These highly energetic rising 6th graders are more visually inclined and learn best when physical objects are accessible to help them make sense of problem-solving. I, therefore, desire to utilize effective best practice strategies that will allow me to meet their learning strengths and give them the best opportunity to continue to grow and develop in their conceptual understanding.
However, there may come a time when our students experience a disconnect when transitioning to middle school, and the strategies that accommodates their learning styles become a lost art; therefore we must find out how to restore the structure in which they were successful in.
These students really enjoy highly engaging activities where they can utilize hands-on learning and accommodate their tactile learning strengths.
Therefore, when we are engaged in solving real-world problems and higher-order thinking questions, we must be equipped with resources that accommodates our learning styles and structures in which we can make relevant connections and build upon our mathematical foundation.
My Project
Transitioning to middle school brings challenges both socially and academically. Many students experience an easier transition when the resources that they utilize are aligned with the resources that shaped their academic development and conceptual understanding.
Particularly with math, many students experience a disconnect from elementary to middle school concepts and structures in terms of small group work for skill reinforcement and extension of those skills.
Such a disconnect can be greatly minimized with consistent ongoing use of effective and meaningful math stations.
As a result, I will utilize the "New Path Learning" activities to reacquaint them with the hands-on manipulatives and resources that helped build and develop their mathematical conceptual understanding from 5th grade and link to the 6th-grade activities to extend their learning and make it more meaningful. These resources will be used to reinforce our standard-based concepts, reteaching and differentiating instruction. It will also serve as an excellent visual learning aid and to support English language learners. This will allow me to create specific learning centers for the core 5th and 6th-grade concepts.
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