It has been so wonderful being able to teach equalizing with the kindergarten and first graders during my student teaching experience. We began by learning how to equalize through more conceptual ways such as making the length of two pieces of string the same and making two cups of beans the same weight on a balance. The students worked through each math problem either together or individually. A lot of collaboration and team work has taken place in class. I incorporated a fictional character into our math classes who’s name is Even Steven. Even Steven has given the students a list of problems that he needs help with that all have to do with equalizing. The students have really enjoyed helping out Even Steven and completing the math problems he gives them. At the end of each class we regroup and the students share how they solved their math problem using our mathematic language.

We have just started to introduce the students to the + and – symbols in math. The students already understand the concepts of subtraction and addition and are progressing greatly  with this! We hope to soon begin writing math sentences with the students based on their independent work. The great energy and positive attitude towards math that I have seen from the students has made this unit such a fun unit to teach!

-Amanda