I am student teaching and I know I am not supposed to lecture for 80 minutes, so I am looking for ideas on how to fill the time, specifically for math. Thanks.
2006-09-07 11:10:45 · 5 answers · asked by secret name 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Teaching
I used to share a room with a math teacher and we had blocked schedules twice a month. We often shared ideas.
Instead of doing a typical worksheet she would decorate 8 or 10 pieces of construction paper. She would number them 1-10 and draw a funny face or something on them. She pinned them to the cork board at the top of the chalk board. She would then call on one student (a shorter one) to choose the number and then a different taller student to get up and flip it. On the other side were problems to be worked. It broke up some monotony and they would go over it together after everyone had a chance to work on it.
The flyswatter game... Put random answers all over the board. Read a problem and 1 person from each of the 2 teams tries to solve it. The first to hit the right answer with a flyswatter gets a point for his/her team. I tell them that they are only allowed to hit 1 answer... otherwise you have them hitting randomly without even trying to actually figure it out.
Create a jeopardy board with terms and problems. This is better for a review.
Get pieces of bulletin board paper and tape it up on the wall in different spots of the room. Give the kids a few problems. They must work together to solve them on the bulletin board paper. It is just different from working problems from a worksheet. They can then discuss and review the problems with the rest of the class.
If you have a lot of terms in one chapter or for a unit you can do concentration in small groups for matching the word with its meaning.
Use a board game that you can photocopy. The kids use a coin for a marker. Make up several questions, photocopy them and place them in envelopes. The kids roll the die and then draw a question. If they answer/solve it correctly they may move the number rolled. If they are wrong then they can not move. First to reach the end wins.
Checkers... each square has a problem on it. In order to move their man to a spot they must first solve it correctly.
Sometimes the math teacher that I worked with would have the kids fold their paper so that it had 8 squares and then give them 8 problems to solve. They do one in each box. It is just different; grabs the attention a little bit.
I have generic wipe off boards that I use. The kids like it; again it is just something different. I took sleeves that are used for scrapbooking; covering and protecting the pages. Inside each one I put a piece of white cardboard. Each kid gets one, a dry erase marker and a paper towel. We do problems, they hold up the boards and I can see if they are "getting it" or not.
Board practice is a way to get kids up and out of their seats so that they do not tire of sitting for so long. I give a problem and if they are right they get a point for their team. I do not do it as a race.
Group work is also a way to break up the monotony. Anything that you can have them work out as a small group is good. I remember the other teacher using shapes and little projects that I do not really recall. For each unit read the teacher resource suggestions and see if there is a way to make a group activity.
I hope these help. I am a Spanish teacher, but my friend and I found that many of the activities can be adapted and changed so that they work for either subject. This is just a way to do the same old thing in a way that makes the students feel interested.
2006-09-07 11:49:56 · answer #1 · answered by Melanie L 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ah, I do that a few times a week. I'd start with a warm up (a word problem reviewing what they've done) and they can work on it while you see if they have their HW. Then go over the word problem and their HW. Next, teach your lesson. After, give them a worksheet or bookwork and let them work in (pairs, small groups) so they can help each other while you walk around. At this point, you could also have them explore the topic more in depth or even play a game to see the topic at work. Depends on what you are teaching. Once they finish it, go over it (have them put it on the board since they like to do that, then they can also see that (administrators like that) and it helps explain the work more clearly than just calling out the answer...you could do that w/the HW too). Doing boardwork takes time, but since you have it..use it. That's about it. It should fill the block. Hope it helps.
2006-09-07 11:43:13 · answer #2 · answered by Dukie 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Group activities and partner work are a great way to get the students involved, especially in math. Try to make math as hands-on in the classroom as you can. Most students learn best when they are being visually and kinestheticly involved in a lesson. You can also have students act out or model word problems. I have my students work one word problem in a group and then teach their problems to the class. They explain how they solved the problem and actually show the rest of the class how they got their answers. This works for 3rd graders, so I am sure older kids could do it too. Mainly, you should not be talking for 80 minutes....boooorrrring!!!! Get your students involved. Let them own their own learning, they will really appreciate it and they will learn the material easier and faster.
2006-09-07 11:25:58 · answer #3 · answered by uscgrlnsc2003 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
PLEASE don't lecture for 80 minutes! Break the time up into 3 or 4 sections... Lecture, reading, group work, classwork, discussions, experiments. You could also create "centers" and have kids rotate every 20 minutes or so.
2006-09-07 12:56:11 · answer #4 · answered by applebetty34 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Vary what you do--instruct-then group-instruct-then individual work, etc.
2006-09-07 11:59:51 · answer #5 · answered by violetb 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋