Working Hard
Sometimes I think that I don't push my students hard enough, that they don't take me seriously, that they don't work for me like they would work for someone else. And that is probably sometimes true. And then sometimes something happens and I realize: these children are six or seven, and ninety percent of the time ninety percent of them are working as hard as they can, some because they would work that hard for anyone, and some who are working hard just because they want to please me.
This afternoon we had our math test on number patterns. And they are getting there, but they still don't have it how I want them to have it. I want them to be able to explain the rule behind a pattern of addition or subtraction, to recognize it and be able to tell me that in this pattern, we are adding 3 each time, and in this other pattern, we are subtracting ten.
This may be too hard for first graders. Perhaps continuing the pattern is all they are really capable of doing and even more, all they need to know how to do. The benchmark is, "Explores patterns of addition and subtraction."
They were not doing well explaining the rule on the test (for example, looking at "3, 13, 23, 33," and saying, "We started on 3 and added 10 each time.") So I was frustrated with them because I was questioning the validity of the assessment I had chosen. So they went to computer lab and I created another one. I took off the "rules" part and I had some where they had to continue a pattern following a given rule ("start on 3 and add 3 each time") and some where they were given a pattern and they had to continue it ("4, 7, 10, 13, ___, ___, ___.") And they came back from computer lab and got to work on it and worked, solidly, for 45 minutes. They brought me the tests when they thought they had completed it, and I circled what they had gotten wrong and sent them back to try it again.
And, except for one student, who really didn't understand at all, and K-, who is still learning his numbers, so was not given the test, they worked. And worked. And worked. And I didn't realize how hard I was pushing them until I was checking the answers R- (one of my smartest students) had fixed. I checked them off, told her she had fixed them perfectly, and wrote 100% at the top of her paper, and she leaned over my chair and hugged me, and held on for a moment.
This afternoon we had our math test on number patterns. And they are getting there, but they still don't have it how I want them to have it. I want them to be able to explain the rule behind a pattern of addition or subtraction, to recognize it and be able to tell me that in this pattern, we are adding 3 each time, and in this other pattern, we are subtracting ten.
This may be too hard for first graders. Perhaps continuing the pattern is all they are really capable of doing and even more, all they need to know how to do. The benchmark is, "Explores patterns of addition and subtraction."
They were not doing well explaining the rule on the test (for example, looking at "3, 13, 23, 33," and saying, "We started on 3 and added 10 each time.") So I was frustrated with them because I was questioning the validity of the assessment I had chosen. So they went to computer lab and I created another one. I took off the "rules" part and I had some where they had to continue a pattern following a given rule ("start on 3 and add 3 each time") and some where they were given a pattern and they had to continue it ("4, 7, 10, 13, ___, ___, ___.") And they came back from computer lab and got to work on it and worked, solidly, for 45 minutes. They brought me the tests when they thought they had completed it, and I circled what they had gotten wrong and sent them back to try it again.
And, except for one student, who really didn't understand at all, and K-, who is still learning his numbers, so was not given the test, they worked. And worked. And worked. And I didn't realize how hard I was pushing them until I was checking the answers R- (one of my smartest students) had fixed. I checked them off, told her she had fixed them perfectly, and wrote 100% at the top of her paper, and she leaned over my chair and hugged me, and held on for a moment.
posted by Jessica at 12:22 AM
2 Comments:
It's great that the kids can see a goal that's attainable -- they learn that they can work hard to affect their own future. Seems like a great plan. I'm hoping that the parents don't mind that you expose the kids to something that the parents are unable to provide, though. I hope the parents see it as a bonus, not as a problem that now the kid knows what they have been missing all this time. (is that even a concern?)
I haven't been concerned about that, no. I think the parents are pleased to have a kid-free afternoon, and they can always decline to sign the permission slip. Besides, it would be a shame to deny cultural opportunities (even basic ones like the movies) to people who couldn't generally afford them. Just because I can't afford to fly to Europe doesn't mean I should turn down a free trip there to prevent myself from knowing what I'm missing.
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