Francesca Scarmato

Reflections
Monday, February 25, 2019
Everyone, returning from the February break, was trying to get back to their schedules.
The first class of the day was Freshman Seminar. However, during that time, I was able to
prepare for my lesson that I was going to teach for my class. Knowing that I was going to film
for my EdTPA, I wanted to make sure I had everything set up, such as: organization of the
permission slips, lesson presentation, handouts, camera set-up, etc.
As my Algebra 3/4 students entered the classroom, I had announced to them to not only
take out their projects that they should’ve completed, but to also explain that the filming for the
EdTPA was going to take place today and tomorrow. As some of them seemed to have forgotten
about the filming, I reinforced to them that no one was to see the video other than myself and
those who would issue my license. After the announcement, I instructed the students to begin the
Do Now posted on the board, as I went around and collected the projects. The question for the
Do Now was taken from their homework that I noticed some students had struggled with. I
thought this was a perfect opportunity to use a challenging question that would review the last
topic covered before the break to connect to the new topic being learned today. Throughout the
lesson, I had to tried to activate the students’ schema multiple times in order to show the
connection between the topics of various angles they have been learning. As one student would
answer a question, I would then try to reengage the class by asking another question pertaining to
their instructional procedure of the new material. Though the students can be hesitant to
participate in the lesson, I found that it takes examples and practice of problems to clearly
comprehend the new terms provided to them. Within their classwork, the students were to work
in groups to complete the problems that consisted of solving for missing angles. The problems
were similar to the questions they would have to solve for homework. As it was towards the end
of the period, I had the students complete an exit ticket that was a 3-2-1 Activity. I felt that this
was a way to gain feedback from the students on their understanding of what they had took away
from today’s lesson.

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

As I was filming more than one lesson for my EdTPA, I wanted to make sure I had all the
material needed for my class. At this point, the students were learning the topic of angle addition
postulates in which they should already know the basic skill to use, part + part = whole. To
activate their schema, I had the students solve a problem for their Do Now in order to correlate a
previous topic already covered, line segment addition, to the introduction of a lesson in finding
missing angles. As the students should have been able to comprehend the lesson, I had them
begin solving problems. However, I saw the struggle they were having to recall the use of the
rule, part + part = whole. Realizing this, I had decided to review the first question as a class
asking the students questions to guide them along to their own understanding of solving the
problems. Such questions were: What is the problem asking you to find? Can you identify that
angle? Now you have one angle and another angle, what can you do now? What formula did you
learn, that you can use? Did you check your work? How do you know this is correct? Depending
on the figure, what is the measure of the angle you see? As only some students were answering
the questions, using the first question we were solving, I had asked what a certain angle
represented in the formula covered in the lesson. One student said “whole”. I then reinforced to
the rest of the class that if you have a whole, then you should also have a part; so, what formula
should you use? Part + part = whole! Knowing that some students weren’t paying attention, I had
all of the students repeat it: part + part = whole, part + part = whole. I wanted every student to
say it out loud, so that they wouldn’t forget it. By reviewing the first problem, I then had the
students continue the rest of the classwork either individually or as a group. I always encourage
peer collaboration between students because for a subject that is difficult for most, it may be
easier to understand the material in layman terms from a fellow classmate rather than from a
teacher. During their classwork, I had gone to each table to observe how they were
comprehending the lesson. Some students were understanding it fairly quickly, meanwhile others
were confused about how to solve for missing angles when dealing with algebra. Realizing the
same questions were being asked, I had decided to pause the group work and review once more
what the students needed to use in order to solve the problem. While spending majority of the
period solving the problems, I had expressed to the students to utilize their notes to assist them
with their homework that would be due by the next class. I try to have their homework consist of
several problems, but also constructive responses of the definitions of terms they should
remember such as: angle addition postulate and what part + part = whole is also known as
(partition postulate).

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Though I do not teach my Algebra ¾ class on Wednesdays, and the morning classes are
Consumer Math with seniors, I utilize this time to either begin working on my next lesson for
Friday or to grade homework and projects. As I grade the homework, I like to give positive and
constructive feedback to the students, so that they can see where they might have started to go in
the wrong direction and to question how they got their answers. Some students are able to do
well on the homework, making only minor errors, however, there are those students who either
try to do the homework, but were so confused that they gave up, or they don’t attempt to do the
work at all. For these students, it can be frustrating because I want them to be able to understand
math, especially with certain topics that aren’t as challenging as most. After grading the
homework, I had decided to look through the projects. Seeing that it was a small pile, I found out
that not every student submitted their work. Part of the grade for the project was attendance; so,
for each day the project was late the student would lose four points as per the rubric. Not wanting
the students to be penalized for having the project in late, I had a “remind me” announcement
sent out for those who didn’t hand it in. If the student doesn’t not hand in the project by Monday
they will earn a zero for the project, being counted as test grade.

Thursday, February 28, 2019

 Similar to Wednesday’s schedule, I don’t teach my Algebra ¾ class today. However, my
cooperating teacher informed me yesterday that she would be out of the building for the day. So,
already prepared with the handouts, I provided the work left for the students for each period. As
the students worked on their given tasks, I was able to utilize the time by creating a lesson plan
for my class that will meet tomorrow. Following the chapters in the unit, the students were to
learn how to identify parallel and non-parallel lines. While researching information and
questions for the lesson, I realized that the figures that I would be incorporating into the lesson
would take up valuable class time that I didn’t want to waste. So, I created a worksheet of a chart
of types of lines, with the figures already on it. As part of my lesson, I decided to have the
students complete the chart by writing in the term associated with the figure, the characteristics
of the figure, as well as the notation of the figure (if possible). I thought this was a good way to
save time as well as to have the student begin annotating their own notes. Getting majority of my
lesson completed around lunch, I was able to assist the Algebra students in the last two periods.
They were instructed to complete a handout based on what they have been learning in groups.
Understanding that Mrs. Perry was absent for the day, the students were a little more rowdy than
usual. However, identifying me as an authoritative person in the classroom, as a teacher, the
students were respectful enough to listen to do the directions, do the work, and even ask for help
when they needed it.

Friday, March 1, 2019

Rather than starting off with a routine Do Now, Mrs. Perry gave me the idea of giving the
students a quiz in order to assess what they have retained on angles so far. Allotting the students
15 minutes to complete the quiz, I knew creating handouts was a good idea because knowing my
students, they would spend too much time focusing on drawing out the pictures on the board
rather than focusing on the information within the lesson. So, not only did I create the chart for
the types of lines, but I also created a handout for their classwork incorporating the two shapes
that were within the lesson. I believed that providing the students with the handouts would make
it easier for the students to understand the lesson about lines within the shapes we were using by
having a 3d picture in front of them rather than just looking on the board. By creating handouts,
the sheets can become as part of their notes and may be used as a reference to assist them with
their classwork. Some of the students were understanding the lesson, but others were confused
because understanding a 3d picture in a 2d setting can be difficult. However, once reviewing
certain problems as a class, the students were beginning to grasp the concept. Knowing that math
can be a struggling subject for most, I always try to maintain feedback from students, so I try to
implement the “thumbs up, thumbs down” evaluation of the students to determine if I should
move on or explain further.

Monday, March 4, 2019

School closed due to snow.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
As school was closed yesterday due to the snow, I only see my class twice this week
rather than three days. Returning to school, I continued with the next scheduled lesson of
identifying parallel lines cut by a transversal. Staying within the theme of lines, for the Do Now I
had the students mark the lines that were parallel. Based on the lesson from Friday, the students
should be able to label the line using the correct symbol learn from their last lesson. Once
completing the Do Now, I then made the connection from that last few lessons we were covered
to today’s lesson by identifying the types of angles and lines seen within the figure, such as:
adjacent angles, vertical angles, intersecting lines, parallel lines, etc. As I mentioned all these
angles and lines that we have covered, I then introduced to them a transversal line and the angles
that are formed from them. I didn’t create a handout for this lesson because I believed that the
students can quickly draw a few lines crossing each other. As I went through each type of angle
formed by transversal, I had stressed to the students to make sure they had in their notes the
terms and definitions as it will not only assist them with their classwork, but also for their
homework. Though I didn’t create a handout of the terms, I did create a handout for their
classwork. I wanted to make sure they had the entire problem in their notes and knowing that the
students would take too long to copy the questions, I provided them with the questions. As the
period was coming to an end, we ran out of time to review the problems. So, I explained to the
students to complete the homework, I had given them, which is to be due by Friday; if they had
any questions then they should come to me doing office hours in the morning or during lunch.

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

As I don’t teach my class on Wednesdays, I used this opportunity to grade the projects
from the February break. Since I sent out a notification to the students who didn’t hand in their
work, I received a couple back. As I didn’t receive everyone’s project, those students will then
be earning a zero as a test grade. According to the rubric that I created, consisting of scores that
incorporates attendance, appearance, use of mathematical terminology as well as appearance of
mathematical competency, majority of the students did well on the project. I not only graded the
projects, but I was also able to grade, and provide feedback to, the homework that was collected
from yesterday. Being able to finish grading by lunch, I was then able to assist the students in the
Algebra classes during the last two periods of the day. The students have been developing their
graphing concept and skills and so moving from linear equations to linear inequalities, they were
learning how to graph linear inequalities in which the students had to learn how to solve and
graph for the solution set.

Thursday, March 7, 2019

As I also don’t teach classes on Thursdays, I use this opportunity to create my lesson for
tomorrow. As the students learned parallel lines cut by a transversal on Tuesday, I continued the
lesson by having the students solve for the missing angles in a transversal using algebra.
Understanding that we didn’t finish the classwork from Tuesday, I decided to take two questions
from that classwork and pose them as the questions in the Do Now. By utilizing the questions
that weren’t reviewed, it will not only help the students to take out their notes from Tuesday, but
it will also assist in bridging the connection between Tuesday’s lesson to Friday’s lesson. Seeing
the struggle, I saw from the students on Tuesday, I decided to create a handout of the terms,
figure, and characteristics of the angles learned on Tuesday. By creating a term sheet, this will
help the students to identify the type of angles they see in the problem and, based on the angle,
the properties of that angle. Though I didn’t finish creating the lesson, during the last two periods
I assisted with the Algebra classes in learning how to solve graphically for a system of
inequalities. Certain students needed help in isolating “y” by itself to set up the inequalities or
knowing which way to shade the graph.

Friday, March 8, 2019

Upon finishing my lesson that I started from yesterday, I had created the worksheet of the
terms and a Kahoot game where students will form into groups and practice additional questions
from today’s lesson. Before going straight to Kahoot, however, I wanted the students to complete
five questions on their own. They were to identify the type of angle in the diagram, solve for x,
and justify their answer. I try to incorporate the phrase “justify your answer” because I want the
students to start getting familiar with term of having to explain their answers through words
rather than just numbers and letters. As the students were having a hard time understanding how
to solve the problems and getting restless from frustration, I gave them the incentive of playing
Kahoot if they were to finish these problems. As soon as I mentioned Kahoot, they all got
excited because it meant that it’s a game that they get to play instead of just solving random
questions. Though we were only on question 3 of 5, I announced that if they finished question
four, I will drop the last question and we’ll play Kahoot. Wanting to play, we were able to
complete the classwork questions and play some Kahoot.

Monday, March 11, 2019

As it is my last week with the Algebra ¾ class, I had set up a test review for the students
in preparation for their test that they will take tomorrow. Their test will consist of the lessons on
lines and angles that we have been covering for the past two weeks. Rather than creating a
review sheet for the students to complete on their own or in groups, I decided to make another
Kahoot game. I thought that by playing a game I could create a sense of civilized competition
between the groups. I first gave the incentive that the winning group would receive an extra five
points on their test. However, in the end, based on the amount of participation and wanting to
understand the questions I decided to give an extra five points to the group that came in first, an
extra three points to the group that came in second, and an extra two points to the group that
came in third. I think the students get excited when I use a technological tool because I don’t
always incorporate it in the lesson. However, when I do use it, the students know this is when
they get to have fun in the classroom, even though they are still learning math.
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
In preparation for my Algebra ¾ class test, after I made copies of the test, I wrote up the
answer key. Upon completing the answer key for the 30-question test, I realized that two of the
questions were not covered in the lessons I taught, so I had made a note for myself to discuss this
issue in the beginning of the class. As my students entered the classroom, I let them have about
five minutes to review for the test and then they had to put their books away. While waiting for
their test, I was placing their exam facedown on their desks because I didn’t want the students to
begin the test before explaining the directions. Once every student had a test paper, I instructed
them to turn the papers over, but to pay attention to a few points I needed to make. The first point
being that everyone should have their name on their tests and that they will have the full period
to complete the test. I didn’t want the students to share calculators, as they should have their
own, however, if they needed to borrow, they can borrow a calculator from me. If the students
needed additional space, they were allowed to write on the back of their tests or, if need be,
additional scrap paper. Moving on, I explained that I will not be repeating the answers twice, so
to make sure they pay attention. Since these will be two easy points to gain, I provided answers
to two of the questions. I then directed them to another question that I thought was difficult and
instructed them to pay close attention to how you solve for your answer. I wanted to provide
them with a helpful tip that they should pay close attention to the diagrams for the questions and
to make sure they answer the questions fully with complete work shown. As the first set of
question were multiple choice, I had instructed the students to show all computed work and/or to
explain with words how they solved their answers. The instructions for the multiple choice also
applied to the constructed response questions. There were five questions that were matching to
assess their understanding in certain vocabulary terms. Then the last five questions were true or
false. For the last questions, I had instructed the students that they were to write out the words
“true” or “false”, and if the answer is false, then they will need to write the correction in order to
make the statement true. Some of the students finished with 20 minutes to spare, so rather then
automatically collecting the test papers, I implored each student to double check their answers
and work, as they will not be able to get their tests back.

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

In preparation for Parent-Teacher Conferences tomorrow, I utilized today to grade any
homework or tests that were submitted recently. I wanted to make sure that the assessments were
all graded and that the students will have the necessary feedback they will need in order to see
where they might have gone wrong as well as what they can do to improve their understanding
of the concepts and skills they should have developed throughout the lessons taught in the past
two weeks.