Symmetrical Snowflakes

 Last week I had snow on my mind. Unfortunately we didn't have any on the ground. Even though we couldn't actually see any snow, I thought it would be fun to learn about snow. My favorite thing to do in snow season is talk learn about Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley. He was such a cool guy!

We read his biography in class and learned that he loved snow and was the first person to successfully photograph snowflakes. We learned of his persistence and trials while doing what he was passionate about. 

We also looked at some of his photographs. It is amazing what snowflakes look at up close! They really are amazing little creations. 

The children collected information about Snowflake Bentley and completed a writing exercise where they wrote their own biography of Snowflake Bentley.

Today we made our own edible snowflakes for Munchie Math. We looked carefully at some of Snowflake Bentley's photographs and saw the the snowflakes all seemed to have one thing in common. Each one had a hexagon at its center and symmetrical sides coming out from that.

Our first task was to make a hexagon. How many sides should it have? How many toothpicks would you need?

After we made our hexagons, the children could add whatever flair to their snowflakes that they wanted. The only catch was that their sides had to all be the same. 

Here are their great examples of snowflake symmetry!

Now if only we could get some snow actually on the ground, I'd be a happy camper!!!

BUILD Centers

This week I incorporated something new into our daily routine: BUILD centers. These are all over pinterest and all over kindergarten and first grade at our school and I decided we needed to give them a try. The verdict's in.... I LOVE them! The children are all engaged and working on math concepts. What could be better?

What is BUILD you ask? 

B- Buddy Games

At this station the children work with a partner or a small group to play a math game. These are games that are simple enough for the children to play independently. This week's game was called Back and Forth to 100. The children rolled two 6-sided dice to see how many spaces they would move and a red/green dice to show which way. Read meant backwards, green meant forwards. Whoever made it closest to 100 was the winner. This particular game reinforced counting practice to 100. Dice games are great for this station because there is SO much you can do with them! You can make all kinds of different games using the same simple materials and the kids love them. Throwing dice is just plain fun!

U- Using Manipulatives

This center is an exploration station. Each week the children will have some type of math item to use and explore. Sometimes they may have a task, other times they can just come up with their own ideas. This week I gave the children pattern blocks and workmats to explore. They sharpened their visual discrimination skills by having to turn shapes around to make them fit onto the figures on their workmats. In future weeks I am going to build on this by allowing the children to again use pattern blocks to make their own figure and describe which shapes they used to make it and then make a shape that is symmetrical using pattern blocks. There are so many possibilities with manipulatives!

I- Independent Work

This is a math practice station. Each week the children will have some type of activity to complete that is review of what we have already gone over in class. This week's activity was to fill in the missing addend in an addition sentence. While the children can work together in the other stations, this is a time for them to practice on their own. This is typically the only station that I will "grade". This helps me to monitor the students retention of the material that we have studied in class. The continued practice also helps keep the material fresh in their minds. This is a place where I can differentiate student learning as well. Students who need more practice in one area or another can practice that concept while others practice what they need. 

L- Learning About Math

I also like to call this station "Math Literature". This station is the place where the children learn about different math concepts. Each week there will be themed math books for the children to read and explore. They can read by themselves or with their group. There are so many great math books out there and this is a great place for me to integrate language arts and math! This week's selections included : The M&M's Addition Book, Hershey Kisses Subtraction Book, and Count by Fives. 

D- Doing Math

 Since math is all around us, this station can have just about anything in it! The children might be playing another math game or building/creating something. This week the children played "Trouble". This is a great practice for number recognition and counting. It's also wonderful practice for taking turns!


These centers are a fun way for the children to practice the math concepts that we have learned in class. Typically we learn something and then don't come back to it for a while. These centers are a way for them to constantly review the material and keep it fresh. Each week I will be adding new activities to keep the children engaged and excited about BUILD!

Life with Fresno

During December we had our very own scout elf come to visit our classroom. 

When he arrived, the first thing that we needed to do was make up a name for him. We picked several and then the class voted on the name Fresno. (MATH!!!)

Fresno got into all kinds of trouble throughout the month. While we had him visiting, we kept a journal every day about his antics. The children completed a page each day that said "Today our elf..." and described the events. 

It turned into a really great writing time for our class. Each day the children raced in to find Fresno and then discussed what he was doing, how he got there, and what he might have done the night before. They were using inferences and predictions as well- trying to figure out what he'd been in to and guessing what he might do next. (LANGUAGE ARTS!!!) My favorite was the day that he showed up in the dollhouse car. One student said "Look! He's been to the elf shop!". 

This was a fun and festive way for us to practice our writing skills. The children came up with so many great ideas and had a great time writing about our elf. 

Alligator Greater

Using the comparison symbols > and < have always seemed to stump my first graders. They can never remember which way the sides should go or which way to read it once they get it down on paper. I have seen several great ways to help them remember, but the one I like best is the alligator. The children can remember that the alligator likes to chomp the greater number, helping them remember which way the sign should go by using a little imagination and thinking about that big side chomping down. 

I found this great printable on pinterest and thought it looked like a lot of fun. The children can actually color it and then practice inequalities at home as well, which is a fun bonus! 

In class each child was given some goldfish to put in the pond as well as an alligator. The children took turns picking numbers for us to put on either side of the workmat and then we set up our alligators to chomp the greater number and then practiced reading it. The children really got into it and had fun practicing using these symbols!

The First Thanksgiving

During the week leading up to Thanksgiving we spent a lot of time learning about the first Thanksgiving. We read lots of great non-fiction text that described what it was like for the Pilgrims when they set off on their journey to America. We also watched the Charlie Brown video "The Mayflower Voyagers", which is a great little cartoon that depicts the real events of the pilgrims journey.

Each day after we read our story about the pilgrims, the children worked on making their own story. I gave them strips with mixed up sentences about the first Thanksgiving and they  had to put them together to make sense. After they figured out the sentences, we brainstormed what the illustrations for the sentences might look like and then the children illustrated. I was really impressed with their very detailed illustrations that very accurately depicted the story.

Here is the story of the first Thanksgiving as told by our class.

Munchie Measurement

In first grade, we practice measuring in many different ways. We use both standard and non-standard measurement. Standard measurement includes using a ruler to measure in inches or centimeters. Non-standard can include measuring using anything! We've used connecting cubes, our feet, teddy bears, you name it! This particular day, we were using standard measurement to measure twizzlers. 

For whatever reason, first graders love to use knives! I imagine this is because they don't often get to use them, but that always makes this lesson a huge hit! We started by going over the safety of using a (plastic) knife. The children knew that they should only cut their twizzlers and nothing else, otherwise their knife privileges would be revoked!

It had been a while since we pulled out rulers, so we started this lesson by looking at our rulers and deciding which side we should use if we were going to be measuring using inches. (The Big Numbers). Then, we discussed where you should start measuring. It is important that children realize that some rulers start at the end, while others may have a zero or other marker to show them where to start. We looked at how things might come out differently if you started to measure in the wrong place. 

Once we had reviewed all of this, we got down to measuring. I would call out a length and the children were supposed to measure their twizzler to that length and cut it. 

 When we were all finished measuring, we took our different lengths that we had measured and I had the children put them in order from the shortest to the longest to help review those comparison words.

Tune in next week to see a little non-standard measurement marshmallow fun!