Assignment Unit 303 Support Learning Activities Essay

Mrs S the class teacher, the children and I sat on the carpet and Mrs S asked the children to identify different value coins by sight. I was then asked by Mrs S to help year 1 yellow table with counting coins and recognising the value of money. Mrs C gave each table various amounts of 1 pence, 2 pence, 5 pence and 10 pence coins. I asked all of my table to sit down properly. One child was kneeling on her chair so I explained that she needed to sit down so that she didn’t slip and so that everybody could see. The children initially kept grabbing at the money so I stated that they would all get a turn individually and to leave the coins alone for the moment. Each child was then asked in turn from left to right to work out how many 1 pence pieces were in 2 pence, 5 pence and 10 pence. I referred to the number line on the wall opposite to demonstrate adding and counting. I recognised that one of the children on my table was very quiet and timid, he was reluctant to join in at first as a lot of the other children were talking over him. I asked the table to be quiet so that he could concentrate. I then asked him to count all the 1 pence pieces on the table, he responded well and showed good counting skills, after he had finished I asked if he fully understood all of the task and he replied with a smile. I then worked with the table as a group and we discussed what sort of job involved counting money. Some of the table gave good examples such as working in a shop or bank. A couple of the children appeared to have a greater knowledge of money and addition so whilst the rest of the table continued to discuss money I asked the remaining two to work out bigger sums i.e: how many 1 pence pieces were in two 10 pence pieces and how many 2 pence pieces made up 10 pence.  Also how many 5 pence pieces were in 20 pence. I monitored their ability to count up in twos and fives they both answered quickly and correctly and seemed to enjoy the task. We then counted the coins again individually, as the children were responding I praised each one stating â€Å"well done†. Unfortunately one child didn’t get a turn at the final task because we had run out of time. I asked her if she understood all that we had done and she replied â€Å"yes† Mrs S said it was nearly break time so I asked all of the children to listen to me and tidy away quickly and quietly and explained that if they did this our table would be rewarded with a trophy. Mrs S tied a yellow ribbon around the trophy and awarded our table with it. The children were elated. She then asked me how each child had responded. I explained that they all fully understood the task in hand and although one child did not get time for the final task, she did fully understand. I explained to Mrs S that two of the children I monitored showed a better understanding of Mathematics and money so I decided to progress further with them to maintain their interest and not distract the others. The table all enjoyed the discussion which was carried out without the need to shout out or jump about on their seats. For future reference I will pay close attention to the time required to complete the task to ensure that each child gets the same amount of turns.