This week, the Cedars will review the territory covered over the last week-- standard notation for addition and subtraction, creating class addition and subtraction charts to build fluency of facts and the strategies of counting on and counting backwards. We will begin the week learning and playing a game that will provide practice with many of the combinations for a target number. Make The Sum is a game that can be played with a standard deck of cards to practice any set of facts (addition, subtraction or even multiplication). Watch for "Work at Home" this Thursday which includes the directions for this game.

This week the Cedars will be excitedly welcoming back "Work Places." These are independent "centers" that allow students opportunity to practice the skill and concepts learned whole group. The choice-element is motivational. Mid-week, students will begin a set of Work Places designed to reinforce the strategies of counting on, counting backwards, subtraction as comparision of sets and fact families for addition and subtraction. Work Places also provide opportunity for assessment.

Work at Home from last week is requested back on Tuesday. I will look at it and respond, then hand it back. Homework goes out again on Thursday, the 21st. This should come back on Monday, the 25th.

Listen to this: January 23rd is Measure Your Feet Day. What is this? Well, it's a day to measure your feet. At this point, we stop and ask ourselves...why? We pondered this question for a while. Then, we decided it was best not to even speculate.

Celebrate today by measuring your feet. Both of them. Measure the length. Then, measure the width. Then measure each family member's feet. Record the data (biggest to smallest or smallest to biggest) and have your Cedar bring it back in to class on the 25th (that is next Monday). We will combine and examine.

Greetings Mathematicians and Family!

Happy 2nd week of January!

This week, we dive deeply into our study of addition and subtraction. We will continue to review how to express addition and subtraction in numbers and symbols, as well as learn and apply a variety of strategies.

Class constructed addition and subtraction charts provide opportunity to reflect on patterns and see relationships between operations and fact families.

We will begin our week assessing fluency of addition and subtraction facts. Several game-like lessons will help students practice addition and subtraction strategies, record data on a graph and use experimental data to predict probability.

Watch for WORK AT HOME envelopes on Thursday, January 14th. This Home Connection reinforces work in class and it is fun! Please return on Tuesday, January 19th. (No school Monday:)

Why didn't I think of this sooner....

I am so excited to introduce the Cedars’ Corner: a blog to let you know what your mathematician is studying in class, work-at –home assignments and due dates and additional ways to support a love of math at home.

Our blog will be updated weekly with information about assignments and snapshots of our class time together. Come for the pictures and stay for the information!

WORK AT HOME: Watch for a bright orange, large envelope titled, “Mathematician ___________________’s Work at Home.” This will contain home connections (additional practice or extensions of class content), unfinished class work and/or important correspondence sent home. All work sent in this envelope should come back to class by the included “return by” date (on the top of the assignment).

I realize and support the fact that each family views and values homework differently and has schedules that accommodate various formats of “homework.”

The Home Connections give families opportunity to see and share in the math that their child is doing in class. And because the work sent home often includes games, it is an opportunity to play together.

Sometimes a student just needs additional time to complete an assignment. I will make every effort to provide that time during class. We are only together 4 days a week so work occasionally must be completed at home. If this happens, I will be sure to let you know by email too that class work is coming home.

Welcome!

This Week…..

We will begin a new unit about adding and subtracting. This unit helps students understand how the basic operations work and reviews standard notation. It also helps children discover which of the basic addition and subtraction facts they already know and how they can build on them. Strategies for solving facts are developed, from counting on and counting backwards to using known facts to solve the unknown.

There will be repetition and practice for students for whom very little about addition and subtraction is easy and there will be probability challenges for students who already know most of their facts and strategies (counting on, counting backwards, 10’s and run-away 1’s, doubles, neighbors, halves, and add 9’s).