A Reflection on my Learning... Post 2: October 10, 2019
Welcome Back to my Math Blog!
I have found this past month to be extremely rewarding and also very educational, especially in our math class. One specific thing that I have found to be extremely helpful and engaging are the math activity presentations that we get to watch each week. Regardless of whether or not it is me up there teaching, I have found them to really increase my comfort level in regard to teaching. These presentations provide me with creative ideas that I can use either in my placement or when I actually am teaching one day. I have been keeping each of the handouts in a safe spot so that I can look back on them later when I need ideas! I encourage all of you to do the same! Not only are their lessons helpful, but also observing everyones different teaching style and the techniques that they use to teach the different concepts has truly helped me become more comfortable with the thought of having to get up in front of the class or my placement students and teach a lesson. Everyone has been doing great so far and I really look forward to these presentations each week. It is a great opportunity to learn from our peers!
Nhean, S. (2018). Tips in achieving math success. Knight times. retrieved from: https://acpknighttimes.com/4354/showcase/tips-in-achieving-success-in-math/
This week, I want to discuss a couple lesson examples that we learned this week for teaching students how to add and subtract integers!
Integers are an area of math that I often struggled with. In the powerpoint for week 5, there was a resource called HomeSchoolMath which gave an introduction to a few ways to teach integers to students.
1. Number Lines
Number lines are a great technique that can be used for both the addition and subtraction of integers. the addition of integers can be presented as a movement of units either to the left (-) or to the right (+). The first number in the expression will be your starting point. When you add a positive integer you will move that many units to the right. If you add a negative integer you will move that many units to the left.
When subtracting integers, subtracting a positive integer can just be pictured in terms of jumps on the number line. However, when subtracting a negative integer, the double negative creates a positive and you can move units to the right on the number line.
Here is a technique that we learned in class that can be used to determine whether or not subtracting a negative integer turns into a positive.
a negative sign (-) indicates a bad guy, or leaving town.
A positive sign (+) indicates a good guy, or coming to town.
The saying goes something like this: "When a good guy comes to town thats a positive. When a good guy leaves town thats a negative. When a bad guy comes to town thats a negative. When a bad guy leaves town thats a positive."
2. Counters
ADDITION
Counters can be used to represent little circles with + or - signs drawn inside of them.
This image represents 5+ (-3)
Each plus-minus pair cancels, so the answer is positive 2.
SUBTRACTION
The counter method gets a bit trickier with subtraction... this is something I found out in class when practicing this technique. We struggled! But we can do it! When doing subtraction with counters, you must imagine 'taking away'. So for example, if you have (-6) - (-2).
here is where it started to get tricky...
In some situations, you may not initially have the counters that you are supposed to take away. For example in 6- (-3), you start out with 6 positive counters, but you are supposed to take away three negative counters. BUT YOU DONT HAVE ANY!! this is the part we got stuck at when doing subtraction examples with counters in class.
here is what you do:
The trick is, to first add enough negative-positive pairs to the situation, which means adding the amount that would make the equation equal zero. Then you can take away what you need.
Subtracting integers can be tough. Especially when doing to counter method. I reflect on how if I find this method tricky, odds are my students will too. I encourage everyone to be patient with your students and give them time with this method. You may have to explain it a couple of times, but it will truly benefit them.
For this weeks math activity presentation on integers, Josh introduced us to a fun hockey score activity that required us to add integers.
When completing this math activity with my group I considered how this integer activity would be extremely engaging for individuals who play or like the sport of hockey. I have many individuals in my grade 8 placement class now that are hockey lovers! It is important for teachers to get to know their students so that they can incorporate their interests into what they are learning and make it engaging!
Students may not like integers but they could like hockey!
In the Leading math success: Mathematical Literacy Grades 7-12 document, it states that in order to engage students in what they are learning, we must have them study topics that relate to their own lives (Leading Math success, 2004). Students feel most engaged when they help define the content to be studied and can pursue areas of interest (Leading Math success, 2004).
A final message from Nicole,
this week I learned new techniques to adding and subtracting integers that I can share with my future students or current students in my placement. I reflected on the importance of incorporating student interests into lessons in order to make them more engaging. Finally, after watching my classmates present their math lesson each week, I feel as though I am continuing to feel more and more comfortable with the idea of getting in-front of the class and teaching math. I can use the techniques that they have taught me to ensure my teaching style is as effective as possible.
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Nicole :)
References
Leading Math Success, Mathematical Literacy Grades 7-12: The Report of the Expert Panel on Student Success in Ontario, (2004). Available online at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/numeracy/index.html
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