LeeAnn Cervini, a math teacher at Taylor Elementary School in Spencerport, and her first graders last year were featured in a classroom lesson video she submitted to the New York State Department of Education as an entry for the national Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Cervini has been notified she's one of only two New York state finalists in the competition. This winter, one winner from each state will win the award, which comes with an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. and $10,000 for the winner's school. "I'm very excited about this award. I would love to win because I can imagine what we could provide for mathematics instruction if we receive the $10,000," said Cervini, who is now the school's full-time School-Wide Enrichment Specialist. In her new role, Cervini coaches and trains other teachers in creating lesson plans that will challenge and inspire students. Her entry featured a year-long mathematics lesson plan she calls "Money Spending." The project is designed to teach students basic mathematical concepts in a visual, concrete way so that they understand the complexity of numbers and the relevance of concepts such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Each week, the students "earned" play money for activities as diverse as complimenting a classmate to getting a perfect test score. Every Friday, they had the option of spending the money to buy a toy, such as a stuffed animal, or saving the money for a larger prize. They learned how to count, how to add and subtract and even the economics of our money system with exercises tailored to each child's level of learning. |
