years before moving on to the middle school. Sorry its not 1st or 2nd grade. I did do a lot of shadow teaching at 2nd grade.

I think that the most challenging aspect of teaching math at 2nd grade was finding a good combination between teaching math computation and math problem solving. At the 3/4/5 level, I think it was most challenging to engage the students. Many of my students had turned off to math and I needed to find fun but educational ways to tune them back in. I had many students tear up worksheets and flat out refuse to work on math...so we turned math time into game time.

The most rewarding moments are when the students can explain their answers and how they arrived at them. I loved watching my second graders (many over my college career) smile and say they got it. Then explain the answer to a friend. It was amazing to see their wheels turning and the steps they took to get to the answer. The most rewarding aspect at 3/4/5 was watching a student learn something/anything new. I had a 5th grader who didn't know his multiplication facts. I taught him the nine trick on his fingers and he showed all his other teachers and his parents. What a cool light bulb for him. I had another student finally caught on to long division--it was amazing when he got it. The problem solving and explanation is also awesome at this level. I love when the kids get a problem and how to solve it.

My school tried to teach all topics across grade levels. So our 1st graders learning graphing/probability, facts, problem solving, etc all the way through to the 8th graders.

I love finding new methods. For example: multiplication can be done using the algorithm we were taught, but also lattice or place value multiplication. Its great when a student finally finds one that works for them. Base ten blocks are amazing for all concept areas. I love to work with pattern blocks with the younger students. Fraction pieces are great for fractions. My cooperating teacher even began using algeblocks with her 2nd grade class to introduce them to this topic. It was great to explain to the students that they would use these in middle school.

I love teaching mathematics merely because their are so many different strategies to arrive at the same answer. I love when the students find a new method...well new to them. I think that math at any grade level is fun to teach. There are always fun games that you can play or ties to the other curriculum. I had my students do a Oregon Trail and a Gold Rush where I tied math to the social studies curriculum in 4th grade. My students actually did math with out realizing that they were doing math. My second graders made simple check books for adding and subtracting. We kept plants for graphing and interpreting graphs. The students loved it. Anytime you can connect math with another topic, it's great for the kids and shows the practical side of it. I think that finding the practical side is the hardest part in math as the students get older. It was hard to really justify teaching long division to my 4th graders. I can't even imagine trying to justify integrals to an English major!!!

I've found that science and math are great areas to combine and use both together. However, many times I use history because the projects tend to be really fun. I love using my students names in word problems. They are really excited when I match what they love to do with their names. One of my kids loved skateboarding--so we had a contest of who could get sponsored in skateboarding. They had to write a persuasive essay, read books on skateboarding and companies, do math to figure out how much money they needed to buy what they would need as well as how much money they could make the company. And obviously the tie to geometry. My students learned angles and shapes through skateboarding.

Hope this helps! Definitely try to observe in someone's classroom. It is important to see how others teach because that is how you learn best. Also, you pick up so many strategies just watching and asking questions.

[Boxcar]

I agree that teaching math to first and second graders needs to emphasis that math is useful and fun. I am against using worksheets every day. First and second graders are very concrete. Do hands on things that give them soild visuals. If you have to solve a problem such as this: Sally is taller than Fredricko, but Sally is shorter than Ali. How tall is Fredricko, I'd suggest using dolls, children, or pictures to help the kids visualize. (That is probably an advanced problem for this age group, but it is the first example I thought of. You get the point.)

The most challenging thing is thinking of different angles to explain the concepts, so that every child understands.

I love the blocks as well. Magnetic fractions are also really fun.

The most rewarding thing is when a child gets it enough to be able to turn to a classmate and explain what to do.