Writing Celebration!

Hi Owl Families,

Today we celebrated all of our hard work that went into making our How-To books.  We had to invite our buddies!  Enjoy the pictures below!  This is also a reminder that tomorrow we will go to DeGraaf in the morning.  Please dress your first grader accordingly!  It is supposed to be chilly!  There is an outside part and if they are not dressed appropriately they will not be able to participate!

Greetings, Owl Families!

We have started our new math unit this week!  In this unit, the first graders will be learning about place value and numbers to 100.  We began counting by tens: 10, 20, 30, 40 and so on.  We used a 10 x 10 grid to help them see the relationship between the tens digit in a decade number and the number of tens it has. (See picture below).

The first graders then linked 2-digit numbers to tens and extra ones.  This we we focused on teen numbers; i.e.: 15 is 1 ten and 5 ones.  Soon they will learn that a 2-digit number, like 46, is made up of tens and ones also, such as 40 and 6.  Next, the students will use what they know about adding 1-digit numbers to add 2-digit numbers.  For example, 3 + 4 = 7, so 30 + 40 = 70.

Finally, they will learn to regroup and count on to find a total.  See the example picture below.

Updates

Hello Owl Families,

Just a post to update you of what's happening in the Owl Room!  There is a hard copy newsletter coming home today and it is also posted below.  I also have an in depth explanation of our latest math unit.  Enjoy your weekend!  I'm excited to see everyone on Monday and Tuesday for conferences!

In math, your child has started a unit on story problems.  Because most children at this age are learning to read, your child may need help reading the story problems.  Offer help when it is needed, but do not give the answer.

To solve story problems, children first need to know which number is unknown.  Is it the total or one of the partners?  This program helps children focus on this important issue by using "Math Mountains".  In a math mountain, the total sits at the top and the parts (or partners) sit at the bottom of the mountain.  Children can quickly see the relationship between the partners and the total when they look at the mountain.

Math Mountains are especially helpful in showing child how to find an unknown partners, as in the following problem: I see 9 horses.  5 are black, the others are white.  How many horses are white?

Children can find the answer by drawing the mountain to see which number is unknown.  Then they count on from the partner they know to the total.  In this way, they can find the partner they don't know.  See the picture below.

We also have an anchor chart helping us through the steps of a story problem.  First, we need to understand the story problem; to read and think about it.  Then we need to plan it out; to choose a strategy (math mountain, circle drawing, equation.).  Finally we need to do the problem--solve it.  See the picture below for the picture of the anchor chart.