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Block 1

My first block was a great first experience teaching in a high school classroom. I had the opportunity to teach a Grade 10 Academic Math class and it was a true testament to my passion for teaching and a clear indicator that I was right where I have wanted to be. I got to finish up a unit on quadratics, teaching concepts such as completing the square, quadratic formula, and problem solving. This was definitely a tricky unit for my students, as each new concept in quadratics builds off of the previous one, and many students struggled to keep up with the pace. Overall the unit was well done, although it is safe to say that the students were very happy to be done with it when it was over (seeing as it was the last of 3 units on quadratics). During this unit I was able to use Desmos to make graphing and visually representing quadratic functions quick and easy for my students. I often used this technology during my lessons and I also allowed students to use it for exploration activities. This tool was definitely an asset to teaching quadratic functions.

In my last week before finishing my block, I introduced a new unit on Trigonometry, Students were very excited to see something different and it was fun for me to revisit a topic that I haven't looked at in many years. I needed to refresh myself a lot more than I did with the functions unit, however it was a great challenge to re-learn the material and formulate it into lessons that Grade 10s would understand. I used a Gizmos activity to teach similar triangles and the students really enjoyed playing around on it. I could see how it helped to develop a concrete understanding of the properties of similar triangles that the students used throughout the remainder of the unit.

Reflecting back on my block, I had an amazing experience. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching mathematics and experimenting
with different teaching styles, techniques, and tools. Completing this block makes me excited for the next one, and more importantly for my career as a teacher!

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