Final Thoughts

I have really enjoyed being your teacher this year! You are all so smart and fun. I hope you all have a great summer and a wonderful time in 2nd grade. I'll miss you!

This week you can either write about your reflection of 1st grade, your plans for the summer, or both! I'd love to hear what you liked most this year and what you thought of our class. I'd also like to find out what you except or hope from 2nd grade.
Finally, here are some recent pictures for your enjoyment.





















































- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Shiloh

We have been enjoying reading Shiloh and are almost to the end!  Write some of you thoughts on the book and the story.  What would you do if you were Marty?  Do you think he made the right choice in keeping Shiloh hidden at his house?  How do you think the story will end?  Will Marty get to keep Shiloh?

Best Math

We've learned a lot in math this year.  Now I'd like you to take some time to reflect and think about the very best topic we've learned in math.  What skill do you think is most important.  What can you use the most in your real life? 
Some of the units we've done are place value, addition, subtraction, fractions, geometry, measurement, time, and graphing.  For the Owls, we've also done money and multiplication.

Tell us what you think is the best math we've learned and use your opinion writing skills to convince others that that really is the best!

Atlanta Botanical Gardens

We had a great field trip to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens last week.  It'd be nice to have just a little more time as there was lots that we didn't get to see.  Here are some pictures for your enjoyment!

Make the Number

Show at least 5 ways to make the number:

 16

Think of money, tallies, place value blocks, adding, subtraction, multiplying, story problems, etc.

Two Digit Adding- Bears and Squirrels

Write your own addition story problem using 2 two-digit numbers.  Here's an example:

Sally bought 13 pencils.  Her brother bought 25 pencils.  How many pencils did they buy together?

Name the Array- Owls

Jim's mom made a pan of cookies.  She put the dough into 6 rows with 4 in each row.  What is the repeated addition sentence and the multiplication fact?  How many cookies did Jim's mom make in all?

Then, write your own multiplication story problem.

Rhyme Time!

Create a rhyming poem using some of this week's spelling words.  We are working on the long a sound!

Baby Names

Choosing a name for a baby is hard work!  Help me out by giving me some good suggestions for our baby girl's name!  Thanks!

What Basket- Bears and Squirrels

Mrs. McMahan has two baskets of base-10 blocks.  'Basket A' has 7 flats, 8 rods, and 3 units.  'Basket B' has 7 flats, 6 rods, and 23 units.  Compare 'basket A' to 'basket B' using the symbols, or vocabulary terms, above. 

Place Value Pete- Owls

This is Place Value Pete.  Can you see his face?  Place Value Pete is made up of base 10 blocks.  First, figure out what number Pete's base 10 blocks make altogether.  Second, show me how strong you are by stretching that number out in expanded form. 

Spring Break!

I can't wait to read all about your Spring Break!  Write a paragraph or two to describe what you did when you weren't in school.  Where did you go?  Who did you see?  What was the best part?  What was the worst part?  Add as many details as you can remember.

Leprechaun Thoughts and Some Vocab

First, write a few sentences explaining your thoughts on our leprechaun that visited the class.  Do you think it was really a leprechaun?  Did you like the scavenger hunt he made for you?  What other feelings do you have about Leprechaun Linus?

Then, write some sentences using this week's vocabulary words.  If you need to look up the meaning, use a dictionary or go to www.wordcentral.com.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK"S DAY!

I AM PRETTY HANDSOME.

DON"T YOU AGREE?

CHECK A FAVORITE DR. SEUSS BOOK

FOR YOUR NEXT CLUE FROM ME!

Spelling Word Challenge

Sometimes the letter g makes the j sound.  In words that have a d before the g, it always sounds like a j.  What words can you think of that end with -dge?

__dge

Fruit by the Ounce (Bears)

                       

Say the first scale reads 12 ounces and the second scale reads 8 ounces.  What is the weight of the green apple and what is the weight of the tangerine?

Apple = ________

Tangerine = ________

Explain how you know!!!

What's the Question? (Squirrels)

If 8 is the answer, what could the question have been?  Think of a couple of different possibilities.

Monster Multiplying (Owls)

                                             
Let's use this moster to do some multiplying!  For each question please show your either the multiplication fact, the repeated addition, or the skip counting.

1.  If there are 5 of these monsters, how many arms do they have in all?

2.  If there are 8 of these monsters, how many antennae do they have in all?

3.  If there are 6 of these monsters, how many eyes do they have in all?

4.  If there are 3 of these monsters, how many teeth do they have in all?

Spelling Word Challenge

With your tables, come up with as many words as you can to match this week's spelling pattern.  We are working on the long i sound with these three endings:

-ind                                       -igh                               -ild

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Check out these sites to learn some information about one of the world's most popular authors. 
http://www.biography.com/people/dr-seuss-9479638
www.catinthehat.org

Write one interesting fact you learned and then tell us what your favorite Dr. Seuss book is and why.

Bears and Squirrels- Missing Addend

Solve the following story problems and be sure to write the number sentence to show how you got the answer.
1.  There were 15 fish in all.  Seven of the fish were blue and the rest were red.  How many fish were red?

2.  Sam ate 4 green eggs for breakfast.  He ate some more green eggs for lunch.  By the end of the day he had eaten 10 green eggs.  How many eggs did he eat for lunch?


Once you've posted your answers, practice some more missing addend problems at this site:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/matching/AdditionX.htm

Owls- Describe that Polygon!

This picture contains 24 polygons.  You need to pick 10 to describe.  When describing each one, you can tell its name, what type of angles it has, whether it is regular or irregular, what you know about its sides and vertices, and anything else you'd like to say about the shape.  Make sure you are clear in your descriptions and if you don't get to all 10 shapes the first day, go ahead and post what you have and make a new comment to finish later in the week.

Math to Love

This week I'd like you to come up with some of your own math story problems.  They should all have something to do with Valentine's Day.  You can choose any operation you'd like for your problem, just make sure to include a question.

Here's mine to give you an idea:
I put 8 heart shaped pepperonis and 6 heart shaped peppers on my Valentine pizza.  How many toppings does my pizza have in all?

Convince Me!

My birthday is this week!  Yahoo!  The only problem is I can't decide how to celebrate.  Use your opinion writing skills to convince me of the best way to celebrate my birthday.  Tell me what I should do and give me some strong supporting reasons why.

P.S.  Thanks for your help! :)

Bears and Squirrels- What to Measure?

If you could measure anything in the world what would it be and why?  Also, what units would you use to measure your choice....bears, inches, centimeters, paperclips, something different?

Owls- Add vs. Subtract

We've been working on adding and subtracting and different strategies for both.  How are addition and subtraction the same and how are they different?  What steps are the same in solving the problems and what steps are different? 

100!!!

This week is our 100th day of school!  You can choose one of these two things to respond to:
1.  If you had 100 dollars, what would you spend it on?  Would you buy one big thing or many small things, or would you save some of it.  Explain what you would do with $100.
2.  When you are 100 years old, what do you think you will be doing?  What do you think you will have done with your life?  What will you be most proud of when you 100 years old?

Spelling Word Challenge

With your table group, think of as many words as you can that have the long e sound made by the letters /ee/ and /ea/.

                              ee                                                                   ea

Owls-Adding Strategy

You need to add 238 + 463.  Choose one of the following strategies to use and explain the step by step directions for solving it using the strategy you chose.

1. Use Base Ten Blocks
2. Add the Expanded Form
3. Use a Thousands Chart
4. Use the Traditional Algorithm

After you've commented, try some 3 digit adding on IXL.

Squirrels- What Time is It?

It seems like I hear that question a lot!  I also get asked "When's lunch?" all the time! 

List some reasons why you think telling time is important.  What are some times that you need to know and why?

After you comment, check out this link for more time practice.

Bears-Johnny Needs Help with Time

Johnny says that when a clock shows a half hour time, the hour hand needs to be in between two hours.  He is correct, but he can't explain why this is true.  Can you help him explain it?

Also, Johnny says that this clock shows 10:02.  Is he right?  Why or why not?

After you've answered both questions, follow this link for some more time activities!

Spelling Word Challenge

When the vowels "oa" and "ow" are together, they can both make the long o sound.  Work with your table groups to come up with as many words as you can where "oa" and "ow" make the long o sound.

                  "oa"                                                "ow"

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2013!  I'm sure this is going to be a great year.  Write about what you think will make it great.  Describe what you are most excited for in the year 2013.  Do you have any goals or resolutions for the new year?

What's the Question?

The answer is 16.  What could the question have been?  Let's see how many different questions can all equal 16!