Maths

Yes, I said 'Maths.' That's the first difference. This was, initially, the most confusing part for me, the maths program. Now that I'm rolling along, there is nothing to it, and I'm finding it very fun. I may have touched on this in months past here on the blog, but I'm finally able to put into words how I do maths each week.

Albany has made an effort to streamline our math curriculum per grade. That is, breadth, not depth, is the catch phrase. So, we are to teach a certain number of strands over a term before we change to the next set for the next term.

Here the strands are taught, perhaps two per week, and then reviewed (or "revised") throughout the following terms. So at first, to see a practice page of "mentals" that included 4 - 5 strands at once seemed very overwhelming. My mind was thinking, I have to teach a lesson for all five before I can give them this! Well, they are basically already aware of all 5. It's up to me to review and extend each of the five. I know that now!

It was a switch to come into a maths program and not be familiar with the materials. That is, I'm used to knowing what's in my cupboards to pull from, which resource book I can get more fraction pages from, which teacher still has my Judy clocks, which of my math story books goes with counting coins, etc. I brought quite a bit of Kim Sutton materials with me, including double dice, place value dice, resource books and CDs, to leave for my partner when I go. Hopefully she is using mine in Albany and loving them as much as I do.

I'm lucky to have a wonderful volunteer in the room two mornings a week. She loves being with us, and I love having her, so I'm set! Tuesdays are rotating math groups, a la Liberty with Mrs. Ramsey and Mrs. Mathios! We're able to pre-teach, re-teach, and give some manipulative/building time to the kids.

I'm also lucky to have one of two resource persons who comes 5 days a week for an hour. He or she is assigned to help my aboriginal students. One is truly low, and benefits from an independent learning program that comes from me (no Mr. Nimmo equivolent here). My second student just needs a lot of one on one to focus and buy in. Beautiful boys, both of them.

The kids work from a big glossy maths book, again, a new strand for every page. So I go through and lump the strands I think we could practice with and group teach the graphing pages, the spatial pages, and the intro to multiplication pages.

We teach the same material with a few exceptions. In Albany we would be teaching double digit add/sub with regrouping. I don't see that in the maths book here. Instead, they are asked to consider 'groups of' like I used to do with my third graders. Spatial relationships are taught in the maths book, for example, in front of, behind, etc. Describing properties is also a topic they learn, such as curly, smooth, bumpy, rounded, and straight. Time is only taught to the hour and half hour here. In Albany we ask they know to the minute by the end of second grade. The money, of course, is different, and much easier to teach! No dimes, quarters, and nickels to confuse anyone! But, since there are no pennies, we teach them to round to the nearest 5 cents! No one seems to mind paying the clerk .40 cents when the price tag quoted .38 cents! Who in the U.S. wants to pay more than the price tag says?? No worries, mate.

Yes, the entire class is in the room at the same time. No grouping here. We buddy a lot and coach each other. The small groups are invaluable. I've gone to mostly small group work each day with a practice page and fix and finish time. Kim's dice games save the day. When they finish, there is almost always an option to begin a dice game. We do number chats on the overhead and record in a maths booklet/journal. I think it would be correct to say, with the exception of my one "lowbie," that I have no "low" maths students. I have those that aren't motivated or confident (my girls :( ). I have the naughty bodies, for sure, who can certainly do the work, but who are distracted, distractible, and/or distracting. Put them all in a small group for this or that, and they shine. Assessments may take them for-ev-er, but they can do the work. It's a juggling act, but with Kim Sutton by my side, I love maths every day, and the hour flies.