I dropped by my son's 3rd grade classroom today to drop off a couple of extra classroom snacks and a pumpkin (they didn't have one to carve - not sure why, but I figured it would be fun with the kids so with the teacher's OK I brought one in for them).
The children were in the middle of their math lesson and the teacher asked if I had time to watch something cool. I sure did! They did a 4 digit math problem and checked it with two different ways. The kids actually knew the term "inverse operation"... way to go, guys! I was impressed. I really like Allen's teacher. She, like many (most) of the teachers in the LKSD is challeged with a very broad spectrum of learning abilities and current capabilities. Currently the district doesn't segregate kids by academic ability in classrooms, so teachers have to make the curriculum adaptable to the highest and lowest while trying to include everyone in the middle. I have to say she does an awesome job of this, while maintaining a well disciplined classroom (again, this is a HUGE plus, and I think, especially hard to do given some of the issues in our school district).
I also got to see the much ballyhooed Smart Board in action. I have to admit - those things are EVERY bit as awesome as I've heard! Aaron's 1st grade class just got one (haven't seen it yet). It looks similar to a pull-down board, but sturdier - and it's computerized. You can erase with a special digital "eraser" and write (in different colors) with these pens. It looks like a really versatile teaching tool, and I'm glad the teachers have these at their disposal!
I'm generally not a fan of "Computers in the Classroom" (disclaimer: computer literacy is important, yes - but a computer for every child is not going to necessarily equal increased quality of instruction... in fact, they can distract... topic for another day though!) but Smart Boards - awesome!
On an unrelated note: I'm traveling next week (solo, it's not a 100% pleasure trip) so I'll be gone from Monday night-Thursday morning. My husband will be here so the house will be hopping as usual though! Cross your fingers that everything on the trip goes and comes out well. More details next week.
1 comment:
Owen's class has a Smart Board too! It IS cool...his teacher uses it for "free time" and turns on Starfall.com (thanks for introducing it to me). It's a great tool for the younger kids for sure!
Hope your "trip" goes well. Give me a call!
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