Field Post 9: Gesu Elementary (11-11-16)

During my third visit to Mrs. Clary's 3rd grade class, I got the opportunity to give two students a spelling test. Even though this is nothing major, it meant a lot to me and I really enjoyed it because it was something different than just simply observing the students and I got a very tiny taste of what it's like to be a teacher. I arrived just as the students were coming back from recess, so I administered the test while the rest of the class was getting settled, using the restroom in groups, and reading silently. Again I saw how interested this particular class is in reading, as I have explained in previous posts. Upon my arrival, one student ran up to me before I even saw her and gave me a hug and excitedly said " Yay! You're back!" After everyone was settled, Mrs. Clary directed the students to take out their math notebooks. They were learning multiplication and different "strategies" they can use to find the answer until they have all their math facts memorized. Mrs. Clary had them each individually think of a fact (such as 3x4) and then give the answer and 5 different strategies to find the answer. Once they finished this, they brought them up to me to show me what they had learned. They were very proud of themselves and I realized that by doing this, they were also learning the concepts even more because I know when you try to explain things to other people, you learn them more yourself. After that, they were assigned to use the iPads in groups of about 4 to make a collage of math strategies using an app. The students weren't really sure how to use this app yet, since it was new so I got to go around to all the groups and help them. I thought it was really cool how they were strengthening their math skills while also strengthening their problem solving skills. The students finished off the day by cleaning out their desks and their lockers.