Due to the Memorial Day holiday and having to administer the 4th grade SOL test, I was unable to see my first graders this week. I will see them next week for some exciting measurement and STEM activities!!!
Last week and this week during language arts, we have been focusing our efforts on poetry. We began by watching a fun Brainpop Junior video about poetry. This video introduced us to 4 types of poems - Acrostic Poems, Shape Poems, Haiku Poems, and a Rebus Poem. Next we focused on acrostic poems. We practiced writing some samples together using words we love - recess and ice cream! After writing together, students were then given a word and challenged to write an acrostic poem of their own! Take a look at the results of their creativity and hard work! Making ChangeWe continued to study money this week in math, with a special focus on making change. Students were given a problem like the one below, and were asked to see if they could solve it. After some think and work time, we discussed strategies for solving a problem involving making change. As a group, we took the open number line strategy and counting up to one dollar and practice additional problems using that strategy. We then turned our thinking up a notch and did some multi-step problem solving. Students were shown a set of items available from the "Owen Market." They were then told they had a dollar to spend and two items that they were to buy. They then had to find the total cost for the purchase then determine how much change they would get back if paying with a dollar!
Although I wasn't able to meet with my group for math this week, I did leave some differentiated task cards for them to work on with money (pennies, nickels, dimes this week...quarters will be added to the mix next week). Not only did they have to determine the value of a set of coins, they also had to add and subtract with money amounts, make a set a coins to show a money amount, and use patterning to solve multi-step problems about money. Here are some examples. This week we exercised our 21st Century Skills by playing a cooperative game for kids called, Hoot Owl Hoot! In this game, students must work together to make the most effective plays to get a set of owls back to their nest before the sun rises. It required communication, collaboration, problem solving, and critical thinking! Hoot Owl Hoot! is available at stores that sell board games!
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November 2017
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