Week Three

Week Three

Observations: I have gotten to know the kids and their unique personalities fully now. It's interesting to observe how their personalities reflect what they are good at and how they interact with the class. For example their is one very mature girl who loves to talk and share stories and be very social. It is clear now that she is stronger in the humanities and always says she dislikes math because it is harder for her. It is funny to see which kids take out their books once math lesson starts since they much rather prefer language arts. But as soon as they take out their books Mr. A realizes this and inconspicuously calls on them to get their attention to let them know that they should be paying attention.

Learning Experiences: This week was a good week for learning about and observing engaging ways to learning math. I was introduced to a club called Math Olympia that the kids play in order to win fake money to buy prizes all while practicing their math skills. It was such a cool idea because it actually got kids excited to solve math problems and it seemed like a lot of fun. They also have math board games that they play. This past week has showed me different ways to make a widely unpopular subject such as math much more interactive and engaging.

Reflections:  Being in Mr. A's class is so awesome. Its unpredictable and fun to be a part of. I love watching him teach as well as taking my own part in it. The kids are all so sweet, it has been great to be apart of their class and get to know them. Its funny to think back to the time when I was their age and how every little thing was so exciting. They are a hoot and sometimes make me want to be ten years old again.

Stories: There was a little argument between kids in the class one day. They were arguing over a pencil and would not stop. It was so nice to see one boy in particular stand up and help resolve the issue. That takes a lot for a 5th grader to stand up against his peers and this boy did. He was the mediator and obviously was respected by his fellow students enough that they both stopped their bickering.