Most of our Math stations this week revolved around teen numbers and required our really delving into one more and one less. Keep reading to find out what your cherubs were able to do!
- What Does the Shape Say? – Two weeks ago, the students were introduced to an anchor chart that illustrates all different shapes: rectangle, rhombus, square, circle, triangle, trapezoid, and hexagon. The class worked together to first name the shapes and then label them. Next, we chatted about how each shape would describe itself: how many sides, vertices, and if it has parallel (yes! The cherubs know what this concept means!) lines. Lastly, they attached speech bubbles with accurate descriptions of each shape. This week, the boys and girls challenged themselves to write those descriptions in their very own shape book! Tricky work, but fun!
- Roll and Color Teen Numbers - At this station, the mathematicians of Room #7 rolled a giant die with the teen numbers 11-16 (represented in 10-frame form). Next, they found that specific number on their activity sheet and colored it in!
- Mix it Up! – This fun game could be played either with a partner or independently! Given a deck of number cards from 10-20, the students mixed up the cards and put them back in number order. It was really cool to watch them problem solve to make certain the numbers were in the correct positions. Additionally, the cherubs often sang parts of our teen number song to assist in this tricky work!
- Make a Train Race – Working with a partner, kiddos took turns rolling a die and making a cube train. The first person who reached the number 17 won the race. In this manner, students not only practiced their counting skills but also were required to keep track of how many cubes they already had as well as figuring out how many more they needed in order to reach the specified length.
- Teen Number Book – Room #7 has been working hard on their teen numbers! At this station, students focused on writing their teen numbers and then filling in a 20-frame with “x’s” to match the number they were working on. Kids received a lot of practice counting to ensure that they had the correct amount!
- Spin and Graph Pattern Blocks – After spinning a pattern block spinner, students graphed how many times the spinner landed on a particular shape! As an extra challenge, they used invisible buddy lines to see how many more shapes the “winning” pattern block had than the others!
- Shrinking Number Monster - Are you ready for a challenge, cherubs? This week, some students were completing this center without the counting aspect! Because many of the boys and girls are really understanding the concept of teen numbers and their sequence, we had to make the exercise trickier. The kiddos tried independently (and succeeded!) to figure out one less than the number they rolled! Way to go – this is hard work! If students still need to count as well, that’s perfectly all right! Students rolled dice to determine how many “eyes” belonged on their monster work board. They then took away one eye, recounted them, and this week, wrote the number that was one less!
We’ve been practicing saying words slowly and listening very carefully to hear each one of the sounds inside the word. For example, when we say dog very slowly we can hear three sounds, d-o-g.
The cherubs are also learning to solve new words by making connections to the ways words sound. In class, we’ve been saying words slowly, and the children are listening for the beginning, middle, and ending sounds of these words. They’re learning that they can write the letters for the sounds they hear. We are using a fun tool to help in learning that words have multiple sounds: latex-free therabands. The kiddos stretch the bands with each sound they say. This tactile tool really helps them to visualize and then name the corresponding sounds!
Not only is Room #7 full of resilient Kindergartners, but also perseverant, persistent kiddos! 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. Friends were able to make connections to other main characters we’ve read about, including Vashti from The Dot and Ramon from Ish. We added to our Mindset bulletin board of things one can say to him/herself in order to keep persevering and never giving up! Awesome, tricky work, boys and girls!
Have a wonderful weekend!