tangrams

1.  What did I learn?
 This week in class we  worked with tangrams.  Unlike many of the other manipulatives we've worked with in class, I've seen tangrams actually being used in a classroom. I have only really worked in primary classrooms and I'm sure tangrams are much more common with the younger grades. I have to admit I never realized how challenging tangrams can be. I've always seen them used with a outline that is actually to size and all the kids had to do was fill it in with the shapes. Don't get me wrong, this can certainly be challenging for 1st and 2nd graders but I never really thought of thangrams as something that could be implemented in the higher grades.

2.  What do I have questions about?
I guess I'm just curious how kids in middle school for instance would react to being handed tangrams.  Do they have the same misconceptions as I do that tangrams are for little kids? How would you address the misconceptions if that proved to be the case?

3.  What are the implications for classroom practice?
I feel like I am repeating myself on this question week after week but I am a proponent of utilizing manipulatives because I feel they would have made such a difference in my education.  Kids learn in different ways and they are all going to be at different levels, there is no denying those facts.  Why not use all the resources at your disposal? 

Update on using an ipod touch for differentiated instruction

So I'm going to be completely honest in this post.  I have continued using and experimenting with my itouch (and iphone) and various education related apps in hopes of finding some groundbreaking teaching tool that will suddenly make life easier for teachers and open up countless doors for students who have various barriers to their education.  The truth is- it hasn't happened yet.  I have found some neat apps that will make life easier for sure but to be honest, I've found a lot more that are just disappointments. There are so many poorly developed apps out there that just don't do what they claim and while I would certainly have no problem investing a dollar or two for something worth while I don't want to pay for something that isn't going to work for me (as far as I know there are no refunds on apps).  I think the problem is that the sudden introduction of smart phones and tablet pcs on the market has lead to app developers trying to tap into a newly opened market by rapidly producing tools that haven't been sufficiently tested.  Additionally, I don't believe Apple has strict enough (if any) quality controls on apps being released. 
As of now I have not found an application that is both useful enough and reliable enough to utilize with a student.  I also don't know when I would find the time to teach a student how to use the touch.  As of now all I have are speculations about what could possibly be achieved with the use of an itouch and with the current developments I am just not seeing a whole lot of potential. 

Moving from assessment to instruction

My buddy is a strong reader. During one of our meetings she informed me that her teacher told her mom at conferences that she's reading at a sixth grade level. She can pronounce challenging words with little difficulty and her comprehension is excellent; she can recount many details of the story that I myself would have trouble remembering (such as Amelia Earhart flying over 40 hours).

My buddy, A, likes to read  but admits she doesn't have much time for free choice reading at home.  When she is able to choose her reading material, A prefers fantasy novels that allow her to use her imagination.  A also typically goes for books in a series that she knows is good or is recommended by a friend or teacher.

A has many strengths as a reader but there are a couple of areas where I see room for improvement.  For starters, when A reads aloud to me she rarely uses expression regardless of how challenging the material is for her. Additionally, A commonly substitutes words that look alike and doe not often catch her mistake, even when the substitution changes the meaning.  I think one or both of these areas will be excellent focus points for a lesson in reading with A.

Math

1.  What did I learn?

I learned about geometry and the importance of having a thorough understanding in order to help students think more abstractly and at deeper levels.  I thought the point about most teachers being at level one in understanding was a little concerning but not all that surprising.  I would put myself in that category. 

This week we also experimented with origami and how it can be used to get students thinking about shapes and how to construct them.  I thought it was great that we were forced to explain why we knew it was what it was.  This was something we probably didn't do in school when we were growing up and it was clearly challenging for most of us.


2.  What do I have questions about?

When students are explaining their thinking there are bound to be some who are way off track.  How do you deal with students who just aren't grasping the concept without directly saying they're wrong or discrediting their thinking?

3.  What are the implications for classroom practice?

In certain subjects it might be ok for the teacher to be learning along with the student.  I don't see this being the case in mathematics education because it would seem the teacher needs to have a deeper understanding in order to know how to best bring the students there.

Mira Mira on the table...

1.  What did I learn?

There are many more manipulatives for math than I ever could have imagined.  Manipulatives can be costly or inexpensive and you can make your own or use more affordable options (like poker chips) as alternatives to the ones manufactured for math learning.  This week we learned about miras, a tool I hadn't heard of before or had the opportunity to use.  I have to admit it was pretty cool.  Using the mira was actually pretty fun and didn't really feel like math at all.

2.  What do I have questions about?

I just am curious what other tools are out there that I don't know about yet?

3.  What are the implications for classroom practice?

If the mira was fun for me to use (I was a student who dreaded math), I think it's safe to assume it will be equally enjoyable for students who might not find math particularly interesting.

Analysis of Student Writing and Lesson Plan- Rough Draft

    I only obtained one writing sample from A.  The writing sample was constructed after a prompt of what the students would do if they woke up one day and suddenly realized that animals could talk.  A was particularly fond of this prompt because she loves animals and enjoys writing about them.  The main animal character in the story is a hamster called Oreo who is modeled after her real life pet.  She informed me that imagining that Oreo could talk was good inspiration for her on this piece.

    In terms of the six traits this paper is overall very strong.  Her topic is very focused and the idea is well developed which can be partially credited due to the specific prompt she was given for this piece.  She provides adequate details to give the reader a thorough picture of the events that unfold and doesn't leave any loose ends.  The story is fairly short (just a few pages), and she chose a fairly short time frame during which the events take place (one night) so it doesn't feel rushed or vague at all.

    The story is very well organized.  If I was judging Alexis' writing solely off this piece I would say organization is one of her strongest skills.  She has a clear beginning, middle, and end and the sequence of events is very logical and linear.  I think she may have been actually focusing too closely on sequence of events and perhaps should have put a little more thought into developing her ideas first.

    While organization is As' strong area, voice is perhaps her weakest.  It was clear from our discussion that the topic was interesting and exciting for her and she even made is personal by including her real life pet in the story.  Despite the connections to her interests this piece is lacking in voice.  She tells a story with all of the details I'm sure the teacher requires of them but I didn't really hear her in the piece at all.  It felt a little cut and dry and a lot of the colorful adjectives were ones added after the teacher's corrections.  The story was a little predictable and could have been more engaging.

    As' word choice in this piece was adequate.  Like I mentioned previously, her teacher crossed out and replaced many of her  words with more colorful or descriptive ones.  Some examples include referring to the hamster by it's name instead or merely calling it "my hamster," or replacing "said" (which was the only verb used with dialogue) with "demanded."  A also used some inappropriate word choice for the beginning of sentences (but).

    Sentence fluency on this piece was decent.  A got the job done but she started many of her sentences in a similar manner and the flow was not always smooth.  Her conventions were similar.  Her spelling is strong, I only noted a few minor errors (all most, wonnderd, hungrey, and considently- consistently).  Her punctuation was spot on and every sentence started with a capital.  Her grammar was often off however, I noticed she mixed up tenses quite a bit and these were among the most common corrections by her teacher.

Lesson Outline

Objectives
To analyze her writing and to discover more colorful words to include in her revision of "The Day the Animals Could Talk"

Standards
GLE 1.3.1:  Revises text, including changing words, sentences, paragraphs, and ideas


Materials
Pencil, paper, thesaurus

Instructional strategies
This lesson will occur in a writing-conference context.

I will discuss word choice with Alexis and how word choice can make a piece more exciting and enjoyable for the reader. 

I will then have Alexis read the first page of her draft and we will brainstorm some words that could be replaced with more interesting ones. 

Initialy,  I will give Alexis some suggestions for more interesting words and ways to find alternatives (such as using the thesaurus).

After I feel Alexis has an understanding of the task I will select a dozen or so words for her to replace and leave her to complete the task.  I will also ask her to come up with some words on her own that she thinks could be improved.

Alexis will have 25 minutes to work on the revisions and then we will meet back to discuss her work.

Assessment
I will assess her understanding of the concept of word choice by noting the words she chooses to replace and the words she substitutes in, checking to make sure the replacement words make sense and are an improvement upon her previous selections.


   

More math

1.  What did I learn?

I learned that you can use manipulatives for algebra- mind boggling.  I forget what their called but the tiles that have different colored sides to represent positive and negative made algebra seem so logical.  I can't believe I've never heard about these before.  I was one of those student who struggled with algebra and the whole "foil" concept and I wish I had something like this available to me when I was in school. 

2.  What do I have questions about?

I guess I'm just curious about the impact using manipulatives in a higher level classroom might have.  Certainly by the age kids start doing algebra they are well aware of who's good at math and who struggles.  I wonder if using manipulatives would only make the difference more obvious.  Of course you could always require all students to at least try the manipulatives but there are sure to be some who just prefer to do the equation straight out.

3.  What are the implications for classroom practice?

I think using manipulatives in higher level math is a great idea.  Just because students are older does not mean they wont benefit from having concrete examples to work with.  I wonder about possible concerns from parents who are used to doing math the old way and might see the use of manipulatives as taking a step back...