Audrey Lewis

MAED 3224-002

05/10/18

Clinical Reflection Paper

Throughout my time at my elementary school, math class seemed to be the most fun for my

students. They were always learning new things and applying strategies to help assist in their

problem solving. The teacher was well prepared and always strived to approach students learning

environment in different ways in order to reach each child’s need. This included whole class

lessons, small group lessons, and reengagement in both whole and partial class lessons. Overall,

the math class I observed was really visual and hands on due to the teacher’s in-depth

involvement.

When I arrived, students were beginning to start the new unit on geometry. This unit

started with the standard “.4.G.A.1 Draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (right, acute,

obtuse), and perpendicular and parallel lines. Identify these in two-dimensional figures. 4.G.A.2

Classify two-dimensional figures based on the presence or absence of parallel or perpendicular

lines, or the presence or absence of angles of a specified size. Recognize right triangles as a

category, and identify right triangles. 4.G.A.3 Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-

dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into

matching parts. Identify line-symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.” (CCSS). I was

there the day students finished the unit on measurement and data that touched on measuring of

angles in standard “.4.MD.C.7 Recognize angle measure as additive. When an angle is

decomposed into non-overlapping parts, the angle measure of the whole is the sum of the angle
measures of the parts. Solve addition and subtraction problems to find unknown angles on a

diagram in real world and mathematical problems, e.g., by using an equation with a symbol for

the unknown angle measure.” (CCSS). The second day was when we introduced the first

standard in geometry, angles that needed to be identified and measured. The teacher asked

students to grab their math journals and look at their notes on adding angles and told students

that to add angles we first need to know how to identify and measure one individual angle.

Throughout the introduction of the new unit the teacher used student’s prior knowledge to help

them grasp concepts whether it meant going back through notes and prior activities, or looking

online at the smartboard. For some this was not easy, which could be because students were so

eager to learn new methods or they let it slip their mind. Once the teacher touched on as much

prior knowledge as she could, she then began to teach new concepts and procedures.

The lessons were more direct than indirect during my time there. Students were given

instructions on how to follow through with certain activities, but also followed the “I do, we do,

you do” type of instruction. There were questions asked by the teacher which gave students room

to explore, but occasionally, students needed some direct instruction to understand what they

were learning.The first week of the unit, students were given materials to create foldables to glue

in their notebooks. They first made a cut out foldable that identified angles and gave notes on

how to measure them, the next one was an angle sort that students had to complete and turn in. In

order to complete this, the teacher used multiple strategies to help students practice their

measuring skills. One strategy used was giving students a post it note and using the corner to

measure right angles. The teacher would ask questions such as, “Does the angle go outside the

post it corner? Is the angle directed inward towards the post it note?” This was the first

manipulative used for the unit that followed with rulers and then protractors for accurate
measurements. Later in the week students went around to identify angles in the classroom and

compared them to their foldable they assembled themselves. Students compared and then created

a graphic organizer using their own words to describe what they found and what angle they

found the most, then the least, and how they identified these angles throughout the class. The

angles and measurement standard was covered for a week and a half.

The first two or three days I was there, I sat and observed the class and what kind of routine the

students had with this teacher. After I was able to keep their names down and got to know them a

bit better, I started to walk around and ask them what they were doing, why they answered things

the way they did and just small interactions to let them know I wanted to be involved in the

learning experience. At the end of the week we brought 2-D shapes into the picture and started to

measure those as well. “What kind of angles could you find in each shape?” was the new

question introduced. This was a much harder concept for students so after talking to the teacher I

was able to take a few students and work in a small group during classwork time. The teacher

gave them a worksheet that gave them different shapes that focused on one angle at a time. For

instance, if there was a triangle, one angle was highlighted and asked students to identify the

angle. For my small group, it helped them if I took a scrap piece of paper and covered the angles

that were not highlighted. I had about five students, (sometimes six) and met with them

throughout the week. I would meet with the teacher each afternoon and review what the students

were working on the next day to keep up a routine of our own. The first week went well in terms

of getting to know the students and getting involved in their work. We were interrupted my

second week with MAPS testing the first two days which left very little time to get in my lesson

plan, but I have been told that this is what teaching is all about! I taught them in identifying

certain angles and lines as well but tried to get them moving and out of their seat since they had
been sitting for two days straight. For my engagement, we tossed around a ball of yarn and

identified angles in our “spiderweb” we created. Next, we found a partner and took out some

pattern blocks to trace. After tracing, students practiced identifying angles on their shapes and

followed with an assessment that asked them to complete what they had practiced with their

partner. Common misconceptions for small group and whole group was the very close difference

between a right angle and an obtuse angle. Students had trouble distinguishing the two,

especially if the shape was bigger or stretched out for some reason. This led to quite a few errors

in the assessments.

From what I observed, students need to really work on activating their prior knowledge.

Certain skills that could be helpful to them seemed to be forgotten when presented with a new

objective. This was observed through activities that required measuring individual angles and

then being presented with the new task of measuring angles in a shape. Students forgot about a

scrap sheet of paper to help identify a right, obtuse, or acute angle, which could have been

helpful. This class was often able to work together, which was helpful when teaching my lesson,

and also reengagement. Overall, I believe that if students were reengaged as a whole class and

even pulled in small groups, that the concept would be mastered.