Posted by kavery508 | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on January 29, 2018
We’re halfway to the end of the year! This is a good time to reflect on our journey, and to thank you for your efforts as partners in your child’s education. It’s remarkable how much growth the kids have shown, from learning skills and critical thinking to their growth as caring members of our learning community. To foster self-reflection, try asking your child to compare how s/he is different now from the start of the year. What things can s/he do now that s/he couldn’t before? What things does s/he still want to learn (goals) and how do they think they can they get there?
The winter doldrums are upon us! In an effort to boost student morale and improve their rate of homework completion, I’m offering students the reward of Lunch and a Movie on Fridays in February. Students will buy or bring lunch as usual, and we will watch a video until recess time. Students must bring back their completed reading homework logs on Friday morning, including parent signature, to participate. If your child has had a low return rate, this indicates they are going to need your help to get this important habit fully into their “muscle memory.”
Of course, this means the 100th day of school is two weeks away (at this time, Friday, Feb. 9)! I will set up a “100 Day Museum” to show off student projects and learning. I encourage children to create a poster/collection/display/etc. that somehow represents 100. Instead of simply collecting 100 things in a bag, I’m challenging students to think more deeply about number. They could bring/show something that displays an understanding of number, patterns, and/or the math we’ve done so far, such as:
- grouping objects (stickers/pennies/etc.) on a poster that shows counting (and/or multiplying) by 5s, 10s, 2s, etc., with accompanying multiplication or repeated addition sentences
- bar models using the number 100
- create real-world problems with 100
Click here and scroll down for a look at the creative ways that one class took on this challenge. There is also a plethora of projects and ideas on Google and Pinterest and across the web!
Valentine’s Day is coming! We will exchange valentines in class on Wednesday, 2/14. If your child brings valentines in for classmates, please be sure there is one for everyone. There are currently 23 students in our class. Refer to our class list sent home if your child wishes to personalize valentines with names. Of course, hand-made ones are welcome as well as store-bought! Please be sure no food (including candy) is attached per our district policy, and thanks!
Our work with Opinion writing is paying off! Students are being taught to state reasons for opinions and follow up with explanations. This is the foundation for paragraph organization. Check out these examples on the topic “Why kids should not have homework on the weekend” from 1) Brady, 2) Matthew, and 3) Berlin: 1) One reason is, kids sometimes have sport play dates like basketball. You need to get your gear and go to practice so you don’t have time to do homework. 2) Plus, if you have somewhere to go, you can’t go. Like if they have to play sports they can’t do them because they have homework. 3) Finally, it may be a holiday. Kids shouldn’t have homework on a day you spend time with your family. Fantastic!
The next chapter we will take on in Math In Focus is Chapter 10. If you are following along in the eBook, this is the first chapter in Book B. This chapter sees a return to mental math strategies. The goal here is to make students ever more fluent with numbers by using their understanding of numbers and patterns to compute in their heads. This is where our hard work with place value, number sense, and math facts pays off! Here is the addition strategies we will focus on this week:
1. Add multiples of 1s, 10s, or 100s when you can:
a. 354 + 3 Just add the ones; nothing else needs to change.
b. 354 + 30 Just count up by 10s…364, 374, 384 or Use math facts: 5 + 3 is 8, so 50 + 30 is 80–nothing else changes but the 10s place.
c. 354 + 300 Just count by 100 three times…454, 554, 654. or Use math facts: 3 + 3 = 6 so 300 + 300 = 600.
