The second grade classrooms at my school reviewed subtraction strategies last week. Students were subtracting numbers on a number line and becoming more confident in using regrouping strategies. Based on pre-assessment results I felt like some of the students would benefit from additional enrichment. While talking with a few colleagues I revisited Educanon. I first heard of Educanon from Mary and I briefly used it last year. So I dusted off my username and password and logged into my account again.
A while back I created a subtraction video using Explain Everything. I turned off the microphone function (my dog was barking when I created this) and just used the pointer and drawing functions. The video was only around two minutes in length, but had 10 questions. I added a variety of questions, including multiple choice, fill in the blank and checklists. The last question asked the students to use a whiteboard to find the difference between two numbers.
During class students were placed in two different stations. One station was Educanon and the other was working with base-ten blocks to subtract multidigit numbers. The stations rotated after approximately 10-15 minutes. All students logged in and finished the Educanon within the time period.
After class I was able to review the results. I felt like this data could be helpful for the teacher as well as the student.
The next day I printed out the student results and compiled a reflection sheet.
Each student’s answers were stapled to the back of the reflection sheet. As a class we reviewed each question together and students filled out their specific sheet. Out of all the categories on the sheet, I thought the “Key Vocabulary/Concept” section stood out. Students started to develop an understanding of what type of skills were being addressed from each question. This was also an opportunity to emphasize certain math vocabulary words. At the end of this reflection session, students circled their effort level on this formative assessment.
I thought this was a beneficial activity for a second grade classroom. Students are also starting to think more about their own mathematical thinking and learning. I’ll be using the data and student reflection in preparation for more challenging subtraction concepts later in the year.
Educational Aspirations 