1St Grade Math
First graders are continuing to practice comparing numbers and learning some probability skills as they consider what’s most likely an outcome from a bag of shapes. They were given an example of a bag with one star, one heart and four squares, then invited to group themselves into which they thought was most likely. The class was evenly divided into 3 groups for each of the 3 choices. They then discussed amongst their group who had chosen the same shape, why they chose that shape. I recorded their ideas during a “Math Talk”. I just love the reasoning why the 1 heart was chosen “Because I love my mommy“ was the only reason given. The 1 star group concluded, “Because it’s bright'' “Because It reminded me of a star on my done paper” and “Because it could happen randomly”. Those who chose the square in which there were four of, were able to share “Just because “ “A square is more likely to be on top “ “My long hand could pick a square“ “Just because” and finally “Because there’s four of them”. Once that was shared the majority of the class realized that the blue square was more likely because four is greater than one. So cute!
First graders continue to work on number sense building, counting tens and ones using base 10 blocks and transferring that knowledge to a paper format. They are practicing their skip counting skills, counting by counting by ones, fives, and tens. They continue to work on ordering numbers as they play games using number lines where numbers are added and subtracted using the “Bunny Hop” on the number line. They look for numbers in patterns using number grids, such as adding one or subtracting one, adding ten or subtracting ten, a column of numbers with the same number in the ones place and a row of numbers with the same number in the tens place. They are continuing to consider the fact families that are associated with the number 10 as they find addends and differences. They are learning more and more mathematical terms as well.
Students in first grade continue to practice writing their numbers in the correct direction, in order, and are honing in on their calendar skills. Each month they will be creating their own calendar for the month remembering our song of the month to the “Macarena”. They learned the 30 days poem to better understand how many days are in a month, and how to write the day's date in a variety of ways, using words, abbreviations and numbers. On their calendars, they also included major events/holidays, and their significance, noticing which month they are happening in and what days they are happening on.
The “Tally Mark Dice Game” was probably the biggest hit last week. The first graders loved pairing up and rolling the dice to get their number then placing a tally for that dice role. They played with multiple partners to build friendships as students learn patience, taking turns and communication skills. Students then had to practice counting by fives and ones to record each dice number's score. They had a blast!
They are practicing telling time using analog clocks, reading graphs, considering problem solving skills, learning place value, probability, number sense and number order, and using tally marks to name just a few things going on in first grade. They also are working on following directions, focusing and positive communication skills such as tone and volume, choice in words and taking turns to share ideas.
I would encourage all families to play math games, notice opportunities for practicing mathematical problem solving and share when you, as adults, have used math in your daily life. This will help students understand why we learn such concepts. There are several websites that promote understanding and automaticity for addition and subtraction, as well as grade level concepts. I recommend each student practice mathematics at home regularly, and often, in ways that are useful and enjoyable.
