Math Success!

As early into elementary as I can remember, and even now, I enjoy math. I enjoy doing it, teaching it, or watching students do it. Variety was the main driving force behind my choosing early childhood for my specialization, as opposed to math. I’ve yet to be placed in a classroom here where math has intimidated me. Most teachers have a preference as to what they enjoy to teach. Most teachers I’ve had say science, reading, or social studies. I haven’t had one say yet that they enjoy teaching math.

However, this semester, my mentor loves math, and actually did not want to hand it over. Not only does she enjoy it, but she’s really, really good at teaching it. The students are always engaged, and her lessons are extremely creative for the subject matter. We’ve joked throughout the semester saying I had “math anxiety,” but I was nervous that I could not even come close to being as good at teaching math as she is. I’ll have to admit, during my full-time teaching, some of my lessons could have gone better. Still, I felt I had a great unit this week.

The next topic in the county curriculum mapper took us from two-digit by two-digit multiplication into the use of variables and expressions. I was nervous before every lesson, but I had planned to somewhat stick to the way the book chose to introduce the lessons. I read through everyone more thoroughly than normal, and even made myself a few minor notes to ensure my not running back to the manual during the lesson. I was being observed Thursday, and I was very careful to plan out exactly what I wanted to do to prevent nervousness for either reason.

I used the document camera to display an index card with the introductory problem. As the students began their bathroom breaks leading up to math, I drew my chart on the blackboard. The students worked on the problem as they came in and out of the classroom to the restroom. After everyone was settled, I took a deep breath and began. Turns out, everything I planned to do went as smooth as silk. Even though I felt the students would not be able to grasp that material, they ended up doing a really good job with it. Had I not planned so meticulously, I may have thrown off what they picked up on. Since I knew where I was going next within the lesson, road blocks became speed bumps. What normally may have thrown my instruction off, became something I expected.