Spencer, There were many aspects of your lesson that I thought were well done. First, I think your appearance was powerful. More specifically, you were dressed like a professional (the tie was a nice touch), and your posture was firm and upright (which made you look confident). I think this way of presenting yourself is important because when teachers look professional and prepared, students are more likely to take them seriously. Another characteristic of your lesson I thought was strong was your use of crayons and colored pencils. Doing Math is not an activity that many people find interesting in the United States. Coloring, on the other hand, is. Speaking from personal experience, Math becomes a lot more fun when crayons/colored pencils are involved. Therefore, I thought having us use them, versus having us write in plain pencil, was a powerful and engaging attention grabber that will work for students in the future. One suggestion I have for you is not showing us ahead of time what the final product is supposed to look like. Seeing your completed version of the worksheet took some of the fun out of the discovery. I would have liked to find out for myself what it was supposed to look like, and I bet other students would too; some may even become disengaged as a result of seeing what they are supposed to get. Another suggestion I have for you is perhaps coming up with more thought-provoking questions. Many of your questions could be answered in only a few words. For example, you asked, “are the circled numbers odd or even?” That is something I can answer with one word and does not require much higher level thinking on my part. Maybe asking more questions like, “why do you think most of the circled numbers are even?,” would improve students’ critical thinking skills. Overall, I truly enjoyed your lesson. You had excellent pacing, (the activities did not go by too fast or too slow), and your volume level was perfect. Keep up the great work! –Catherine
I really enjoyed your lesson! I think your students will find it as refreshing break from direct instruction math lessons (especially the students who aren't strong in math, like me). This lesson is also a great way to start a new unit on prime/composite numbers.
I would suggest that you add more instruction to the lesson, because I filled the chart out pretty quickly. At the same time, you could have the students do the 400 chart rather than the 100 chart, and talk about the patterns in that context. Another suggestion would be to find a neater way for the students to mark the boxes, because it gets a little confusing with the circles. Maybe you could have them place a colored dot in the box and again use different colors. Also, encourage the students to make a key (or provide a key for them) to distinguish each factor chain (5=yellow, 6= green...) that way they can answer the questions without confusion.
Other than that, I agree with Catherine that crayons are a great addition to the lesson. I also like that the chart is something that the students can keep and refer to throughout the year (and beyond).
I thought you did a great job with your lesson. Like Jessica and Catherine noted, I also enjoyed the use of crayons and colored pencils in a math lesson. Usually I think of calculators and textbooks when I think of math classes, and I think this was a fun and different way to establish a knowledge base that will be helpful later. And like Jessica said, the chart is a great reference tool for the students to hold on to.
One minor thing that I noted was the the questions on the Doc Cam were very small, which made them tough to read. That's an easy fix though, with either a bigger font or zoom. I also agree with Catherine that maybe you could hold off on showing us your completed version. Instead, let us work it out, and then as you get the discussion going maybe you could put it up and ask, "Did yours wind up looking something like this?" Or something like that.
I thought it was great that you explained why we needed to know this at the beginning, and then continued to explain throughout how it is useful. You also have a relaxed and confident presence that I think will go a long way for you, as you continue on. Good job overall, keep it up!
Hi Spencer! Let me start by saying that I really wish that my math teachers in high school would have done something like this. I really struggle with math. Like really struggle. But I do well with the arts. I notice colors and patterns and things like this. So a lesson like this really brought the patterns of the numbers to life for me. I agree with Catherine in that the coloring aspect is just plain fun, as well. :)
I also thought that you looked very professional and authoritative. You seemed very confident and knowledgable in your material, too. I think that those are really important qualities in a teacher. When you are confident and strong, yet kind (as you are), your students will feel more secure and safe in their learning environment. At least that's how I would react. :)
All in all a great lesson! I really loved your approach.
Spencer,
ReplyDeleteThere were many aspects of your lesson that I thought were well done. First, I think your appearance was powerful. More specifically, you were dressed like a professional (the tie was a nice touch), and your posture was firm and upright (which made you look confident). I think this way of presenting yourself is important because when teachers look professional and prepared, students are more likely to take them seriously.
Another characteristic of your lesson I thought was strong was your use of crayons and colored pencils. Doing Math is not an activity that many people find interesting in the United States. Coloring, on the other hand, is. Speaking from personal experience, Math becomes a lot more fun when crayons/colored pencils are involved. Therefore, I thought having us use them, versus having us write in plain pencil, was a powerful and engaging attention grabber that will work for students in the future.
One suggestion I have for you is not showing us ahead of time what the final product is supposed to look like. Seeing your completed version of the worksheet took some of the fun out of the discovery. I would have liked to find out for myself what it was supposed to look like, and I bet other students would too; some may even become disengaged as a result of seeing what they are supposed to get. Another suggestion I have for you is perhaps coming up with more thought-provoking questions. Many of your questions could be answered in only a few words. For example, you asked, “are the circled numbers odd or even?” That is something I can answer with one word and does not require much higher level thinking on my part. Maybe asking more questions like, “why do you think most of the circled numbers are even?,” would improve students’ critical thinking skills.
Overall, I truly enjoyed your lesson. You had excellent pacing, (the activities did not go by too fast or too slow), and your volume level was perfect. Keep up the great work! –Catherine
Spencer,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your lesson! I think your students will find it as refreshing break from direct instruction math lessons (especially the students who aren't strong in math, like me). This lesson is also a great way to start a new unit on prime/composite numbers.
I would suggest that you add more instruction to the lesson, because I filled the chart out pretty quickly. At the same time, you could have the students do the 400 chart rather than the 100 chart, and talk about the patterns in that context. Another suggestion would be to find a neater way for the students to mark the boxes, because it gets a little confusing with the circles. Maybe you could have them place a colored dot in the box and again use different colors. Also, encourage the students to make a key (or provide a key for them) to distinguish each factor chain (5=yellow, 6= green...) that way they can answer the questions without confusion.
Other than that, I agree with Catherine that crayons are a great addition to the lesson. I also like that the chart is something that the students can keep and refer to throughout the year (and beyond).
Great Job!
Hi Spencer,
ReplyDeleteI thought you did a great job with your lesson. Like Jessica and Catherine noted, I also enjoyed the use of crayons and colored pencils in a math lesson. Usually I think of calculators and textbooks when I think of math classes, and I think this was a fun and different way to establish a knowledge base that will be helpful later. And like Jessica said, the chart is a great reference tool for the students to hold on to.
One minor thing that I noted was the the questions on the Doc Cam were very small, which made them tough to read. That's an easy fix though, with either a bigger font or zoom. I also agree with Catherine that maybe you could hold off on showing us your completed version. Instead, let us work it out, and then as you get the discussion going maybe you could put it up and ask, "Did yours wind up looking something like this?" Or something like that.
I thought it was great that you explained why we needed to know this at the beginning, and then continued to explain throughout how it is useful. You also have a relaxed and confident presence that I think will go a long way for you, as you continue on. Good job overall, keep it up!
Jamie
Hi Spencer!
ReplyDeleteLet me start by saying that I really wish that my math teachers in high school would have done something like this. I really struggle with math. Like really struggle. But I do well with the arts. I notice colors and patterns and things like this. So a lesson like this really brought the patterns of the numbers to life for me. I agree with Catherine in that the coloring aspect is just plain fun, as well. :)
I also thought that you looked very professional and authoritative. You seemed very confident and knowledgable in your material, too. I think that those are really important qualities in a teacher. When you are confident and strong, yet kind (as you are), your students will feel more secure and safe in their learning environment. At least that's how I would react. :)
All in all a great lesson! I really loved your approach.