A different Setting, A different challenge - Teaching in a Youth Facility

So, I have kind of mentioned that I teach at a youth facility, but I thought I would "blog" more about my unique setting as many people find it interesting.
First off, I work in a secure facility (yes, it is a jail for young offenders) with some stuff male students, who themselves have gone through a lot, mentally and physically. The majority of the students who come in here are 18 years old and have one or two credits, so they are apprehensive about learning to begin with and don't want to put themselves in any situation that will make them look dumb.  Usually all of them have IEP's and the majority of the students read and write at very low levels.
Now the most difficult part is that in one classroom I can have a max of 8 students, but within that classroom each student could be working on  a different grade and level. So I have to design interesting and engaging lessons, that students can follow independently. The students can not access the internet and we can only use certain manipulatives due to safety reasons. Each one of these students are very needy so I basically have to work one on one with each student, so I try my best to rotate around the room, spending time with each student equally. Even though I only have 8 students, it is exhausting.
I have only taught these guys Science and PE, but I think the biggest challenge with teaching these guys is determining what is the most important and applicable topics they should learn. Especially since the majority of them only stay with me for a couple of weeks, sometimes months and maybe years. Some of the topics I find useless for these guys, but we are technically supposed to follow the Ontario Curriculum. So this is where I use my "professional judgement" and determine what will benefit these guys the most and help them be more successful out in the "real world." The term "professional  judgement" has come up a lot here over the last couple of years and as teachers we are always debating what that means.  I do think that sometimes as teachers we should stray a bit from the curriculum especially if that is the best way to meet the needs of your students.

Re: Kara's comic

Kara's comic reminded me of this tshirt that one of my colleagues was wearing the other day:

Homework Spot

This site contains links to glossaries, games, reference tables, as well as instructions about how to solve different types of Math problems. I find the glossaries particularly useful while working with ESL students.
www.homeworkspot.com

WebMath

The WebMath website is very useful for students having difficulty understanding problems. At first, it seemed to me like a way to help students cheat on their homework, but in reality, could be used as an additional instructional method, as it gives students the steps to completing the problem. Students can choose from a number of categories, such as algebra, fractions, etc., and can plug in the numbers from the problem they are struggling with. The program then generates the correct answer, along with all of the steps necessary to find it. The website is found here: http://www.webmath.com/.

Math in the ESL Classroom

Recently, I had a great experience when I was teaching the students triangle-related vocabulary. I had divided students into groups of 3 and given each group a square piece of white paper. The students were asked to fold their paper to show different terms relating to triangles (such as altitude, orthocentre, etc.) and to present these terms to the class. Even though the students were presenting the same terms as other groups (as a way of practising their English), each group found a unique way to express the words, which was great to see in an ESL classroom.

Multiplication Mania

Hello all,

I thought the blog format would be a great place to share a math teaching ah-hah moment I had on the Friday before Thanksgiving.  Usually a day that the students are a little checked out on with the three day weekend approaching.

As a lot of my colleagues, my students have been struggling mightily with two digit multiplication.  Before getting to multiplying with decimals, this step usually leaves me and the students highly frustrated.  Of course this usually leads to the discussion that today's students just don't know their facts.  "In my day..." Ya, I know you had to walk uphill both ways in your bare feet, is what the students usually tell me.

Back to math, our junior intermediate divisions have decided to have a mini focus on math facts during the month of October.  The students are completing daily activities (times table challenge) and games (multiplication bingo) for prizes and 'bragging rights'.   This is having a real positive effect on our students ability to quickly manipulate single digit multiplication.

However moving to two digit multiplication, there seemed to be no carryover.  Most students were unable to transfer their knowledge of single facts to the standard multiplication algorithm.  Multiplying and carrying at the same time were proving to be a chore.  The students and I had just about given  up, when I happened across Big Ideas from Dr. Small.

She explains in detail, the lattice algorithm (pgs. 37,38) for multiplying multiple digits in a visual sense. 

The lattice system worked exceedingly well for the students.  Each digit is automatically placed in the proper place value column.  In the example above, the pink represents the ones column, the orange the tens column, and so on.

The ah-hah came after ten minutes of dissecting the strategy with the students and their applying the strategy.  We went from two students being able to multiply two digits to 15 students being able to consistently and accurately multiply two digit numbers.  The other beauty is the lattice also works as the numbers get even larger and also work for decimals as well.

I have included a link to a you tube video showing the lattice algorithm in action.  This does not mean that this is the only way to multiply, but if students are struggling with the standard algorithm, this will certainly increase their confidence and lead to increased participation during your lessons.  I actually had students that asked for homework over the holidays.  Even student mentioned that I have never understood multiplying before but this is easy!

Some student before and after samples are shown below.

I can't wait for Monday, to see how this goes with the introduction of the decimal.  Wish me luck!

P. Cornies

Comic - roots, grade 9

Great way to introduce roots in grade 9!