Math 334 Reflection Paper 1

Samantha Meyer
MATH 334
Reflection 4

Date of Observation: Monday, April 20, 2015
Grade Level Observed: 4th grade
Math concept covered: Measuring capacity
Mentor teacher’s name: Jessica Ross
Intern (your) name: Samantha Meyer

Reflection 4: Equity

At Hawthorne Elementary on Monday, April 20th the students learned measurement capacity. The lesson started as a full class lesson at the carpet. Ms. Ross started the lesson reviewing previous topics of capacity because the students struggled with it the week before. Ms. Ross reviewed the lesson with a flip chart on the Smart Board in front of the class. She went over key terms and conversions. She also suggested students’ copy the conversions in their math notebooks so they can look back at it. She also had several questions for the students to figure out in their math notebooks individually and then went over it as a whole class. She also redrew the “Gallon Man” in front of the class as a final review before switching to math centers. I believe this was an effective way to review the subject because the students reviewed a review with visuals, examples, discussion, and sample questions.
During the whole class instruction, the students sat at the carpet and their
desks with their math notebooks taking notes and asking questions. After the whole class instruction, the students split into four groups to rotate in math centers. I was in charge of running one of the math centers. My math center had the students working on a three-page worksheet with questions about measurement capacity. The content the students learned during this lesson definitely relates to familiar aspects of students lives.
Measuring capacity is a topic that people use often throughout their lives. One examples of how this lesson can relate to the students lives is with baking and grocery shopping. It is important to be knowledgeable and understand measurement capacity in order to complete these activities. This topic also relates to students lives because it is simply important for people to understand capacity and measurement sizes. They should also be aware of how much of something equals another. For example, 16 cups are in 1 gallon, 2 pints are in 1 quart, 4 cups are in 1 quart, etc. I believe this is an important lesson for students to learn and
understand. If I had to point out a negative of this lesson, I would say that Ms. Ross did not specifically relate the lesson to their lives. Ms. Ross did not make any connections between measurement capacity and the students lives. This is a pattern throughout majority of the math lessons I observe. The students are not asked to make connections between school mathematics and mathematics in their own lives. I believe it would definitely be beneficial for students to make these connections because it would motivate students to learn more and help students understand the topics deeper and think critically. The lesson on measurement capacity did not communicate the value of the students’ identities. This was definitely lacking in this lesson but Ms. Ross allowed each student to present and showcase his or her ideas to the teacher and the class. Ms. Ross allowed every student to participate and share his or her answers during the whole class lesson. Each student also solved each problem individually in their math notebooks before sharing, which gave each student the opportunity to work out the problem and think on their own. Ms. Ross also allowed each student to share his or her answers, even if the answer was incorrect. She then reviewed the problem and found the correct answer as a class. Ms. Ross instructs the class in a way that each student sees their ideas as important to the teacher and their peers. The entire class feel comfortable sharing and participate during math class. Measurement capacity was a successful lesson.