Math stations this week were all about measuring, more and less, and a little bit of addition! The cherubs are doing such an excellent job with all this difficult work!
- Exploring the Pan Balance – On Monday, I introduced the balance to the class. They loved predicting what items would be heavier than others and were amazed to see when 2 different items balanced each other out. During Math stations, the students explored the pan balance with a variety of materials (e.g.: dominoes, counters, pompoms, etc.) to see which was heavier, which was lighter, and how many more or less of a material it took to even the balance out. The kiddos loved this station!!
- iPad – Park Math – At this popular station, the boys and girls of Room #7 got to try out a new activity within Park Math! In the game, the students have to figure out how to balance a seesaw. On the seesaw are different amounts of cute mice. Through trial and error, the kids either added on or took away mice to balance the weight! What a great connection they were able to make to our pan balance as well!
- Missing Teen Numbers - Let’s fill in those missing teen numbers! Given a starting and ending number, the cherubs filled in the missing numbers and paid extra attention to forming their numbers correctly!
- Grab and Count; One More/One Less: A new tricky station! At this center, the boys and girls grabbed a handful of a specific material (we used jewels, beads, foam shapes, etc.). Next, they counted their material and wrote that number down. Finally, their last two steps were to figure out what one less number was and one more number was from the first number they counted! Not only did the cherubs practice their counting and writing skills but they also had to concentrate on what the numbers were before and after! This can be difficult work! Way to go, Kindergartners!
- One More Bingo - At this station, students drew cards from a deck of numbers 1-25. After picking a number, they identified what one more of that number was and then everyone marked that number on their Bingo board, if they had it! 4 in a row won!
- Nearby Numbers – An oldie, but a goodie! Nearby Teen Numbers – Using various game boards, students placed the missing teen numbers in their grid to complete the “number line”. They are really getting good at counting on and then, thinking of one less!
- Counting on Cup – One more oldie, but goodie! In this game, one person turned over the top number card and put that number of counters in the cup. Next, he/she rolled the die (+1, +1, +2, +2) and placed that many counters next to the cup. The mathematicians of Room #7 did a much better job with this station this week. They just needed a little extra practice!
As Room #7 learns how to read, we’re listening to the ending sounds in words and connecting them to letters. The children are learning about last letters in words as they listen for, say, and recognize the consonant sounds at the end of words and attach the sounds to these letters. They are understanding that
• Some words sound the same at the end.
• You can connect words that sound the same at the end.
Moreover, as they read during Reader’s Workshop, the students are learning how to problem-solve unknown words by paying attention to BOTH the beginning and ending sounds, and if they match the word they said aloud.
Room #7 is continuing its work on Growth Mindset. This week, we began to explore the different stances that help students be “Brain Growers,” also known as students with a growth mindset. After reading The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires, a wonderful story that supportively portrays the sometimes frustrating process of translating ideas to reality and shows how a new perspective can help problem solve and rekindle enthusiasm and joy, the class and I had an excellent conversation about the importance of sticking with a task, even when it gets tough. Together, we defined the word “perseverance” and thought of things one can say to him/herself in order to keep persevering and never giving up! We also made a chart where when students are perseverant, I can quickly write it on a sticky and add it to our perseverance chart! In this manner, the boys and girls will be able to physically see how they are perseverant. A letter went home on Friday documenting the work the Kindergartners will do in regards to growth mindset. If you have any questions, you know where to reach me!
Have a restful, relaxing, and lovely weekend!