Subtraction

Administrative Task
Feb 17, 2017
2 min read

Name: Eden Peters

Date: Friday February 17, 2017

Placement: Thornhill Public School

Purpose

To assist the children in learning subtraction – focus 3:1 with the ELL students

Task

Perhaps I could plan another subtraction activity that uses different objects. This activity used foam counters, and for the next one I could use pennies or another small, countable object.

Label: 3:1 Math Support – With a focus on subtraction

What are your objectives

To support the children where help is needed during the lesson on subtraction
To answer and questions that arise in attempt to ensure their understanding of the concept of subtraction

Describe the experience (materials, step by step)

The children were split up into small groups and were given 20 foam counters.
They were told to organize the foam counters in a way in which it would be clear to any of the teachers that there are 20 counters (e.g., 2 rows of 10, 4 groups of 5)
Once organized, the children were told that someone comes along and takes 4 of their counters, and then asked how many do they have left
Using pictures, numbers, and math symbols (- and =) the children were required to find 2 ways to demonstrate how many counters they have left
I was able to support the children by offering different ways of organizing their counters as well as how to draw them to clearly show that there were 4 groups of 5 (while also showing that 4 were removed)

Once the children were finished they were told to do the same thing but subtracting the number 9 instead.

Reflection

Throughout this lesson, I noticed how the three ELL children required more guidance during their math lesson compared to when I support them for Literacy. Perhaps this is because math uses more complex words such as addition and subtraction that may confuse the children. In attempts to reiterate the lesson and instruction, I would use different words like put together and take away. When using the simpler language, the students seemed to have a better understanding of the concept and the task at hand. Overall, I feel that my actions were helpful during this activity and that the children were able to obtain a better understanding and complete their task in a timely manner with fewer questions.