Round 2: The Book Order Project
Which books to buy? How much do they cost? Students in Room 123 made decisions and proved the math in the second round of the Book Order Project!
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Which books to buy? How much do they cost? Students in Room 123 made decisions and proved the math in the second round of the Book Order Project!
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Readers in Room 123 are using a nonfiction text and text features to learn about life around the world. As we read the text, we took notes about important information.
After reading, they practiced a key comprehension strategy: comparing and contrasting new information. When readers take the time to think about and process new information, they are more likely to understand and remember it. This week, students worked individually to complete Venn diagrams.
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It is through solving problems–and discussion around those solutions–that students develop deep understanding of mathematical concepts. When teaching for conceptual understanding, collaborative group work can be a particularly effective instructional method. This is especially true when group work is followed by focused discussions–math talks–which target specific learning goals.
In Room 123, mathematicians are learning to use a problem-solving process in teams. Individually, they analyze a problem and represent the situation using mathematical models. Then they discuss their thinking with their team and make a plan to solve the problem. Next, they use a variety of math tools as they carry out their plan. After reviewing their work, team members justify their thinking using evidence from the problem and show how they solved it. Finally, the teams come together to discuss their findings.
As the year progresses, teams will grapple with increasingly challenging problems. They will also use more efficient strategies and sophisticated models. Below you can see students’ first efforts at working in their problem-solving teams!
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The tooth fairy doesn’t visit everyone? First graders learned that there are many different traditions for lost teeth as they listened to Throw Your Tooth on the Roof!
This text served as the introduction to our study of life around the world. At the same time, students began learning about taking notes on nonfiction text. They also practiced a key comprehension strategy: comparing and contrasting new information. When readers take the time to think about and process new information, they are more likely to understand and remember it. Here’s what that process looked like in Room 123:
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Writers in Room 123 have begun learning about a new type of writing: informational articles. They worked together to write their first All About article to teach others about Makerspace.
They used the writing process to do this. First, they planned what information to include by using a web.
Then, they wrote each chapter and illustrated it using nonfiction text features. The features included comparisons, close-ups, maps, detailed drawings, and captions. Now, they are publishing their work–take a look and see what you can learn about Makerspace!
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Students in Room 123 were excited to learn that we will be getting another table for classroom. But they immediately wondered how many students would be seated at each table. So I turned the question back to them!
Here’s how they solved the problem:
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To prepare for our next unit in Language Studies, readers in Room 123 have begun exploring nonfiction. They started by recalling what they know about fiction and nonfiction texts, then compared and contrasted that information.
Now students are engaged an in-depth look at the special features that are included in nonfiction text, including photos, diagrams, captions, and maps.
After carefully observing the nonfiction text feature, students shared what they noticed and what they wondered. In doing so, they were applying the comprehension strategies they had learned about in our earlier fiction unit.
Finally, we read the accompanying text. Students confirmed predictions, answered questions, and learned new information.
Our study of nonfiction will continue over the next few weeks.
Readers in Room 123 explored fiction genres last week, and began identifying the similarities and differences between them. Then they found examples of each genre in our classroom library.
Realistic Fiction
Fantasy 1
Fantasy 2
Science Fiction
They also shared which genres they prefer to read.
Mathematicians in Room 123 have begun learning about different models that they can use to represent and solve problems. One of the most important models they will use is a math mountain, which shows a total at the top and two partners of the total below. Throughout the year, they will use math mountains to show the knowns and unknowns in various problem types and use that representation to decide upon efficient strategies for solving the problems.
It is critical that students have a deep understanding of this model, which was introduced in kindergarten. I used Oreo cookies to help them develop that understanding. As students munched on cookies, they considered how Oreos are similar to math mountains. Since many students twisted their cookies apart, it was easy to introduce the concept of splitting a whole into parts. From there, students made connections to the math mountain.
After working with math mountains for several days, students were challenged to determine if a given math mountain was accurate. From their journal responses, you can see they are beginning to use precise language to convince skeptics!
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During our field trip to the Farmer’s Market, students took photos of the produce they saw. Back at school, they created an information book to teach others about healthy eating. Take a look!
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