Day 1: Math Time

Day 1 of field experience was a great experience and I learned a lot. My cooperating teacher was out sick and was not there for my first day. I was upset that I wasn't able to meet her my first day but I was able to contact her via e-mail. The substitute teacher that was taking over for my CT was an awesome substitute. She allowed me to jump right in and help the students when they needed help. The substitute included me in all the lessons she was teaching and asked for my input on a lot of the material the students were learning. Most of the students warmed up to me quick and they were not afraid to ask me questions. The students were well behaved for this sub and treated her with a lot of respect. I was a little surprised because usually when classrooms have subs they tend to act out more and not listen.

The main part of my day that I learned a lot from was during math time with the students. The students were working on tens and ones place value. The substitute played a YouTube video and it was a song about place value, the students really enjoyed it. Then the sub would show the students 10 cubes and ones and the students would have to write the correct number on their whiteboard. When I was observing the students doing this activity I thought they were doing a fantastic job and really understood what they were learning. But, when the students got back to their seats the sub handed out worksheets of addition and subtraction problems and word problems. Most of the students were confused and asking for help. I remember helping this one student and when she was shown a problem she didn't understand how to add or subtract. I was thinking of different ways that I could help her and she would understand. I finally came up with one way, I grabbed a number line and showed the student how to add and subtract using a number line. The student understood what I was teaching her, and it was the best feeling.

Throughout my first day I learned that as a teacher you have to be quick on your toes. You may think your students are understanding the material until you hit them with a different activity and they are lost. As a teacher you have to have to understand that each student learns differently. For example, the one student that I helped with the number line she was able to understand it that way but a different student may understand it a different way. As a teacher you have to teach in more than one way. Overall, I had a great first day and next week my goal is to learn all of the students names.

                                                  This is how my days look on Thursday's.