Week 10 Bode

          Here is the work of one of my low level students whom I have worked with very much in the classroom. This student struggles to pay attention on the rug when I, or my MT, am teaching which is why I wanted to check his work for this blog. When I checked on his work, in every example he had 5 pennies circled and wrote one N in the “show with fewer coins” section. He explained to me that he was done—he had not filled out the total number of cents or the left over pennies he forgot to represent in the “fewer coins” section. I had asked him to look at the first example and tell me what he might be missing in this problem. Immediately he was able to tell me that he had forgotten to put the coins. He proceeded to count all the coins, the correct amount might I add, and then wrote in the answer. After that he felt he was done. We counted together the 7 cents in the first example, I told him to look at the 5 pennies he circled and made a nickel with. I asked if there were anymore coins left over—he took a minute to think and then I could tell he had an aha moment. He continued to count the remaining 2 pennies and say I have two pennies left over. He wasn’t aware that he had to then draw that next to the N he wrote in the “fewer coins” section. He completed number 1 and moved onto the next example, which I asked him to think about the problem and look for his unfinished work. With some prompting he was able to complete the rest of the problem (how much cents total and represent the left over pennies). By the third problem he could almost do it on his own, what concerns me is that the other pages my teacher asked me to assign to the children, he had not even completed or attempted to complete. He was only able to do this worksheet because I was sitting with him making sure he completed it. This student can understand how to exchange pennies for nickels but forgets to complete the problem with the remaining coins. He also fails to read all directions and complete all that’s asked of him mathematically in a problem. How can he get any work done if the only work he can do is one-on-one teaching?

            This student needs more work with counting all the coins in a problem and focusing on exchanging then counting the remaining. But above that this child needs serious help focusing and doing work even when not directed to. One way I would advance his thinking is by having him work with a partner, someone who will keep him on task and make sure he completes the whole worksheet but also doesn’t just give him the answers. I have a couple students in mind who I feel would be good fits at this job and can help this student stay on task. During the lessons he is normally not paying attention and gets distracted easily. I think what would be helpful is not just to have I’m sit in front but also have him participate as much as he can in answering questions or demonstrating his thinking, etc. This way he can stay engaged in the math content and lesson and maybe that will help him feel more motivated to pay attention to the worksheets when he gets back to his seat because he actually understands what he’s working on. I feel he’s not able to stay concentrated because he’s not quite sure what to do and doesn’t have confidence in his math skills. Helping him focus on the mathematics at the lessons time will help him understand the individual work being assigned.