Observation of a grade 3 maths class
...many addition sums as possible in a minute. “Beat the clock” was a very short game yet it was very effective in calming the students’ down and getting them to focus their minds on mathematics, and the emphasis wasn’t on how many they got right or wrong, it was just a fun way in which they could practice addition. After the game the students’ all sat on the floor and the teacher began to do some revision of things learnt in the previous lesson. During this period one girl attempted to make a point about one of the sums but she lost her train of thought and eventually gave up. The teacher pointed out to the girl and the rest of the class that what the girl had done was great because it showed that she was at least thinking of the problem. This was a great way of encouraging participation and discussion from the students’. The topic being revised was addition and in particular, place value, with a typical problem being “…what is the value of the 5 in 563?”. When this and similar questions where asked of the class, most of the kids put their hands up which seemed to indicate they had a pretty good understanding of the topic, however the teacher constantly chose students’...