For the next two weeks, many of our Math stations are centered on 100th Day. This is a big deal for the Kindergarteners, and they are eager to visit each station.
- Comparing Numbers 1 – Last week, as a whole group, the class began comparing numbers and determining which was greater, less than, or equal to. We noticed that the greater than and less than signs look like alligators! Those alligators like to eat only the greater numbers. Using these words, instead of bigger or smaller, is very important at this age. In this manner, it helps to alleviate any literal confusion relating to each number’s size. At this station, students practiced using the signs to compare various numbers. They whizzed through it!
- Up and Down the Ladder – At this small group game, the cherubs took turns rolling a pair of dice. The roll on each die determined the number of Room #7 kids to put on the bunk bed. For example, if a 5 and a 2 were rolled, the players took the pictures of seven kiddos and placed five of them on the top bunk and two of them on the bottom bunk. Next, Player Two picked an Up and Down the Ladder game card and everyone rearranged the seven children’s pictures on the bunk bed according to the card’s instructions. For example, if the card said “1 Up the Ladder,” the kids moved one kid picture from the bottom and placed it on the top. Using dry erase boards, each player recorded the corresponding number sentences! The kids really enjoyed rearranging their pictures on the bunk beds to play the game!
- Breaking Down Teens (book 2) - Room #7 has been focusing on learning and remembering how teens are made up of one group of ten and some ones. To help cement this tricky concept, the kids worked extremely hard on another Decomposing Number Book where they had to show how many groups of tens and ones were in each teen number. They did an awesome job!
- Stamp by 10 to 100! - In preparation for the 100th Day, students are counting by tens constantly! At this center, they used various stamps to stamp to 100 in groups of ten! For an extra challenge, they used tally marks to represent each group as well!
- Domino Addition – At this center, the boys and girls picked various dominos. They then recorded what their domino looked like and transferred those dots into a number sentence. This was great subitizing, counting on, and addition practice!
- iPads – addition – For this game, the students practiced their addition skills by adding two groups of ducks together!
- T- Shirt Game - This partner activity required students to put either six or eight buttons on the t-shirt. Next, the first partner closed his/her eyes, while the other student took away a certain number of buttons. Then, the first partner opened his/her eyes and had to determine how many buttons were in his/her partner’s hand! Students used a variety of methods to arrive at the correct answer! The students took turns closing their eyes and recording the answers. They had a great time with this activity and are eager to play again!
Last Friday, after learning about Glassman, the boys and girls started brainstorming what sizes different problems are. They sorted them into three distinct categories: level 5 (HUGE), level 3 (Medium), and level 1 (small). Each category was color coded – level 5 is red, level 3 is yellow, and level 1 is green. In this manner, students get another visual picture of how big, or little, a problem actually is. We chatted about how level 5 is if someone got seriously hurt whereas, if you cannot find a pencil, that’s a level 1. Over the next two weeks, our Hastings Heroes will sort problems onto this workboard and, just as importantly, figure out what strategies one can use to overcome these big, medium, and small obstacles!
I introduced magnets to the class on Monday. We talked about three different kinds of magnets (doughnut, wand, and horseshoe). The class also learned two new Science words: repel and attract. The kiddos have loved exploring all that they can do with magnets and were constantly amazed with their “magical properties”. Next week, we will begin our Magnet Journals. The students will use illustrations to show what magnets look like when they repel as well as attract.
The cherubs and I have been working on saying and hearing the middle sounds in words. This is helping the class develop an understanding of how words are put together. The long vowel sounds, which sound like their letter names (a, e, i, o, u), are the easiest to hear. First, we listened to the sounds without looking at the letters, and, later we began to compare words and connect sounds with letters.
Our class is also working on matching beginning sounds in words to initial letters. By recognizing letter sounds and identifying the letters, the children are learning to distinguish between words.
Keep those 100th Day vests coming! I would be happy to store them in the classroom until February 10th! In addition, please encourage your children to bring in 5 cans of tuna! Lastly, don’t forget about those Valentine’s Day boxes! We are celebrating this loving holiday on Friday, February 12th! Thank you so much for all of your support!
Have a wonderful and restful weekend.