Today we worked on measuring with a ruler. The students are measuring to the nearest 1/4 inch. This is a challenge for students to find 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4's on the ruler, but with practice throughout the week we will get there. If by chance you have some time to practice at home. This would be great practice for them. You could ask them questions such as what is longer than 4"? How long is the thing that is longer than 4"? How long is ____? How wide is ____? Make it random and they will have fun with it!
This morning during math we started to create our own graphs. The students drew a question from a bag, wrote some choices to create a survey question, and then quickly surveyed all of the students in our class. Tomorrow we will continue working the graph making process by analyzing our results and creating a graph that matches the information gathered.
Yesterday we took an "Interm assessment" which is basically a practice ISAT test for the students to see what the test kind of looks like and what they will be expected to do. This was great practice for them and information for me, as it has been several years since I have been in a class involved in the ISAT testing. One thing many students asked me was what the word inference means. After about the sixth student, it was very clear to me we need to focus on making inferences. So today, we found some time to do a "Broken Window" inference reading. The students worked in teams to read four clues. They read their first clue were asked a question, wrote down the answer in a complete sentence, discussed their answer as a class, and repeated the process. At the end of the fourth clue the students were asked who broke the window and how do you know. It was a fun little reading/inferenceing detective activity. And in all honesty it was fun to watch because literally when students read the fourth clue one group just started laughing at who broke the window. Other groups it took a second to catch on, but provided for great table discussion. I can't wait to solve our next inferencing case!
The most exciting part of our day was the informance. The students did amazing, and it was fun to see so many of you there! I truly was impressed at how well and loud they sang! Their hand motions and props were also fun. I added some pictures in the gallery from today's informance.
Today we started our new math lesson on reading and understanding pictographs. The students did a great job recognizing and remembering the importance of reading the key that goes with the pictograph. They were then able to pull information off the graph in order solve problems about the graph!
Today we were able to spend a few minutes flashlight reading. We have not been able to do this as often as I would like, but that made it a special treat for the day.
Since it is almost the end of the trimester today we took some time to fix up some missing and low assignments. This is not necessarily a "fun" thing to do, but hopefully in the long run it will be a beneficial thing for the students to do.
A few weeks ago when the teachers were at inservice we discussed using the importance of using dialogue in our math time. I believe we do okay in this area, but today we had math discussion for almost a full 45 minutes. It was great! We divided into two groups. The first group formed a circle with their backs to the inside. The second group came and found a partner to sit facing. I would put a word problem related to mass on the board and then EVERY student was responsible for solving it. I would then randomly choose either the inside or outside circle to talk and tell their partner how they solved for the answer. Partners were responsible to listen and then help explain any errors that were made. I loved it!! I saw errors in math, but more importantly I saw students helping students resolve problems to improve understanding! The more students are able to explain the better mathmaticians they can become! Today's math block was filled with chatter and it was truly chatter that was musical to my ears! (I have posted pictures from this mornings inside outside circle activity in our gallery.)
This week we will make it through the half-way point of our book Because of Winn-Dixie. I have loved hearing the students read with great voice and inflection as they have worked to make the story come to life as they read. I would encourage you to find some time to have them sit down and read with you to show you how they have been working hard at becoming expressive readers.
Today we talked about liquid measurement. The students looked at items that were a liter, or that combined to make a liter. We discussed that there were 1000 milliliters in 1 liter. We predicted if one liter of water would fit in a variety of containers and then tested our predictions. Finally, the students played a game where they were given a number and asked if that number was liters or milliliters. For example a fish bowl could hold 7____. This was a great introduction to liters and milliliters. Tomorrow our liquid measurement discussion will continue. :)
|
|