Ben Charleston AEMS Math

Today was my second to last day at AEMS. Today the the sixth grade class worked with ratios embedded in word problems. The sixth graders also worked with problem where two ratios were being compared and one had a missing part, and the students had to find out what number could go into the missing part to make the ratios equivalent. The students did pretty well with this and they seemed to have a solid understanding of all the problems. Working with ratios is important because in addition to ratios being necessary for high school math, ratios are essential for cooking, and if someone doesn't understand ratios, they could struggle when they try to cook. In the eighth grade class, the students learned how to use substitution to solve a system of equations. While the students did not get much practice, they seemed to understand the topic pretty well. IN the algebra one class, the students learned how to factor using the box method. THis method is useful when the leading coefficient (a

This week I learned how to successfully teach a lesson and do an activity with the class. The class that I did this with was the algebra one class because I have spent the most time with this group and I know all of the students really well. There was definitely a learning curve to making a presentation that accurately portrayed what I wanted to say in a way that would be easy for students to understand. There were lots of things that I did not think needed to be explained, but, in reality, they did. This week was probably my favorite week working at AEMS thus far. This week in all the classes the students seemed to feel more comfortable asking me questions. Due to the increase in questions, there were some that I could not answer in a way for the students to understand. In these situations, Michelle explains the problem to the student. While these moments are rare, I learn a lot every time it happens because, as I have come to realize, teaching a topic is a lot different than learnin

Today was another good day at AEMS. Today the sixth grade students started to work on topics related to decimals. For me, this was one of the hardest topics in middle school because the decimals can go on for a really long time, and it can be hard to keep track of the number. However, with a little guidance, the students were successful in working with decimals. In the eighth grade class, the students continued to work on solving systems of equations using elimination. The students are doing well with this, however, they do occasionally mess up the signs of the numbers. In the algebra one class, the students learned how to factor when there is a number in front of the “x” squared term. The students did well with this considering it is a hard topic to master. Hours today: 3.5 Total hours: 48.5

Today was another normal day at AEMS. In the sixth grade class, the students did an activity about ratios with fruit punch. Each mixture of fruit punch had a different ratio of water to powder, which created a different taste. THis taught the students that it is important to follow recipes because if you do not, the end product could taste bad. In the eighth grade class the students worked in groups to practice solving systems of equations using elimination. The students worked really well today and they remained focused for the entire class. In the algebra one class I did my activity on solving polynomials. This activity resembled the game “Clue” and the students seemed to enjoy it. The experience of teaching a lesson and then doing an activity was very fun for me. Hours today: 3.5 Total hours: 45

Today at AEMS was a pretty normal day. In the sixth grade class the students finished an activity and then did some practice problems. After completing the practice problems, they did some work with decimals, which they will learn more about later. In the first eighth grade class, the students continued to practice solving systems of equations by elimination. The students did well, and in my opinion solving by elimination is the easiest and most efficient way to solve an equation. Finally, in the algebra one class, I taught my lesson on factoring. The lesson went well, and I think the students learned something. Tomorrow I have an activity for them to do regarding factoring, which I think is fun. Hours today: 3.5 Total hours: 41.5

Today at AEMS, I returned to my normal schedule of attending three math classes. In the sixth grade class, the students learned how to simplify ratios. This process is relatively easy and the students grasped the concept really well. In the first eighth grade class, the students did a worksheet where the answers to the problems corresponded with letters which made a phrase. THe students found this activity fun, and they got a lot of review on solving equations. Tomorrow these students will learn how to solve systems of equations by elimination which is much more efficient than graphing. In the Algebra one class, we played another kahoot to reinforce adding, subtracting, and ,multiplying polynomials. All of this practice is necessary because polynomials are used at all levels of math, and knowing the rules of polynomials is essential. Today I also continued working on my lesson that I will teach Wednesday and Thursday. Hours today: 3.5 Total Hours: 38