Teaching Math

Teaching math to kids is one of the highlights of my day. I love doing activities with them and seeing their growth in numeracy skills.

For my program, I use the Math recovery books to assess and teach in numeracy. The other strands are done with the curriculum as a basis and using activities I have gleaned over the years from workshops, friends, books and websites.

I try to start my year with assessments. Math Recovery assessments are video taped interviews with each child. The tasks are all done mentally, no paper and pencil tasks involved. Once the interviews are over, you make a profile for each student and hopefully for this group I will find common clusters of kids in the same developmental stages to teach together.

This is what I have been busy doing all morning. I took an admin day today -- no school for the kids -- except to come here and do the interview with me. I haven't been able to do assessments during school hours, and after school I am too tired to work with my students.

So now...two more students to go for this group, then I am done! (I didn't bother with my k students as I know they are in the emergent stage) Then I get to sit down and find out where they all fit in on 'the Learning Framework in Numbers.'

Oh...and I am two students short for the rest of October and most of November. Their dad is doing a student teaching stint in another colony and the whole family is staying for the while.