Corey Said:

Can you help a first year, first grade teacher?

We Answered:

A good way to practice writing numbers up to 30 is, at the beginning of each month, have your children make a calendar to take home. (fill in the numbers on a blank one)
As a kindergarten teacher, I start the year by having my children trace most of the numbers and only writing 1-10. but by the end of the year, they have to fill in the entire calendar (with my modeling, of course.) Then we glue it on large construction paper and, of course, decorate it.

another great game to practice/learn/reinforce any concept is Alligator! Alligator! or whatever you wish. We play Elephant! Elephant! in my room. It's basically a tweaked version of Around the World. You start off with index cards of what you want your children to know. (in your case, numbers) Possibly differentiate the cards with pictures as well. Children try to say the number on the card the quickest in order to advance to the next seat/opponent in the classroom. The goal is to get around the room. But the whole class has to watch b/c if you pull an alligator/turkey/elephant/whatever card, everyone has to stand up, spin in circles and shout 3 times, "Alligator! Alligator! Alligator!" It's silly and tons of fun. It also keeps the children's attention. You'll start the year with lots of Alligator cards, but you can pull some out later on if you wish.

Hope this helps!

Georgia Said:

Ocean-themed activities for a first grade classroom?

We Answered:

I remember when I was little the teacher decorated the classroom. She brought in shells and taught us about different kinds and how the creatures used them. Make a book and each day do a letter with an animal related to it and tell them cool stuff about that animal that they will actually care about.

Mathew Said:

Question regarding math teachers compared to other teachers?

We Answered:

Math teachers face exactly the same problems, but of course in the math framework. Here are some examples:

1. It's not just the answer. The teachers are always trying to get the students to /show their work/ and to help them figure out why they do not understand.

2. The whole field is built on foundations. In all other subjects, being able to read (and write) is sufficient. In math, you must understand addition before multiplication, and subtraction before division. You must have solid arithmetic before algebra, and algebra and analytic geometry before calculus. In history, you do not need to learn about ancient Rome before learning about the American Civil War, although the knowledge in each area helps in understanding the other.

3. The teacher must be careful not to give too much help. The answer is not the solution; it's the process of getting the answer that the student must learn, and that has to be done alone! Group work does not necessarily give success, and sharing of answers gives an illusion of mastery. The good math teacher inspires students to work problems individually and thoroughly.

4. Here on Yahoo Answers a lot of students share answers. Of course some of the answers are wrong, but most are right. I try, from time to time, to put in some methods for thinking about the problems. I suggest, as well, that to help the students with their Phys Ed classes, I'll go down to the weight room and lift weights for half an hour, to help build up THEIR muscles. In other words, math requires practice, sometime even drill. If the teacher cannot inspire the students to take on those tasks, he's failing in part of his job.

You are correct about the planning, but the hardest part for math teachers is that each student's wrong answer represents a particular set of errors. The teacher needs to know how a large set of failing approaches, and how to explain each. In history, it's simple to tell Lee from Grant. In math, the teacher must recognize that the student who cannot grasp division of fractions (such as four divided by two thirds, which is six) has an erroneous belief that division always results in a smaller answer, and refuses to give it up!