my For second field observation, I decided to use observations of my teacher, because I wasn't able to conduct a math lesson at my new placement. My new placement is in a 4th grade classroom with an experienced teacher who runs a progressive style classroom. Learning is usually inquiry-based, and also, instruction is given through short lectures from my cooperating teacher. I've been able to get a feel for how the class runs, and how lessons are prepared and implemented. In dealing with math however, I've witnessed a few large group discussions while mainly noticing that my cooperating teacher likes to have small group instruction with certain students throughout the day. Every Tuesday and Wednesday I am there, my cooperating teacher tries to include a lesson, short or long, on math. These days the class has been learning about percentages, because my cooperating teacher wants them to be exposed to this topic before they reach 5th grade. He feels that if they are exposed to it now, they will have a much easier time next year when they dig deeper into the topic. My cooperating teacher has no set lesson plans for math, but instead knows of the general topic that he wants to teach, uses a resource and prior knowledge, and gives a short lecture to the class. The lesson mainly consisted of an introduction to percentages and problems for the students to solve. For example, the problems were in the format of 50% of 28 = __ and 1/10% of 28 = __. After whole group instruction, he will meet with small groups of students throughout the week on that same topic for extra help. He usually groups the children based on their math level, so they can all try and learn at the same pace. When trying to determine what process and content standards percentages fell under, I was having some difficulty labeling the topic. For the process I standard, would choose problem solving, because the children are mainly given numbers sentences that they need to solve. Also, for a content standard, I believe that the concept of percentages falls under simple algebra. The students are dealing with numbers and operations as well, but I felt that this concept was a little more mature for the content standard of numbers and operations. The main point that was being addressed was to figure out percentages of any given number, and to use prior knowledge of decimal points and place value to solve certain problems. Reflecting back to the lesson, I noticed a great deal of student participation. Whenever there was a new question asked, almost all the students had their hands raised, even though they would often times give the wrong answer. My cooperating teacher taught the lesson with great enthusiasm which led to the students eventually understanding the concept of percentages. He didn't give up on those who were falling behind, but continually tried to push them and encourage them to understand the material. For those that didn't see...