Day Five

Wednesday we started the day off with word problems called Menu Math instead of our usual, individually based assignments. The word problems were a huge hit with everyone, the reading portion appealed to the trainees who are stronger in reading, and the math portion drew in the math geniuses in this group. I personally loved this lesson because it simulated real world math.  I reminded the class before we got started that this type of math would be the kind of math they would use if they worked in a restaurant. I split the group into 2 groups, one group I worked with contained two students who struggle with either reading or math so that we could decode what the question was asking as a group. My second group is a little more self-sufficient and they were paired up with a volunteer who read the questions allowed and asked prompting questions when needed. Overall the lesson was a huge hit and I will definitely continue to use this lesson.

After menu math we practiced a production exercise where the class as a whole created a paper chain which will be used as a decoration at Arc's summer carnival out of construction paper. I tried to imitate production by setting rules for the production process including making the construction paper strips 2 inches, and the chain must alternate colors and can't have the same color right after each other. Everyone, minus one student, enjoyed getting to work on something which Arc would be using at their carnival.

After lunch we spent 30 minutes reading meaning that everyone in the lass has filled in exactly 2 circles for the summer reading program. One trainee I have struggles with reading but he had a magazine he wanted to read really badly, so we ended up sitting down together and I read while he listened. The magazine article was about Marshawn Lynch and how he was modeling to be a character in the next Call of Duty game. The trainee listened well, we stopped and explained what unknown words meant, and he stayed awake for the entire article.

After reading we had a "pretend it's on the lesson plan" moment. One trainee asked after finishing reading, "Can I make a PowerPoint about what I just read?" Instantly that made me think of how we've been practicing summarizing information. What ended up happening was everyone made a PowerPoint summarizing what they had just read. The activity was great because everyone had the chance to write 6 sentences about what they read and include pictures which went with their sentences. Most students had a lot of fun. I paired up with my one trainee who struggles with reading and writing and I wrote as he told me what to write. I'll try to post later one example of someone's work, they did a great job!