Today we reviewed for our Unit 5 test tomorrow. Students have unit reviews right in their math journals that are formatted the same as their math tests. I like the layout of the review and tests; students don't have any surprises. They know exactly what to expect. The work time just felt right. I had four students at the Smartboard with me, going through the whole review together. I would give these students a few minutes to complete the problems that were easy for them, and then we would talk through the problems they struggled with. So I mainly let them work until they got stuck, I was right their to assist them. Seven of my advanced students worked alone on the review, and the rest of my class was divided into partners. This worked really well.
The second half of class didn't feel right. Students were working on a birthday book while they waited for my high school helper to correct their work. The rest of the class I felt like I was running around with my head cut off. I wanted to help the students who needed to make corrections, correct their corrections, and staple their reviews together so students could practice at home for the test tomorrow. That was too much on my plate. Should I give students more responsibilities? Make them correct their own papers? Maybe I could spread the review into two days. The first day we could work on the review, and the second day we could go over the answers to the review. That would be easier on me, but would that be best for my advanced students? Would it be boring for them? I know, I will assign portions of the review to my advanced students so they can teach them to the class (on the second day of the review). That way we can all check our answers and students, who need to be challenged, can take on a more significant role in the classroom. That will leave me hands free (while my students are teaching/going over the answers at the board) for me to walk around the room and assist struggling students. I'm going to try this for Unit 6!
