Thursday, January 31, 2008
Student of the Week - Michael
Michael is our new student of the week! I have included a younger photo, and some updated photos from his presentation. I just couldn't pass up adding the the younger photo to the blog! What an adorable picture! Michael loves sports, and he plays hockey and swims. He admires his brother, and his favorite food is a hot dog! He loves P.E. in school and enjoys Art class as well. He is such a creative young boy so his love for Art class wasn't a surprise! We hope he gets his wish of someday becoming the Blue Jackets Coach! We know he would be a great one!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Homework - Math
Hello parents,
If you haven't already noticed, we have been starting to add D.O.L. to our nightly homework. We are really trying to work on consistency with neat handwriting, punctuation, and capitalization in our classroom and we are hoping to see the same with homework. At the bottom of the page you will notice that the math is more challenging then usual. We have really been working on using strategies to answer more difficult problems in class. It seems the students are used to having the strategy taught before applying any mental thinking to the problem, and I am trying to shift their thinking a little. This is a constructivist approach to math. This is not the only approach we are using in the classroom, but one I really want to see be built with 2A. I am hearing or seeing a lot of "regrouping with subtraction" on the papers, and I would like to see other strategies since we have not covered that type of strategy yet. It is really important for the students to understand why they are regrouping before they actually do it so they can help determine if their answer makes sense in the end. You will notice at this age, this is something new to them (determining in their answer makes sense)...and with math this is extremely important. For example...a student will answer 12-8 and put 14 as his/her answer. My response will be...does it make sense to start with 12 and take some away and end with 14? Then they will say no and have to rethink their strategy. We have discussed counting up as a way to answer a subtraction problem. For example 28-14...I would say 14 plus what equals 28? We also have been breaking apart numbers...such as 28-10-4 to help them find answers to harder subtraction problems. Once they build this foundation, you will see "borrowing" becomes very easy for them to understand. So, when you see harder subtraction problems such as 1,234-876...encourage them to broaden their thinking instead of using "borrowing" to find the answer. You could ask what plus 876 is equal to 1,234...or break apart the numbers to look different. If something comes up that they have never seen before, I am trying to give them quick explanations at the end of the day to make them aware of what they will see that night. For example, the question of area came up last night. So, yesterday I told them area was what was on the inside of an object...and we discussed ways to figure out what the area of the rectangle would be in square units.
Again, please remember the math portion is supposed to be challenging, and if they don't understand they can put a question mark and see me for help the next day. Do not feel like you need to "teach" them all of the problems. Also, please remember that they do have some background and that we want them to come up with a strategy to find the answer. Thank you for your support with this matter, and please let me know if you have any questions.
-Mrs. R.
If you haven't already noticed, we have been starting to add D.O.L. to our nightly homework. We are really trying to work on consistency with neat handwriting, punctuation, and capitalization in our classroom and we are hoping to see the same with homework. At the bottom of the page you will notice that the math is more challenging then usual. We have really been working on using strategies to answer more difficult problems in class. It seems the students are used to having the strategy taught before applying any mental thinking to the problem, and I am trying to shift their thinking a little. This is a constructivist approach to math. This is not the only approach we are using in the classroom, but one I really want to see be built with 2A. I am hearing or seeing a lot of "regrouping with subtraction" on the papers, and I would like to see other strategies since we have not covered that type of strategy yet. It is really important for the students to understand why they are regrouping before they actually do it so they can help determine if their answer makes sense in the end. You will notice at this age, this is something new to them (determining in their answer makes sense)...and with math this is extremely important. For example...a student will answer 12-8 and put 14 as his/her answer. My response will be...does it make sense to start with 12 and take some away and end with 14? Then they will say no and have to rethink their strategy. We have discussed counting up as a way to answer a subtraction problem. For example 28-14...I would say 14 plus what equals 28? We also have been breaking apart numbers...such as 28-10-4 to help them find answers to harder subtraction problems. Once they build this foundation, you will see "borrowing" becomes very easy for them to understand. So, when you see harder subtraction problems such as 1,234-876...encourage them to broaden their thinking instead of using "borrowing" to find the answer. You could ask what plus 876 is equal to 1,234...or break apart the numbers to look different. If something comes up that they have never seen before, I am trying to give them quick explanations at the end of the day to make them aware of what they will see that night. For example, the question of area came up last night. So, yesterday I told them area was what was on the inside of an object...and we discussed ways to figure out what the area of the rectangle would be in square units.
Again, please remember the math portion is supposed to be challenging, and if they don't understand they can put a question mark and see me for help the next day. Do not feel like you need to "teach" them all of the problems. Also, please remember that they do have some background and that we want them to come up with a strategy to find the answer. Thank you for your support with this matter, and please let me know if you have any questions.
-Mrs. R.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Student of the Week - Georgia
Georgia is such an interesting girl! She loves pink, and thinks swimming should be fun and used for enjoyment and exercise. (Not always for competition) She has a large family, and thoroughly enjoys spending time with them! She especially loves celebrating her birthday on the same day as her cousin Sam. Her favorite part about school is Music class, her favorite animal is a dog, she loves pizza, and especially loves tennis. She wishes that her new baby cousin is just great! She is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her! What a sweet, young lady with many talents and wonderful characteristics!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Silent Reading Time...
Sarabeth enjoys a cozy spot underneath Emily's desk...
Davis likes to curl up in the corner.
Mary likes to hang out on the rug.
Silent Reading Time...
Our future doctor...
Best buds...
Geronimo Stilton is a popular series among our class.
So is Weird School...
Michael enjoys a funny book...
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Student of the Week - Michael R.
Michael R. is full of interesting information! He shared his love for roller coasters and said he hopes to someday be a roller coaster tester or creator! I bet he could do both! His favorite books are Judy Moody books, and he loves baseball, basketball and football! The students loved his picture with A.J. Hawk and thought his first haircut picture was hilarious! They also thought it was interesting that he knew how to play lacrosse. Michael enjoys eating at Denny's and playing video games in his free time. What a fascinating boy!
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