At the Plant Fair
Room 123 welcomed the other first grade classes and Dr. Kasmarick to our Plant Fair!
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Room 123 welcomed the other first grade classes and Dr. Kasmarick to our Plant Fair!
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Students in Room 123 have completed the first round of the Book Order Project! Here’s how the project works:
Working in small groups, students selected books they would like to add to our classroom library; the total cost could be no more than $20. Then they made and presented their choices to their classmates. Their presentations included reasons to choose the books as well as explanations of their math thinking. Finally, they voted on which group of books to order. The books chosen have been ordered–you’ll be able to see which ones when they arrive!
In the process, students began learning how to work effectively in small groups. Take a look!
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As defined in Room 123, skeptics are people who listen carefully, think about what they heard, ask questions if they don’t understand, and sometimes respectfully disagree and explain why.
It is easy to convince yourself or a friend, but it is much harder to convince a skeptic! Mathematicians in Room 123 are learning to do just that by using precise math language.
Students concluded our study of geometry by finding shapes in the real world. They worked in pairs or small groups to find shapes and list the evidence for their choices. Then they presented their findings to their classmates, who acted as skeptics. Take a look!
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Children talk all the time–why would they need more practice doing it?
Effective speaking and listening–especially as part of a group process–is quite challenging. These skills, however, are essential in today’s world. Students in Room 123 have begun learning how to discuss ideas, debate issues, and make decisions using effective listening and speaking skills.
Students used these discussion moves as they discussed a real classroom problem: how should we store and share the books from the first round of the Book Order Project? Students first brainstormed three possible ideas and then discussed the pros and cons of each idea. One student built on the initial suggestions by combining two ideas.
Students then weighed the evidence and voted.
Students decided to use the combined idea–a separate book bin with lists of students who want to read each book. I will prepare the bin and the lists, and students will begin using the system they chose next week!
Students in Room 123 started our year off with a challenge: the first round of the Book Order Project! Here’s how the project works:
Working in small groups, students selected books they would like to add to our classroom library; the total cost could be no more than $20. Then they made and presented their choices to their classmates. Their presentations included reasons to choose the books as well as explanations of their math thinking. Finally, they voted on which group of books to order. The books chosen have been ordered–you’ll be able to see which ones when they arrive!
In the process, students got to know their classmates better and began learning how to work effectively in small groups. Take a look at the process:
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Math is everywhere when you stop to notice and ask questions! While looking at a photo, for instance, students in Room 123 and 1B found a challenging problem and then worked in pairs or small groups to solve it. Take a look at their thinking!
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As the year draws to a close, students in Room 123 completed their final Book Order Project. During the project, small groups selected books to purchase, used math strategies to show how much they would cost, and wrote descriptions of the books to persuade their classmates to vote for their choices, and presented their choices to the class.
Take a look at the first round here and see how students have grown academically in this final round!
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Students in Room 123 became teachers last week! You can see the behind-the-scenes work here and their presentations below:
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Mathematicians in Room 123 have been exploring doubles as well as odd and even numbers. So when a student asked if zero is odd or even, I challenged the class to use what they have learned to consider the question.
Students first discussed it in pairs and we took a quick survey to find out their initial thinking. Then students shared their reasoning with the whole class. Finally, students weighed the evidence and we surveyed their thinking again. Some students, convinced by the evidence presented by others, changed their thinking.
I then shared with the class that mathematicians do consider zero an even number, though I did not elaborate on the more complex reasoning behind this. We’ll save dividing zero by 2 for another day…
Students in Room 123 have grown as learners since the first round of the Book Order Project, using new math and opinion writing strategies to persuade others to vote for their book choices. Take a look at the most recent round of the project (which occurred on Pajama Day at Richards)!
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