Data class

I have begun the process of looking closer at the speech sound data I have gathered for the two students I am seeing 4 days a week for 10 minute sessions instead of 2-20 minute sessions per week, and I am liking what I am see.  One student in particular is starting to use a sound that has been very hard for him (the /k/ sound) when he slows down more in conversation.  This is a huge gain since he was not even stimulable for the /k/ sound at the beginning of the year.  It seems like the more consistent speech sessions might be paying off...at least a little bit. :)

Chapter 7

I really caught on to the part in this chapter about "Math in the real world." 2nd grade has a lot of math that is real-world related like money, telling time, fractions and the beginning of multiplication and division. I have found that my students LOVE to learn about these math components. They see clocks all over, they see money and some times use it themselves. They are eager to learn these things because they are in the real world and they mean something to them! I do think there is a time and a place for advanced math classes and many careers use them, but I think that if the students do not see the "point" in learning something they might be less interested - at least that is what I have discovered in 2nd grade. They still want warm-up questions dealing with money and time & they love to share when they used those math skills at home!

Chapter 6 - Late :)

When I was reading chapter 6 - it made me think of an article I just recently read. The article was about setting up a science observation or discovery station in the classroom. You do not pre-teach them anything you just set it up and allow them to discovery it by touching, feeling and looking. They also talk with one another. You leave it up for a week before you talk about it as a class. I thought this was an awesome way to get the students thinking on their own and making scientific observations without telling them anything. They students are able to discover on their own. After allowing this time you then teach them different components and read materials only after they have manipulated and observed without being prompted or guided!