Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Sesame Street Teaches Us!
This is a cute video that will show you some shapes. We will be looking at 2-D and 3-D shapes a little later in the section. Have a look!
Miss Herridge
Pattern Fun!!
Here are some fun sites that you can have a look at to get the idea of what a pattern really is. I know that patterns may be new to you, so with practice these pattern games will become easier! Just remember to have fun, and most importantly it's ok to make mistakes.
http://mathforum.org/varnelle/patterns.html This site helps you practice making your own shape patterns!
http://www.primarygames.com/patterns/start.htm This site has colourful shapes with happy faces, you have to find the missing piece of the pattern.
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_184_g_1_t_1.html This site has cool sounds and lots of colour, it's up to you to find the missing pieces!
http://www.kidspsych.org/pyramid.html This game may be a little hard to start with, so try practicing with the other ones first, or get your parents to help you!
http://www.kidspsych.org/space.html This site deals with patterns of colour.
http://www.tvokids.com/framesets/nook_new.html?game=141& In this site you will help Polka-roo find the missing polka dots from his shorts, he will help you if you have any problems.
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/games/flash.php?contentId=110740& This site lets you sort out Oscar the Grouch's junk pile.
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/games/flash.php?contentId=110880 Here you will be helping Cookie Monster sort his groceries by guess which item is missing in the check out line.
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/games/flash.php?contentId=112000 Here you will be helping Bert sort his famous bottle cap collection, silly Ernie keeps messing them up!
Remember kids have fun, and I will see you in class tomorrow!!
Miss Herridge
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Pattern Section Overview
We have successfully completed our first section on "Shape and Space". Wasn't it fun playing with all those learning centers? I know that I had fun!
Now we can look at our second section "Patterns". You probably already know what a pattern is. For example, maybe your dad wears a checkered shirt, that's a pattern. Or maybe your dog has spots, that's another pattern. We see patterns everyday!
In class we are going to look at how numbers can be represented as patterns like on a dice in a board game.
We are going to look at number patterns and shape patterns and learn how to guess which shape or number will come next.
Then we will also look at 2-D and 3-D shapes and learn what each one is called.
This section is going to be even more fun than the last section! Looking forward to seeing you in class.
Miss Herridge
NOTE TO PARENTS: This sections relates to the Curriculum Guides Section C. The general curriculum outcomes that will be reached in this section is:
GCO C: Students will explore, recognize, represent, and apply patterns and relationship, both informally and formally.
And more specific:
Students will be expected to create and recognize physical configurations for numbers.
Students will be expected to reproduce, extend, and create simple patterns based on number and sequence patterns.
Students will be expected to create patterns with 3-D solids and 2-D shapes.
Learning Center 3 & 4
The third learning center, "Mass Mystery" you will find different animals such as tigers and monkey's corresponding to different objects, for example a rock equals an elephant. You will match each object with an animal then order them from heaviest to lightest. Then you will pair them so each animal will have a see - saw partner.
The fourth center is "Lurking Length". As a group you will decide which tool woudl be best to measure each lizard and snake and why it is the best tool. You will have tools like straws, erasers, string, marbles and foot prints. Then you will arrange them from longest to shortest.I hope that you all have learning in the learning centers, and don't forget to bring your thinking caps!
Miss Herridge
Thursday, March 23, 2006
An Afternoon of Learning Centers!!!
It looks like we have successfully completed our "Shape and Space" section. Just think of all the things that we learned and we can now use everyday, from planning our daily schedules to knowing how compare to weight, length, and capacity.
To celebrate the completion of this unit we are going to have a learning center afternoon. All day you can visit the centers set up in class and enhance your skills.
We will have 4 themed centers, and I bet you can guess them......
The first center will be "Tick Tock Time". In this center you can time different wind up toys racing on our special track. You will have to predict which toy you think will win, take everyone's votes and everyone will explain why they think their toy will win, then compare everyone's choice to the toy that actually won.
The second center will be "Capacity City". Here you will see 5 different containers of different sizes and shapes. They will be filled with peas, jelly beans , buttons, popcorn and cotton balls. Based on your knowledge of capacity you will have to guess which container is holding the most. You will then order then from "holds the least" to "holds the most". Then you will estimate the number of items in each container. The student which is the closest will win a prize at the end of the day!
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Don't forget to add and subtract!
I hope everyone is remembering to practice their addition and subtraction. These skills are very important and just because we are not working on them specifically in class does not mean that you don't have to practice. Adding and subtracting is something else that we use everyday!
Here are some fun sites to help you practice.
http://www.counton.org/games/circus/climber.html
http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game8.htm
Monday, March 20, 2006
Popcorn in Class??
Well you kids are busy after school aren't you? You have schedules busier than mine. It was nice to see that you all completed your homework. What a good class I have!
Today was interesting wasn't it? We learned about capacity, or in other words how much something can hold. We played with different shaped jars and popcorn and we discovered that when you are comparing how much containers hold it is better to use the same shaped containers. Today however we were detectives and used different sized containers to see which ones would hold more.
This is a fun capacity game you should give it a try!
http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game15.htm
Miss Herridge
NOTE TO PARENTS: Today in class the students had different shaped jars and predicted and ordered which jar would hold the most and which jar would hold the least. I had the kids place tape on the sides of the jars. Each group would use a scoop and place one scoop of popcorn in each container, then place a mark on the tape. They continued this until the jars were full. Based on the data they collected they ordered the jars again, and compared their results to their original predictions. We discussed the results as a class.
Note to Parents
This is a post to ensure that you and your child are getting the most from your blog experience. My intentions by creating this blog is to help you, help your child. I know that in this busy day and age we sometimes forget the imp
ortance of getting involved and discussing eachother's lives. I want this blog to be a tool that you can use to encourage your child to participate and exceed their expectations as a student. The extra drill and practice sites are an excellent way to get involved with your child's learning. Please become actively involved with your child's school life, you are a role model in every sense of the word. Help me, help your child succeed!! Below I have listed some assumptions of how children acquire knowledge:
1 - Children are natural problem solvers, they develop their own ways to solve problems.
2 - Children are active learners who construct mathematical knowledge through concrete activities.
3 - Children learn best when they focus on meaningful tasks, and solve problems connected to their own personal knowledge.
4 - Children acquire understanding when mathematical ideas occur in a variety of environmental situations.
5 - Children learn as they play with objects and materials, with people, with ideas and thoughts. Through play they explore, experience, discover, gain information and construct knowledge.
6 - Children learn to apply mathematical procedures such as algorithms through trying to solve problems rather than by doing exercises alone.
7 - Children should be exposed to "messy" problems involving real-life numerical information rather than easy calculated answers.
8 - Children are capable of posing as well as solving problems, and that problem posing is key to dertermine the level of student understanding.
9 - Children need to learn to distinguish between situations requiring exact answers and those in which estimates are desirable.
10 - Children should be presented with conventions and symbols after they have had ample experiences with the underlying actions and processes: sharing, taking away, comparing and so on.
11 - Children benefit greatly from being encouraged to explain, discuss and engage in mathematical talk.
12 - Children develop and refine understanding and the ability to reason and communicate mathematically as they interact with and share ideas with peers.
13 - Children are unique individuals who develop and learn different ways and at different rates.
14 - Children should be encouraged to use natural language as well as technical terms to describe, refine, and record mathematical ideas and relationships.
15 - Children can review and consolidate old mathematical learning while they are investigating new mathematical ideas.
16 - Children should be encouraged to collect and use their own data to create and solve problems.
(Interactions, Teacher's Resource Binder)
I'm sure that you may find these helpful in learning how your child learns.
Miss HerridgeSunday, March 19, 2006
What time is it? SAND TIME
Hello Class!
Well wasn't it interesting to see all the different things that the class brought in today, everything from light cotton balls to heavy boots. Isn't it fun to see how you compare things in real life? We do it all the time.
Today in class we learned how to tell time. It was fun looking at all the different types and shapes of clocks wasn't it? We talked about the 12 numbers, the hour, minute and second hands, and how to read time.
We finally got to play with sand in the classroom today. Our timed sand experiment showed you that sand moves slower or faster depending on the size of the hole it travels through. Timing an experiment, like we did today, is just one way to use time differently in the classroom. Who would have guessed that keeping track of time would be so fun!
Tonight for homework, I would like to keep track of your schedule. I want you to write down what time you start your homework, what time you eat supper, what time you watch tv and so on, anything that you do on a normal school night.
Here are some websites that you can use at home to help practice telling, and reading time.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/snapdragon/yesflash/time-1.htm
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/BangOnTime/clockwordres.html
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/time/index.htm
http://www.lil-fingers.com/games/time/index.html
http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game10.htm
Remember have fun!!
Miss Herridge
NOTE TO PARENTS: Today in class we brainstormed and discussed the characteristics of clocks such as there are the numbers from one to twelve on the clock, with twelve at the top, there is a long skinny hand it moves fastest, the long hand moves second fastest, and the short hand moves very slowly. I then introduced students to the proper terms for the hour hand, the minute hand and the second hand. I explained how to tell time, and moved the hands to help the children practice. After the basic concepts were acquired I had the children time their very first experiment. Each group of 2, had paper cups and sand. They placed different size holes in the bottom of the cups and times how long it took for the sand to fall out. Groups used pencils holes, nails holes, and even finger holes. One student was the timer, and other the performer, of course they rotated roles with each new hole. We then discussed their results as a class adn discussed why the big holes allowed the sand to fall out fastest and so on.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
See - Saws In Class??
Well today was fun wasn't it? Everyone had a chance to show their hand drawn shortest to longest homework. All of my students are so creative and can colour so well! :)
Today instead of just comparing objects and arranging them in order we talked about weight. Today was our first time using pan scales, it was neat to see how they work like a see - saw. I love playing with play - doh, don't you? It's even more fun when we are learning!
Tonight for homework I want you to find 2 things at home, one that is heavy and one that is light, and bring them to class tomorrow for show and tell. It will be interesting to see what things the class will bring in. Happy hunting! :)
Miss Herridge
NOTE TO PARENTS: Today in math class we discussed how we can "feel" when some things are heavy and when some things are light. I had the students put books in their book bags, and lift them, and then take the books out. We talked about the difference, and gave examples of heavy and light objects, for examples elephants compared to mice. We then played with play- doh. We made balls of different sizes and compared their weights. We made balls that were half the weight of some and then we checked their weight with our pan scales. We compared different balls made by the students.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Adventures in Our First Class
Hello Class!!!
It was so nice to see so many smiling faces today in our first math class. We were all excited to start another school year weren't we? I hope that you enjoyed your first class, I know that I did.
It was fun comparing our heights today wasn't it? Cooperating with others is a good way to get work done, and you all cooperated so well. Most importantly, you learned that you have been comparing items all along without even realizing that was what you were doing, didn't you?
Today we did mass sorting as well, that is we sorted the class into long, medium, and short categories. This showed that everyone is different and that is what makes our class so interesting!
Math is a subject that you use everyday without even noticing it. That's why it can be so much fun to learn new things because you can use it all the time.
Tonight for homework I would like you to draw a picture of some items and arrange them for shortest to longest. The objects can be puppies or pencils, anything that you want. You can colour your pictures and make them as nice as you like because we will be showing them in class tomorrow.
Thank you for an excellent class today, you are all super students!!!
Miss Herridge
NOTE TO PARENTS: Today in class I had the students lay a piece of butcher paper on the floor, while each student took a turn laying down, and another student traced their outline. I had them draw in facial features and even clothing. Then we cut out the shapes. Before we started I had the children estimate how many straws high they think they would be, I then let the children measure themselves with the straws. We discussed how close their estimates were to their actual measurements and then compared children in the class, by mass sorting.
Shape and Space Overview
I thought that I would start this year by showing you the first section that we will be completing. We are going to learn about "Shape and Space". We are going to compare length, capacities, and areas. And I know that may seem confusing, but without even realizing it, you may be doing some of these things right now. For example, when you order sticks from longest to shortest, or when you arrange drinking glasses from the widest to the most narrow, you are comparing them. Isn't that neat?
We are also going to compare the weight of objects, also called their mass, by learning how to weigh them. For example, when you lift two rocks, you can feel a difference, one rock is heavier than the other.
We will talk about how to time things, and how we can measure that, for example using a clock to time a friend when they running.
So the main overall goal, is to learn how to measure different objects, in different ways.
This will be so exciting because you can use this knowledge everyday, and even help your parent's with everyday tasks!!! :)
Looking forward to seeing you in class tomorrow,
Miss Herridge
Here are some websites that you to help you build on your addition and subtracting skills.
http://www.learningbox.com/Base10/BaseTen.html
This fun site makes adding and subtracting fun, with cartoon friends that play the drums as you work!
http://games.funschool.com/game_paint_brush_math.html?g=1129&category=0&level=3
This interactive site allows you to paint and do math at the same time. You just click and drag the right answer and your picture becomes painted!
NOTE TO PARENTS: This section relates to the Curriculum Guides Section D. The general curriculum outcome that will be reached in this section is:
GCO D: Students will demonstrate an understanding of and apply concepts and skills associated with measurement.
And more specific:
Students will be expected to identify procedures (not involving units) to compare and/or order lengths, capacites, and areas.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Welcome Grade 1's
Welcome Math Class!!!
This is going to be our Math Blog. This is where I can show you the main ideas that we are going to cover this year in Math. I will post your homework, class assignments, parenting tips, and special events that may be happening in our class. I hope that you take the time to read this with your parents and that you will find it helpful this year.
Your teacher, Miss. Herridge.
P.S. If you would like to comment on anything that you see in our Math class blog, please feel free. :) Parents if you would like to contact me privately, my e-mail address is found in my profile.
