A Calendar Week Inwards The Classroom
Thursday, October 24, 2019
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My start calendar week dorsum at run has been challenging to tell the least. Eight novel classes, a novel Year eleven tutor group, over 200 names to learn, changes to schoolhouse policies together with practices, novel plant nursery routines for my toddler together with baby... the listing goes on. I also celebrated a Fibonacci birthday this week, therefore I’ve been actually busy both at run together with at home. I know it volition acquire easier when I acquire dorsum into the swing of things. I received my timetable yesteryear electronic mail during the Christmas holidays therefore at that topographic point was no chance for a handover with the previous teacher. This calendar week I've been busy trying to figure out what topics to learn and, for my examine classes, how I'm going to lucifer everything inward earlier study locomote out commences inward May. I'm out of my comfort zone without detailed plans! I solely run 3 days a calendar week but this yr I'm teaching viii unlike classes nether a undertaking part organisation (double the release of classes I had final year!). I'll accept to survive real mindful of the sense of my students, who all accept at to the lowest degree 2 maths teachers right away - switching betwixt teachers together with topics tin sack survive hard for them.
Job sharing has its challenges but at that topographic point are simply about advantages, the head i beingness that I right away accept my ain classroom (most part-timers are schoolhouse nomads). I dear non having to motion from room to room all the fourth dimension - it actually does brand my days less stressful.
When I left run to accept a babe I was Key Stage 5 Coordinator, a role that I loved. I don't accept a TLR anymore therefore am focusing all my efforts on teaching. Since starting to write this weblog together with entering the Twittersphere I've acquire a much to a greater extent than reflective teacher. In this post I desire to part a twosome of things that accept gone good this week.
Job sharing has its challenges but at that topographic point are simply about advantages, the head i beingness that I right away accept my ain classroom (most part-timers are schoolhouse nomads). I dear non having to motion from room to room all the fourth dimension - it actually does brand my days less stressful.
When I left run to accept a babe I was Key Stage 5 Coordinator, a role that I loved. I don't accept a TLR anymore therefore am focusing all my efforts on teaching. Since starting to write this weblog together with entering the Twittersphere I've acquire a much to a greater extent than reflective teacher. In this post I desire to part a twosome of things that accept gone good this week.
Angles with Year 7
The matter I uncovering hardest most teaching Year seven is that I don't actually know what maths they've done inward previous years. I demand to see simply about local primary schools together with uncovering simply about Year half dozen maths lessons. This calendar week I found out that most of my students were aware that the interior angles of a triangle amount to 180o, but non aware that vertically contrary angles are equal. I found simply about questions (example below) inward which they had to combine their existing noesis with their newly acquired knowledge. They found these quite challenging - I don't holler back they're used to multi-step questions similar this.
Finally, I recommend the brusk video Gems 19). I showed it inward my lesson on triangles together with it went downwards well.
Problem Solving with Year 11
It's of import that I apace flora a skillful human relationship with my Year eleven class. I've acquire their instructor at a belatedly phase inward their GCSE course, but I withal accept fourth dimension to brand a difference. I demand this aeroplane to trust me. I meet them 5 times a fortnight together with that gives me 36 lessons to complete the syllabus together with fix for their exams. This calendar week I decided to pass a lesson getting to know them. I handed out a problem solving activity then went circular together with met each educatee individually, chatting to them most their predicted grades together with the topics they desire me to review. While I circulated, they worked on viii problems of varying levels of difficulty. In the halt I ran out of fourth dimension to verbalize to everyone but I withal holler back the lesson went good - they were actually engaged inward solving the problems together with I heard lots of discussions most mathematics.
These problems are from a multifariousness of sources (thanks to all originators!). At the halt of the lesson the solely work that remained unanswered was the 'find the radius of the circle' work from Chris Smith's newsletter - most students hadn't fifty-fifty attempted it but I promised them we'd await at it simply about other day.
I did a similar lesson with Year 8 (top set), except all their problems involved Pythagoras' Theorem (I told them to exercise Pythagoras, pregnant they had a starting indicate for each question. Perhaps I shouldn't accept told them). Again, my students were actually engaged inward this activity. They peculiarly liked the 'Spider Box' question. The solely enquiry that no-one answered was Ed Southall's semi-circle work (I suggested they challenge parents or older siblings to accept a go). Also, the enquiry below was answered incorrectly yesteryear almost every educatee (they squared the superlative to acquire 4w2 instead of 16w2).
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Student Communication using Blogs). I'm trying Twitter equally an choice this year, the thought beingness that students (or their parents) follow me for useful links (eg for examine revision), interesting maths, reminders (eg 'you accept a examine adjacent week') together with therefore on. I've already started tweeting links to homeworks therefore students tin sack impress a re-create if they lose their sheet. I've also said that I volition offering maths back upwards through Twitter, therefore they tin sack inquire for assist anytime they acquire stuck on a homework or when revising.
I'm non certain how successful this volition be. Other schools are much to a greater extent than Twitter-friendly than mine. We don't accept a schoolhouse Twitter draw of piece of work organisation human relationship to communicate with parents, together with I holler back I'm the start instructor at my schoolhouse to essay to exercise Twitter for educational purposes. So I got nervous giggles from my classes when I told them most it. I incertitude many of them accept a Twitter draw of piece of work organisation human relationship therefore it mightiness non work, but we'll see. I'll study dorsum on this inward a few months!
What's Next?
Well it's solely been a calendar week therefore I've withal got loads to try. I downloaded iDoceo but haven't had a adventure to await at it yet. I'm also increasingly great on setting upwards a visualiser (via my iPad), to demo examples of educatee run on the IWB (amongst other things). Funnily plenty i of the most useful things I've done this calendar week is exercise my ain website, resourceaholic.com, to uncovering resources! My resources libraries accept saved me a lot of time. I've already noticed gaps inward them though - goose egg on angles inward triangles for instance - therefore I'll run on boosting my libraries over the adjacent few months.
That's it from me. I've found it quite therapeutic to reverberate on my start calendar week dorsum at schoolhouse together with I hope there's been something helpful for you lot hither too. There'll survive no gems post this calendar week because I've non had much fourth dimension to acquire on Twitter, but I'll write i adjacent week. Please don't forget to acquire a complimentary ticket to La Salle's National Mathematics Teacher Conference which is on Pi Day inward Birmingham (I'm delivering a session). I hope to meet you lot there. Also, White Rose Math Hub's Celebration of Maths is definitely worth attending. I'm gutted I can't conk (I can't afford the prepare fare to Leeds!) but it looks awesome.
It's of import that I apace flora a skillful human relationship with my Year eleven class. I've acquire their instructor at a belatedly phase inward their GCSE course, but I withal accept fourth dimension to brand a difference. I demand this aeroplane to trust me. I meet them 5 times a fortnight together with that gives me 36 lessons to complete the syllabus together with fix for their exams. This calendar week I decided to pass a lesson getting to know them. I handed out a problem solving activity then went circular together with met each educatee individually, chatting to them most their predicted grades together with the topics they desire me to review. While I circulated, they worked on viii problems of varying levels of difficulty. In the halt I ran out of fourth dimension to verbalize to everyone but I withal holler back the lesson went good - they were actually engaged inward solving the problems together with I heard lots of discussions most mathematics.
I did a similar lesson with Year 8 (top set), except all their problems involved Pythagoras' Theorem (I told them to exercise Pythagoras, pregnant they had a starting indicate for each question. Perhaps I shouldn't accept told them). Again, my students were actually engaged inward this activity. They peculiarly liked the 'Spider Box' question. The solely enquiry that no-one answered was Ed Southall's semi-circle work (I suggested they challenge parents or older siblings to accept a go). Also, the enquiry below was answered incorrectly yesteryear almost every educatee (they squared the superlative to acquire 4w2 instead of 16w2).
Student Communication using Blogs). I'm trying Twitter equally an choice this year, the thought beingness that students (or their parents) follow me for useful links (eg for examine revision), interesting maths, reminders (eg 'you accept a examine adjacent week') together with therefore on. I've already started tweeting links to homeworks therefore students tin sack impress a re-create if they lose their sheet. I've also said that I volition offering maths back upwards through Twitter, therefore they tin sack inquire for assist anytime they acquire stuck on a homework or when revising.
I'm non certain how successful this volition be. Other schools are much to a greater extent than Twitter-friendly than mine. We don't accept a schoolhouse Twitter draw of piece of work organisation human relationship to communicate with parents, together with I holler back I'm the start instructor at my schoolhouse to essay to exercise Twitter for educational purposes. So I got nervous giggles from my classes when I told them most it. I incertitude many of them accept a Twitter draw of piece of work organisation human relationship therefore it mightiness non work, but we'll see. I'll study dorsum on this inward a few months!
What's Next?
Well it's solely been a calendar week therefore I've withal got loads to try. I downloaded iDoceo but haven't had a adventure to await at it yet. I'm also increasingly great on setting upwards a visualiser (via my iPad), to demo examples of educatee run on the IWB (amongst other things). Funnily plenty i of the most useful things I've done this calendar week is exercise my ain website, resourceaholic.com, to uncovering resources! My resources libraries accept saved me a lot of time. I've already noticed gaps inward them though - goose egg on angles inward triangles for instance - therefore I'll run on boosting my libraries over the adjacent few months.
That's it from me. I've found it quite therapeutic to reverberate on my start calendar week dorsum at schoolhouse together with I hope there's been something helpful for you lot hither too. There'll survive no gems post this calendar week because I've non had much fourth dimension to acquire on Twitter, but I'll write i adjacent week. Please don't forget to acquire a complimentary ticket to La Salle's National Mathematics Teacher Conference which is on Pi Day inward Birmingham (I'm delivering a session). I hope to meet you lot there. Also, White Rose Math Hub's Celebration of Maths is definitely worth attending. I'm gutted I can't conk (I can't afford the prepare fare to Leeds!) but it looks awesome.
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| Selfie with my girls on my final solar daytime of motherhood leave |