Matt Sabatowski
Period 7 Cadet Teaching
Weekly Summaries December
November 16th November 20th
Describe a way that you participated in the classroom this week This week my primary
role was being a leader for a math center, where we went problem by problem and
worked through the concept of time being read on a clock. Because this is the first year
that this concept is introduced and its a relatively alien concept when compared to other
facets of arithmetic, it was confusing for many kids. As a result, I was mostly a helper
that tutored the kids one on one and as a group
What type of learning happened in the classroom this week? Due to the nature of the
material being taught during this week, it was mostly visual learning. We used mock
clocks with movable hands in order to show times that were given, and vice versa.
One idea that I want to take into the classroom someday During this week, in order to
teach how to tell time on the clock, we played a board game which involved telling
certain times on a clock and moving to the corresponding space on the board. The kids
were much more engaged in this activity than a normal worksheet, and they were able to
really focus on how to do it, as they wanted to be the winner (for example, some students
did not understand the concept of the second hand until this game was played!).
Favorite part of the week with students I enjoy whenever I can get a concept to click in
my students minds, so when we were teaching time, which can be hard to understand at
first, I was able to help some students who normally struggle with most topics due to the
pace, so seeing them able to finally understand the different hands on a clock and how to
accurately tell time was very rewarding.
Matt Sabatowski
Period 7 Cadet Teaching
Weekly Summaries December
November 30th December 4th
Describe a way that you were able to participate in the classroom During the early part
of this week, we were wrapping up elapsed time and transitioning into a new unit of
fractions, but some children were having a very hard time understanding how elapsed
time worked. I got to sit in the hallway for two days and call kids out one by one who had
made mistakes on their elapsed time worksheets and coach them through it. Luckily,
many kids were able to understand it after this time! I find great value in one-on-one
instruction as opposed to the normal group work that goes on when a student is having
trouble.
Disruption in the schedule The majority of my time at the school was taken up by a
sudden change in plans- the 3rd grade students were to go to the gym and watch the
school choir perform their holiday musical as rehearsal. Because of this, I did not get
much accomplished that day, and the students were not able to have their math centers
that day, causing everything to be pushed back further.
Positive impact made in the classroom Later in the week, we introduced the concept of
fractions to the students and basics such as laying them on a number line and identifying
the numerators and denominators. Overall, the students had an easier time understanding
this than time, but the idea of numbers being in between the integers was still confusing
for some. During time where worksheets were worked on, I was able to sit down with
some kids and explain the concepts to them, which was actually a successful endeavor.
Favorite part of the week My favorite thing that happened this week was being able to
put my bulletin board up in the class and get the kids interested in it. My bulletin board
consisted of the theme Math is Everywhere and had examples of everyday procedures
and events that heavily involved math, such as constructing a house. Having the kids
come up to me and ask about it along with explanations to how some of the items was
fun, and it served the whole purpose of the board I was able to show them that math is
more than just boring arithmetic learned early on in a school career.
Matt Sabatowski
Period 7 Cadet Teaching
Weekly Summaries December
December 7 December 11th
Describe a way that you were able to participate in the classroom this week This week
was the week in which I presented my second formal lesson plan, this time involving the
concept of fractions and length. I led the teaching of the normal e-lesson, administered a
workbook page, and gave them my own custom worksheet along with sets of fraction
tiles in order to visually represent the concept.
Student that surprised you One student in particular is very slow to pick concepts up,
and requires extra tutoring and accommodation beyond the normal (ex. She has her tests
read to her). However, with this lesson I was teaching, I went over to her desk, expecting
to help her out as she especially struggled with time, but when I got there, I found that
she was not only completely done before most kids, but had all of the right answers! I
believe the visual aspect of it made it very easy to understand, and I was very proud of
her new accomplishment.
Favorite part of the week Easily, my favorite part of the week was actually getting to
teach the concept to the students. At first, I was very nervous and feeling like I wasnt
teaching very well, but by the end of the worksheets, every kid had understood it easily!
It was extremely satisfying to see the proverbial light bulb light up in the kids heads once
they finally understood what they were doing wrong and cause them to get every
following answer right on the first try. This helps reassure me that I absolutely love
teaching!
Type of learning in the classroom Obviously, the trend has been for visual learning for
the majority of the week. At the beginning of it, we were showing fractions along number
lines in order to cement the concept of them existing between numbers, which is a very
illustrated and visual concept. With my lesson, the use of the fraction tiles gave a visual
aspect to the learning of fractions as a length along with supplying a concrete
representation for the children to manipulate themselves, as opposed to the normal predrawn diagrams on the worksheets, which helped them learn the concepts immensely.
