Lesson 2: Factoring (3/25/10)

My relentless alarm clock finally wakes me in the early morning after my long night of homework and lesson planning. I slowly turn over and sit up on my bed. Feeling my bare feet touch the ice cold floor, I drag myself away from my bed, which looks so comfortable. Its soft sheets gently coax me back into its warm embrace. Suddenly, I realize that I have woken up later than usual and quickly prepare teaching supplies for the day.

Arriving at Monticello High School a little early, I breathe a sigh of relief. I needed the extra time to set up the Turning Point Clicker System that I would be using for the lesson that day. Thankfully, the technology demons did not rear their ugly heads and the clicker setup went smoothly. Once the students had all rushed into the classroom before the last ring of the screeching bell had died out, I began the lesson on factoring. First, I reviewed factoring integers. Then I defined a few terms that the students would need to know in order to understand factoring polynomials. Finally, I taught the students the process for factoring polynomials.

After seeing it for the first time, the students did not fully understand the process; however, by the end of the class period, 100% of them were getting the clicker questions correct. It was amazing to see the look of revelation in their eyes as, one by one, each student began to understand the lesson. The teacher was very pleased with their level of understanding as well. She commented on how well the lesson went and how she would like to use some of the techniques and tricks that she saw me employ.

I love being engulfed in an environment full of learning and understanding. I look forward to teaching the students how to solve quadratic equations in April.