So I have a LOT of reviewing to do. Myself, as a junior coach, is expected to teach lessons on the different sections of the ACT: English, Math, Reading, Science, and Writing. We utilize Kaplan ACT prep curriculum, so I have a great starting point to teach. There are also a ton of other resources that past coaches have saved for our use.
I have no qualms about the English section (it’s all review), the reading section (I enjoy reading strategically) or the Science and Writing sections. Math, however, has been messing with me. In high school I was always in the normal math classes and enjoyed learning new formulas and way to solve problems. It was definitely a class that I had to put effort into but I looked forward to the challenge of doing my math homework: there’s always ONE right answer.
Upon planning for my math lesson for next week, I quickly became overwhelmed. On top of me needing to review and practice using these formulas, I now have my student ACT math scores back. Most of my students struggled in the sections of “Variable Manipulation” and “Coordinate Geometry”. AKA basic algebra and geometry. I’ve been working with a few of my students outside of class to help them get caught up from missing a session and am amazed at how many of them struggle with basic algebraic functions. They don’t know what an exponent means, how to add/subtract from a negative number, and how to solve for a variable. Obviously not all of my students struggle with this, but about 15% need lots of help.
I’m doing what I can to give them their basic math skills, but I know that this section of the ACT will be the hardest to increase their score in. This week, each student will be working on setting their own individual goals for our time together so I’m looking forward to learning what students want their score to increase to.
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