Thank you to the families who have completed part of our thankful project and sent in the 5 feathers. Please send in by Monday, November 25th so that all the kiddos can finish their very important work!
As we continue to work with counting, shapes, and teen numbers, the boys and girls are becoming more comfortable and more importantly, more confident within our Math workshops. It is always amazing to see the progress they make as every day passes!
· Counting on Cup - 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. Finally, he/she decided how many counters there were in all and filled in the record sheet.
· Nearby Teen Numbers – Using various game boards, students placed the missing teen numbers in their grid to complete the “number line”.
· Mix It Up - Each child took a deck of teen number cards and “mixed” them up. They then put them in order from 10-20 and read the numbers to themselves to ensure they were correct!
· Grow and Shrink – This activity appears to be just a simple counting game, but it is one that allows children to begin to see relationships among numbers. Using our 10 frame manipulatives, the cherubs represented a number and then had to choose to either “grow” or “shrink” their manipulatives to represent the new number. This station was even trickier this week because the numbers are getting greater! The kiddos are really developing their number sense with this station!
· Pattern Block Puzzles – At this station, the students had the opportunity to explore relationships among shapes and determine how many ways the shapes could be arranged in a specific space. Employing pattern blocks, the children filled in a particular puzzle shape in different ways and recorded the number of blocks used each time! Everyone became very creative with this station – definitely a fan favorite!
· Monster Squeeze – The cherubs continue to enjoy the iPads! This week during the game, they chose whichever level they felt they might need practice or where they wished to challenge themselves! This fan favorite independent game required students to guess a number. The computer then replied either: “My number is greater than that” OR “My number is less than that.” Children continued guessing numbers until the correct number had been determined or “squeezed” between the monster’s two long arms!
· Roll and Color Teen Numbers – At this station, the mathematicians of Room #7 rolled a giant die with the teen numbers 16-19 (represented in 10-frame form). Next, they found that specific number on their activity sheet and colored it in!
The next component in Daily Five is Listen to Reading. I am so excited to begin this part, but I need some help. Unfortunately, many of my stories are on tape. I am going to borrow some of Mrs. Sheerin’s books on CD. Would anyone be willing to burn multiple copies of these books for me? These copies would allow Room #7 to get this part of the Daily Five up and running. With a total of 6 CD Discmans, six students can listen to stories at once while reading/following along with the text. Every student will have his/her very own set of headphones and the chance to interact with a variety of texts in a meaningful way!
Additionally, Mrs. Sheerin also has a device that converts tapes into CD’s. She is currently using it, but again, would anyone like to volunteer to learn how to do this process to help grow our Listening Library? Please email me your thoughts!
This week, during Writer’s Workshop, I introduced a new visual that will help students add important facts to their stories. Room #7 discussed how a piece of writing includes many salient details that contribute to the reader’s interest and comprehension of the story. We talked about how to make their story more interesting and aid the reader in visualizing the author’s important words by including specifics: the people that were involved, the location of the story, and the activity taking place. These details will help the Kindergarteners write more well-rounded pieces that really allow the audience the opportunity to feel as if he/she were there!
The boys and girls had a blast on Teen Number Pajama Day; everyone was thrilled to show off their comfy clothes and teen numbers! We made sure to sing the Teen Number Song extra exuberantly! The cherubs also enjoyed a short movie, a reading of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. They can’t wait to earn another reward!