Ask Me About Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Today we took MAP-P on the Chromebooks.  This is an assessment teachers use to let us know what the students know in math.  There are 44 questions, and based on the correct responses, the test questions get harder.  Before we started the test, I let the students know this is not for a grade and that they would have some questions they would not know the answer.  They did a really good job, but getting them all logged on and finished with the test took all morning.  I'm really proud of how well they did and how patient they were.  
In science we learned about the three main types of clouds.  We came up with motions for each cloud, and related it to another word that would remind us of what the cloud looks like.  Ask me to name the three main types of clouds.  If I need a reminder, say these words: cauliflower, blanket, mare's tail.
In math, we used a Rekenrek, to show different numbers and to talk about number relationships.  The Rekenrek is like a mini-abacus, but slightly different.  It has two rows of ten beads, with five red and five white in each row.  The students were asked to show different numbers and compare them using words like more, fewer and equal.  We also talked about how many more in each row.  Watching the children show the numbers I called for also showed me how some children already can look at a row of ten and now they can more all but one to show nine without even counting them. With the red and white beads in the rows, they can also learn they need five red and one more to show six.  They will learn more about number relationships as we use this tool more.  We want the children to be able to show numbers in different ways and to see the relationships between numbers easily, so we use many different tools and manipulatives. 
​Here's a picture of a Rekenrek.

Have a nice evening!
​Miss Wolfe