Writing numbers in pairs

At the end of this week I decided to let the students work in pairs in the numeracy lesson because I was focusing in assessing what they have learnt during this week and who need more supports. The learning objectives were recognizing the numbers from1 to 10 and identify them. Both of these aims were old however we returned back to them to be sure that all the students' achieved them.  I gave each pair white board and one marker and what they had to do is each time one the pair will write the number that will show and the other students will say it. 

The students liked the section and they were totally engaged. They were also responding to my instruction and when they all finish writing they have to stop and listen to a child who was identifying the number. They were also having turns in writing the numbers and helping each other. It was the first time that they have to work in pairs while they sitting on the carpet and using the white board however they used it before but individually and in the activity corners.

Most of the students could recognize the numbers and could write them in write way and say it but some of the students were the opposite and there were two students who needs more support in both aims.

I enjoyed the lesson and the students as well however next week I will focus on the students that need support and I will let them work in small group to master these outcomes.

Students' talking during the 2nd whole session

In the first week in the school I noticed that the young learners' were talking and not listening to the person speaking especially in the plenary time. During that session I asked one student each time to come in front of their friends and talk about what they have done during the activity time. What happened is the students' were not listening and they were speaking and distracting each other while their friend tries to speak.

At the beginning I was focusing on the child who is speaking and encourage him/her to talk in front of the other and forgetting that the other should listen and respect the person who is speaking. Because of that, I had to stop the child who was speaking and asked who was distracting the students' to watch and listen. It was so hard to keep them listening to the person speaking especially after they finished their activity because they were talking to each other about what they have done.  

To solve this problem I used new rule which is listen to the person speaking and I explained to them that they have to respect the person speaking like teachers' or even their friends' and it worked for few days with some students. Therefore, I decide to ask the students to sit in pairs and let them talk to each other and say what they have done during the activity. During that time I can observe them or let on from each pair to speak in front of the others. Another solution to this issue is to ask each group that worked together in the activity time to discuss what they did. After that we will sit in circle and one from each group will speak and the others have to listen.