It’s amazing to me how quickly my first year of teaching is passing by! I’m in shock that it is almost March and I’m already signing up for programs for next year. This is my most nerve-racking time of the year because my students are taking NY State math tests in 2 weeks. I am very busy getting testing materials ready for my students. They know that the next week, I will be a drill sergeant with packets, test questions, and word problems. Hope they are ready for it! I get very frustrated, because these students do not like to study. So, I figured if they do these practice problems in class, they will be forced to do the problems. I would love any suggestions or activities that I can use with my students. My SMART Board no longer works, so I can’t use that in an activity 
Time Flies!
Technology with 7th grade math students
I was very proud of my usage of technology in my 7th grade inclusion math classroom. I decided to have my students create a 15 slide PowerPoint in the classroom. They were working on it for three weeks and it was finally due today. There were many complications with this project in the district that I work in. One of the obstacles I had to overcome was the fact that many students do not have computers at home. In a school that does not have an over-abundance of technology, it is difficult to book the computer lab for those students. That was one of the many reasons that the project’s due-date was pushed back twice. Another obstacle these students had was putting their PowerPoints on disks, CDs, and memory sticks. They did it, but when it finally was time to show it in class, the presentation did not appear on the overhead. Finally I resorted to using what I learned in my technology class. I had the students do their presentations through Google Docs if they did not have PowerPoint at home. This project taught these students a lot about how to use technology. I was impressed with the number of students that used the Google program! In the end it turned out to be a successful project that the students said they enjoyed working on. Mission accomplished!
Nervous…
The time has finally come for students to take their practice state math tests. I am starting to feel a little bit stressed about my students doing well on this math test. It is my first year, and I know that there is definitely pressure on me as far as how the students perform on the test. Report cards were just sent out, and there are about 20 students that received an F, out of about 120. My principal called me in to ask me why there were so many failing grades. The only way that I could explain it to him was that if they do not apply themselves, it is not possible to pass. For example, if they don’t do 2 projects or their homework, they are most likely going to get an F. My principal needs to also understand that if he looks across every subject, the same students are failing almost EVERY subject. I am nervous, still, that I am going to get the blame if these students do not perform well on their state tests. How can I ease my nerves? I have one month to prepare these kids for the REAL state test, and they know that I stay afterschool for extra help almost every day (though most usually don’t take advantage of this).
