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A disappointment stumbling block.... (sigh)

Well I must admit I thought we were rocking along in math class, and then I get to test day.  I realize two things:

1)  The kids don't know the material like I thought they did.

2) Since so many of them don't get it, I know the problem is me.

So today I am spending time trying to find a million ways to teach my kids about positive and negative integers and about greatest common factor and least common multiple (this for my 6th graders) so that we can retest on Wednesday.  I feel bad for the kids that completely aced my test, but I'm more worried about the ones that failed dramatically.  20%, 30%, and yes I even had a 0%.

It is official.  Come Monday I will be off track on the lesson plan the teacher has left for me to teach.  It is also official that my teacher will be coming back November 16th, and I need to ensure when she comes back in it was like she never left.  There is a lot of pressure for a long term substitute.  It is much more different than if it was your own class of kids.  Whatever I get off schedule with will impact her future teaching, and I can't afford to just keep moving because in Math, everything builds upon itself, especially at this level.

I must admit it was a disappointing week, but this is my first lesson in really modifying, adapting, and overcoming so that my kids can succeed.  Wish me luck!

Oh and if you have any suggestions about where to look for great interactive lesson plans, drop me a comment!  I'm all ears!
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