Math at the Back Table

Twice today I had the opportunity to work with a small group of students at the back table. (I wish I could call it the "rainbow table" as one of my cohort-mates does her back table...) One session felt productive, the other less so.

As I commented in yesterday's post, a quick assessment of subtraction skills (with regrouping) showed that some of the students needed a review. During the early work period first thing this morning, I met with four pre-selected students at the back table. Each was equipped with a mini white board, marker and eraser. After working through the first couple of problems, it was clear that the three boys were on pretty solid footing. I was able to successfully encourage them to independently solve some additional problems, and to compare answers so as to check themselves. By the end of the 20 minute session, they were clamoring to choose the most challenging subtraction problems from a list. Despite the fact that all three typically number among the easily distracted (and distracting) students in the class, they were consistently on task and peaceful. Meanwhile, I worked with the fourth student, a girl who had vague notions about crossing out numbers and writing in the number "nine." We made progress, but it was only a start. However, it was a quality learning time. (And, Robin, I can say so because I asked her to narrate her thinking as she worked, so that I could assess progress.)

At the end of the day, I worked with almost the same group, although one of the boys was not designated for my group, and I had an additional girl. Our task was the afternoon's Connected Math lesson on finding a new fraction between two given fractions - surprisingly difficult for many of the kids. I felt a lot less successful this time. Both boys were much less focused. One of the girls was quite focused, but the other was distracted by various goings-on. I believe the girls made a mental leap, but I'm less sure about the boys. I definitely felt that I had less impact on their learning this time.

So why this difference? I have a few ideas...
1. Afternoon vs. morning. As I have discussed elsewhere, scheduling constraints necessitate teaching Connected Math in the afternoon and the kids seem less energetic and engaged.
2. In the morning, the boys were caught up in the excitement of challenging themselves. Because they self-managed so well, I was able to focus one-on-one with the student who most needed my help.
3. In the morning, the class was working quietly and independently. In the afternoon, the class was working in small groups, and, although the noise level was modest, the overall level of noise and activity was noticeably higher. I suspect my students were less distracted in the morning.
4. In the afternoon, other kids came to the back table to check their work. I should have asked them to go to their regular teacher instead, but, honestly, I suppose I'm still a little flattered by their willingness to come to me. Next time I'll do differently.
5. I wondered in retrospect if I should have worked through the assigned problems systematically with my little group, instead of giving assistance as needed.

Tomorrow is another day.