Are eyeballs supposed to twitch?

OK, I have a question for all of the teachers out there. At what point should I start to get really, really scared?




I usually have a few kids at the beginning of the year who don't recall their basic mathmatic facts well or who have forgotten the need for and the skill of borrowing (or regrouping). This year, I have a few kids who are the EXCEPTIONS to these issues.


In my afternoon class today (11 kids), I asked "What is 8 minus 6?" Silence for about 2 seconds. Then a low collective, "ummmmmmm" for about 3 seconds before the random guesses began. "SIX!" "THREE!" (a muffled "two") "EIGHT!" "GREEN!"




OK, no one said "green." Thankfully. It wouldn't have surprised me, though. But when almost the entire class needs to stop and count on their fingers for a question like "10 - 9" I start to get worried!




Borrowing doesn't seem to be an issue for them -- since most of them don't do it!! "What's 5 minus 7?" I ask. "TWO!!" the kids shout, as the high fives begin and the party favors get blown. And forget sensical answers. 104-98 apparently equals 194. 23-8 is 25. 200-89 is, naturally, 289.




I understand that as a 3rd grade teacher, I need to reinforce and remind kids of 2nd (and 1st) grade concepts. But I feel as though I'm spending more time TEACHING these concepts than the new, 3rd grade, concepts!!!




Anyone else going through this?

Learn Me Good