Today we got a sneak peek into our next unit of inquiry (more on that later). The Wastewater puppet show came right to our classroom! We learned all about where our drinking water in Edmonton comes from, and the importance of keeping non-biodegradeable things out of our sewer system.

Here is our worm habitat! We have been observing red wigglers making tunnels and eating fruit and vegetable leftovers to make compost.

We need to keep it covered with a dark cloth when we are not watching them as worms need to live in a dark, moist environment.

Research Workshop:
The children have become very adept at reading non-fiction books and locating information. Here are some of their research webs:

Unit of Inquiry:
The children have had several experiences researching a topic as a class and sharing the information.they found. As a class, we researched spiders, ants and bees.

Each child has chosen a new creature to research independently. These will be completed this week. You may ask your child about her creature research, referring to the categories on the research web above.

Math Inquiry:

The focus of our math inquiry is the development of an open number line model within the context of measurement. The children are firmly grounded in a real world context that provides opportunities to understand measurement as a series of iterated units. This context naturally leads to the understanding of a number line. Through these experiences, students will be able to use a number line as a model for developing personal strategies for double digit addition. These strategies are evidence of deep understanding of how to combine numbers together.

We began our math inquiry by reading a book called, "Measuring for the Art Show." In our classroom, we used several different sizes of paper to measure using connecting cubes. Students were provided with cubes in 2 different colors to support and encourage the use of 5s and 10s to aid in counting.

The next day, students shared their measurements and we located them on a connecting cube model hanging on the whiteboard. In order to explain where to write the number, the children had to share their reasoning orally.

We have been spending some time every day practicing adding 10s to a starting number between 1-9. The tricky parts are when the addition of 10 changes the sum to a number bigger than 100 or 200. The children need to know the pattern and understand how to apply it to any starting number. Right now we are focusing on the number of 10s, as opposed to the place value of a digit alone ( ie. 102 is ten 10s and 2 left over). 

Today we introduced the need for addition of our paper dimensions. If we needed to put 2 pieces of paper together, we need to know the sums of the sides to be able to cut a sign to fit the new dimension (a sign cut from a strip of adding machine tape.) In pairs, students added the long and short sides to determine the new dimensions.

The students shared a wonderful variety of thinking strategies to add numbers together. Here are some examples for how they added 12 + 12.

Micah thought of 12 and 10 and 2. he added the two tens to equal 20. then he added the two twos to equal 4. Then he added the 20 and the 4 to equal 24.

Rachel thought of 12 as 6 + 6. She wanted to add four sixes together. She knew that each 6 was in fact a 5 plus a 1. She added the four fives to get 20, the four ones to get four, and together they equalled 24.

Emma connected "12" to the number of hours in half a day and she knew that a whole day had 24 hours.
Nash also used his knowledge that 12 doubled is 24.

Miya used counting on and she began on 12, adding 12 to equal 24. She was able to keep track of knowing when to stop counting.

In class, the children will be provided with more opportunities to add numbers together and develop more confidence and understanding to use the five and 10 structures, leaps of 10 and landmark numbers; with the support of an open number line model. You can support your child at home by having him practice skip counting, focusing on patterns. It is also important to resist the urge to teach algorithims. The children will become confident in their understanding of addition when they are allowed to begin with what they know and use that to create strategies that make sense to them. In class we discuss each other's thinking, test out ideas, and over time, develop efficient, powerful strategies.

The children learned about writing captions today.

We looked at examples from Yes magazine as they have a contest every month for writing photo captions.

http://www.yesmag.ca/PDFs/Comic_Captions.pdf


 Then they wrote captions for their butterfly photos.

I have deleted the Flickr account and published these with Picasa instead. Now you can download and print the photos!

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