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Danielle C. Hicks Teaching Math to Children Mrs.

Wright April 12, 2014

Observation of School Environment

While at Brookdale Elementary school I noticed that the hallway and classroom bulletin boards showcased math. The bulletin boards depicted and enforced the concept that the class was learning at that time. Mr. Burgess had one bulletin board in his class that was very interesting called Burgess Pizzeria. It displayed a variety of pizzas and it showed the class how pizza could be incorporated and related to

fractions (math). The bulletin boards seemed to be very interactive and they were a great way to display what the class was learning in an eyecatching manner. There were several tools and manipulatives that were available to assist the class with math. The manipulatives were the base ten blocks and fraction towers. The tools were calculators and stopwatches. The Base Ten math manipulatives were used on several occasions to help students explore fractions, number operations, place value, area, and volume. The class seemed to be struggling with their multiplication skills so they were taught a review lesson using the base ten blocks. The teacher displayed a multiplication problem on the SMART board and then the students could use the base ten blocks to help them solve the problem. The base ten blocks really seemed to help the class get a better grasp on their multiplication skills because they were able to see a visual representation of the problem that they were attempting to solve and their answer. The students were not able to get the tools whenever they wanted the teacher had to determine when these tools were available.

When the students were being taught a lesson on fractions, the teacher incorporated hands on activity into the lesson. The teacher displayed a fraction on the smart board and then the students were asked to model the fraction using the fraction towers. The class really seemed to enjoy the activity and it using the fraction towers seemed to give them a better grasp and understanding of fractions. There were several computers and calculators in the class. The calculators were used to assist the students in checking to see if their answers were right. The students also had the option to use the calculator app on their IPads and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy using then. The computers were used in order for the students to be able to watch Brain Pop videos that pertained to the lessons that they were being taught. Additionally the computers were used for students to complete online educational activities on Study Island that helped reinforce the concepts and strategies that they were currently learning in class. There was only one way that I saw that the parents were involved in math instruction and that was when the school had parent teacher conferences. The parents were asked to pick up their childs third quarter

report card and confer with the teachers regarding student progress and ways to help at home. Additionally I found out that it is important for parents of elementary students to meet with teachers to address classroom performance, Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS) requirements and promotion-retention regulations. The schools math curriculum is aligned with the standards.

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