New Manipulatives

Our class has received some new building manipulatives this year. We will be rotating our two sets every six weeks and getting two new sets. the students have really enjoyed making new structures during their Choice Time in the morning.

Money Games

This week in math we started a new unit of focus on money. Although we will still be doing some worksheets during this study, many of our activities will be based on role playing and manipulative games. We learned two new games today to practice recognizing coins and exchanging values of coins.

In the sock game two students play together and take turns reaching into a sock to pull out a coin. The other student is challenged to find the same coin just by touch. It sounds like a very simple game, but the kids really love playing it. In the process they internalize the names of the coins quickly.

The second game is called Race for a Dollar. Students take turns rolling a die and getting coins on each turn. For example if a 4 is rolled, then the student takes 4 pennies and places them on his game board. In each turn more coins are added to the board, and students trade in pennies for nickels and dimes, then quarters, and eventually a dollar. Whoever makes the dollar first wins the game. This game helps students learn about money combinations and equivalencies.

Geo Shapes

New games are always fun to play, especially when they are a part of our new unit on geometry. This game had students working together to be the first team to complete two shapes on their game board. Every team had a circle divided into fourths, as well as an irregular shape to fill with other pieces. Students had to make decisions about how to obtain new shape pieces for their section and which ones to discard after each turn.

Pentominoes

In math we have been learning about area and measuring it in square units this week in math. Students have begun working with pentominoes and manipulating the 12 different pieces to complete puzzles and explore this measurement concept.

Math Update

We have been working on adding and regrouping in math this week. Students reviewed how to add double digit numbers without regrouping, and practiced their problem solving skills at the same time. On Tuesday they did an introductory practice sheet with manipulatives that gave them a head start for today's assignment. We will be talking more in depth today about how and why we "carry" or regroup numbers. It's important for them to understand the meaning behind it and not just memorize the process. Today's work will include more manipulatives so students can visualize how the numbers combine. On Thursday we will begin the paper and pencil multi-step process that follows a set formula.

Cover a Flat

Students learned a new Menu Math game this week to help them practice their place value skills. The game, Cover a Flat, is played like Race for a Dollar, and consists of students using dice and trading their small pieces (cubes) into a rod (10 cubes), and ultimately into a flat (10 rods).

This unit will help students internalize the concepts needed to master double digit addition in January.

Problem Solving

In centers this week, students are writing their own story problems using manipulatives. They are creating a story about some mice that get caught in a trap (or in some cases escape from it) Students then solve the problem and draw a picture to match it.