MATH TEST FRIDAY!

Hi everyone and Happy Monday!  In the classroom we are already looking ahead to Friday.  Students will be taking their first term two test this Friday, November 22nd.  Some things you can be reviewing this week with your child are :

• time to the hour
• addition and subtraction facts to 20
• related facts (6+4=10, 4+6=10, 10-6=4 and 10-4=6)
• true/false equations (11=7+5, true or false)

Balance and Motion

In science we've been learning about balance and motion.  This unit has provided students with MANY opportunities to experiment and investigate with balance and motion.  Here is a quick review of what we've done.

First, students learned how to balance a paper crawfish with and without counterweights (clothespins).

Pretty cool, huh?

After learning a little about balance students made their own mobiles which they got to take home.  We have also investigated the difference between spinning and rolling.  To learn about spinning students observed and created their own tops.

Students also investigated wheels and axles.  They created several different wheels to go on their axles and tested each one out by rolling it down a ramp.  Students came to a consensus that the two small discs worked as the best wheels.

Now we move on to discussing Thanksgiving in Social Studies! 

Related Facts

Parents, if you've been struggling with related facts with your child at home, you're not alone!  This has proven to be quite hard to understand in the classroom as well. Don't worry, we've spent a few days on related facts and this is to gear your learner up for fact families in a few weeks.  Just so you can help at home, here is a little more information about related facts.

If you have 3 numbers, let's say, 5, 6, and 11, these can be written as addition and subtraction related facts.  For example, 5+6=11, 6+5=11, 11-5= 6 and 11-6=5.  Here is a little more of what what did in the classroom:

This is our "Math Talk" board which students can refer to during our lesson.  Black writing is from yesterday and red writing was added today.

We started today's lesson with a story problem.  "There were seven children on the roller coaster. Three more hopped on. How many children are on the roller coaster now?"  Students used their cubes and scratch paper to help them create the problem.

Then students were given another part to the word problem.  "Seven students got off the roller coaster.  How many are on the ride now?"

This showed them the related facts for 10, 7 and 3.

For their partner work today, they played a game where one partner rolled two dice and wrote the addition fact for the two numbers.  Then, their partner wrote the subtraction fact for those same numbers.  It turned out like this:

Again, if your child is "just not getting it", fear not, we will be coming back to related facts in a few weeks.

TGIF!

Happy Friday, everyone!  I don't know about you, but I've been thinking it has been Friday ever since Wednesday!  Today I am posting about our Friday Folders! Yes, parents you know them very well.  For my other teacher folk cruising the blog, every Friday I send each student home with a Friday Folder.  In this folder is student work, important papers for home, and a weekly behavior log that is signed and returned each Monday.   I have been using Friday Folders for many years and I just love the home and school connection they provide.  In case you didn't know, I am extremely organized and I feel like these folders help keep my kiddos a little more organized as well.  One of the great things about these is that I know important papers are getting home to parents instead of lost in a backpack or on the bus!

Here are the folders. This year they're red!

One side is for things that need to be signed and returned. The other side is for things that can be kept for display at home.

 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Double Trouble!

In math that is!  Today we started working on some more addition strategies.  Doubles facts to be exact!  Doubles facts are basic math facts that add the same number.  In class we discussed things that come in doubles, ears, feet and hands just to name a few!  We also talked about how the sum of a doubles fact will always be an even number.  Here is a look at what we did:

 

Students spun a number, then their partner built that number and its double to create a doubles fact.  Next, they both wrote the fact then switched roles.  For independent practice, students drew the matching dots to create a doubles fact, then solved.

Coming up...

Well, here we are it's Sunday again and another weekend has passed!  I hope everyone had a great one!  Mine was spent with lots of family, friends and food.  Yum!  If you are looking to help your child this week here is a little preview of what we have coming up:

• Start talking to your child about what things take a second, minute or hour
• Ask your child time to the hour or half hour using both digital and analog (clocks with a face) clocks
• In reading, we will be drawing conclusions.  While your child reads at home ask them questions about how they used the pictures and details to help them form new ideas.

Later this week, I will be posting some of the fun we've been having in science!  Stay tuned!