First Lesson- March 25, 2008

Today was our first Math lesson in this lower level class. We decided to focus our unit on different strategies for solving addition problems. Ms. C suggested that we show them how to solve addition problems using the Hundreds Chart, so we prepared our lesson based off of this. She had told us that the students already understand place value and can do easier addition problems. With this in mind, we began by demonstrating how when adding two, two-digit numbers, you can help solve it on the hundreds chart when drawing or using manipulatives may be too lengthy. We showed them that you can jump down by tens since each row represents 10. We had a BINGO game planned and we had tons of guided practice as well as time for individual practice. We were very confident about this lesson until we got into the classroom. This was probably the most frustrating teaching experience I have had to date. When we got in the classroom and began to teach, we realized that not only did they not want to accept any form of skipping by tens, but they didn't know place value at all. Additionally, they were not clear that there were two numbers that you added together to find the sum. This completely took me by surprise. I realized that we would not only have to change our lesson on the spot, but that our entire unit plan would have to be seriously modified. Lauren and I began to back track during our lesson to try and go over the initial fundamentals that we thought might help them learn the strategies we were proposing to them. I thought we did a really good job at trying to simplify everything for them to understand but I think by the time we tried to simplify things, they were already unfocused. Some of them were catching on but it was only a smaller portion of the group. If I could do it again, I would have included place value on our preassessment to see if they understood place value but for whatever reason, I didn't even think that place value would play as important of a role as it did when we used the Hundreds Chart. So I would say that one thing I learned for sure would be to thoroughly check all aspects of your lesson and make sure they are covered in your preassessment before you attempt to plan the lesson. The other thing I learned from this situation was that as a teacher, you might have to completely abandon what you have planned to make sure that they have a concrete understanding. If you continue with the lesson you have planned, it might end up hurting them in the end. Lastly, I learned that when you are frustrated as a teacher, chances are good that the students are too so it is important to take a step back and start to reform your initial plan to gain their confidence again.