Montague

The student work that I am analyzing this time is one from today's lesson on symmetry. The lesson started off with the kindergarteners on the rug and I introduced the word symmetry. We had a brief discussion, I modeled how to see if something was symmetrical and also had a shape for every student (same shape-heart) so that we could do it together. After this, I sent the students back to their work zones where they were asked to work with their table mates to explore the different shapes at their desks and determine if they had lines of symmetry and if they did, to draw the lines on the shapes. After students had ample time to explore the symmetry of the different shapes, we met back at the rug and had students bring their shapes up. While students were working, I walked around and observed who was doing it correctly and who had misconceptions. I started the discussion by having the students with the misconceptions go first. We then led into the right way to find a line of symmetry or to tell if something is symmetrical. After that, students were asked to go to their seats to do a worksheet independently. Students were asked to draw lines of symmetry on four different shapes that were on the worksheet. Out of the 30 students that were here today, all but 5 got every problem correct on the worksheet. The ones that got them wrong were interesting because they all traced the shape. They were all sitting at different tables so it was not possible for them to copy each others. I am not sure why these 5 traced the shapes but it is either because they did not understand symmetrical or symmetry or because they did not hear the directions and decided to do their own thing. A lot of the things we do in class is tracing so I think it is most likely that they did not listen to directions and figured they had to trace the shapes. Next week, one of our centers will be one that has a focus on symmetry. These 5 students will be visiting this center with either my MT or I so that we can monitor their learning and hopefully get them up to speed with the rest of the class. Overall, I think that since 25 out of 30 of the students did it correctly, I think they have a good idea of what symmetry is but I think they are ready for more examples. We only worked with the basic shapes and there is symmetry in so many different things therefore, they can definitely all use more instruction in this. Also, it will be interesting to see if students continue to do as well with the symmetry next week during our centers or if they forget it by then.