Kamina Ham

Final Reflection Paper

My math observation experience was composed of weekly visits to a first grade
classroom. This classroom is a magnet classroom and the focus is to prepare students for the
academically gifted program in the 2nd-5th grade years. Many of my students had a good
understanding of mathematical concepts and in previous years they were exposed to Singapore
math. This was a program that challenged students above their grade level mathematically.
Envision 2.0 was a new program to my teacher and the school and this is what guided the math
curriculum. The teacher used this program to lead interactive presentations, guided practice, and
independent practice with the students. The students each had their own work book that they use.
The teacher read the word problems aloud during guided practice and then allowed the students
to complete a worksheet as independent practice. The teacher collected the the independent
practice and circled and underlined the parts or problems that the student missed. When the
Envision lesson was done the teacher had the students go to their math rotations. This was when
the students were paired up and they played math games. Many of the games I observed focused
on adding, matching number sentences, comparing numbers, and identifying and matching the
correct numbers. My favorite game was Snake, which was when the students had to write
down the number 2-12 and exclude 7. When they rolled two dice they had to add up the number
and cross out the number they landed on. If they had a 7 then they had to draw a snake. If they
have 3 snakes they lost the game. Overall, the math section of the day usually began with a mini
lesson and ended with math games.
The problems that the teacher posed to students were word problems using numbers
under 20. The teacher taught various methods throughout the month including the part- part
whole method, the ten-frame, and the number line. Envision 2.0 and the smart board allowed the
students to move pieces to the correct part and then add the number. The teacher asked questions
like : What part do I know from the problem? How can I find how much I need? Can someone
come and show me what I need?. These particular questions were based on a lesson when the
change or the sum were unknown and the students used a lot of part-part whole diagrams.
Students were very eager to share and they responded with answers based on the word problem
and what they knew about adding. The standard that was being addressed was : CCSS.1.OA.A.1
Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems involving situations of adding to,
taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g.,
by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent
the problem..
I was involved in many different ways throughout the math time. I walked around to
read problems to students, pose questions, work with small groups, help students play math
games, and teach math lessons.
After the teacher finished explaining the concepts and doing guided practice with the
whole class, I helped the students who missed the teachers instructions or needed extra support
by reading the problem out loud and asking them follow-up questions. For example, one day
there was a problem about penguins and the workbook had a picture of penguins inside and
outside an igloo. I asked one child to count how many penguins were outside the igloo and then
write that number in the blank number sentence. The next thing I asked the student to do was
count the number of penguins inside the igloo and write the number after the plus sign in the
equation. Then I asked the students to count them all and write the answer beside the equal sign.
One misconception I found was where students would write the numbers in the sentence.
 Kamina Ham

Through observations, I noticed a few students wrote the parts of the problem in the total
blank. The problems would also change the position of the equal sign ( ___=___+____ or
____+___=____) so I think this confused the students.
When the students started on independent practice, I walked around to monitor students
being on task. When they were finished with the independent practice, they started playing
games with their partners. Many of the games were board games or matching. Whenever a
student had to go out of the classroom I filled in and played math games. I also walked around
and taught the students how to do different activities. One game that was new was a matching
game where the student had to match the array pictures of different objects to the correct number
sentence ( Ex: ***** **** *****=> 5+4+5). Students had to work together to find and match all
the pieces and sometimes they would also have to write the number sentences down. One math
rotation was computers and the students had to take pretests to determine where they are in terms
of mathematical concepts. Student also used the computer to complete online homework and
assignments based on the online eNvision 2.0 math system.
Throughout the lessons and the math rotations that the students participated in, I think a
large amount of the class was ready to move on past addition. One child even said that this was
too easy. Two students know how to multiply basic one digit numbers which I found very
interesting. The teacher is actually working with some students on multiplication. Singapore
math is another curriculum that many of the parents like because it pushes the children to the
next level in math. Since many of the students in the class are on a higher level , they work with
an academically gifted teacher a few times a week to be exposed to more challenging problems.
There are a group of students who also need extra attention. Some students have a hard time
counting and writing equations to the problems. Others make mistakes when setting up the
problem. The teacher allows this one child to look on other students papers so she can get an idea
of how to do the problem. I dont know if I agree with this because it interferes with what we
know about the child.
I taught my lesson on addition a few weeks ago. The teacher told me to choose problems
within 20, but after observing the class and seeing with the students could do, I decided to
challenge them with a double digit plus a single digit. In order to validate this I chose a standard
that included adding numbers with 100 to ensure that my goal for the students was aligned with
the standards. When the teacher reviewed my lesson she wanted me to make the questions easier
by using smaller numbers so the children would get it, but I stood my ground and explained that
I needed some children not to understand so I can write about what they did wrong. I did agree
that the numbers should gradually get bigger so in order to compromise I chose a smaller number
for the explore problem. I was a little worried that many of the students had already grasped the
concept that I was trying to teach so, there was little surprise when only 6 students failed the
assessment and the other 10 passed with 100s. Many of the students in my class are advanced in
math. Due to the dynamic of the classroom, the lesson seemed to get boring to the students who
already knew how to add. I learned that students in first grade have a hard time explaining what
they did and some can talk very low and slow. The students were also playing with the
manipulatives which I wasn't really focused on at the time. During this lesson I tried to set up the
possible solutions ahead of time on the smartboard, but technological mistakes happened. The
students accidentally moved the ten frame, because I did not lock it into place on the smartboard.
The counters were hard to move and the number line was not drawn in already. These issues
made the lesson seem long and drawn out. I wanted the kids to interact and save time, but in the
 Kamina Ham

future I think a blank slide would have helped. I could have also had the children do a think pair
share so they could think about what they did with their partner before discussing things with the
class. The teacher cut me off before I finished my lesson, which startled me because I had a
watch and a timer to help me keep track of time. I was caught off guard and began to rush
through the end. The ending really frustrated me because she gave me no 5 minute warning, she
just stopped me and said we have to go. I have learned my lesson since then. I ask her in advance
what time do I need to stop my lesson before we go onto the next part of the day. I think the
math lesson was a 6 out of 10. The beginning activity was amazing. The students really enjoyed
being a math problem and they were really engaged. The explore problem went well, but some
students finished early and I was not prepared with the harder problems to give them. The
students in my class are also not used to indirect learning. The teacher teaches very directly, so I
think it was difficult for the students to have conversations about what they did. I could have also
been more organized when explaining how to solve the problems and relating them to place
value.
The math experiences this semester helped me to become a better math educator in the
future. I still have a strong love and desire to teach math in the future which is amazing.