MATH After an evaluation process that included teacher recommendations and assessment by the gifted education coordinator several students were selected for a small pull-out group for students demonstrating advanced mastery of kindergarten skills as well as an aptitude for multi-step problem solving. Each group meets during rest time on the following days: Mrs. Bunten's students - MONDAYS Ms. Lazzari's students - TUESDAYS Mrs. St. Laurent's students - WEDNESDAYS All three groups work with Mr. Kendall, the gifted education coordinator. The students in these groups will work on extensions of current topics in the regular math curriculum, play addition and subtraction board games and computer games, and begin to develop problem-solving strategies through the use of multi-step word problems from the Techniques of Problem Solving series. Students will be asked questions like, "How many fewer fish are in the small fish bowl." The problem requires students to recognize the key word "fewer," count the fish in each bowl, and then create an appropriate subtraction problem. Kindergartners usually are introduced to subtraction in the second half of kindergarten and then it is through pictures and straight computation. Students learn to identify other key words like "all together" and "total amount spent" to signal addition questions. Progress reports on the performance of the individual students participating in the pull-out groups will be sent to parents via e-mail in early December, mid-March, and a year-end report in June. LINK TO ON-LINE MATH GAMES FOR ENRICHMENT AT HOME (see details about the games below) E-mail me for recommendations for which games to use based on your child's current math skills: kkendall@lexedu.org ASSESSMENT was completed in August and early September CURRICULUM UPDATE - Late September - October 2011 The first 7 sessions are devoted to the Techniques of Problem Solving series, both as an assessment tool as well as an enrichment service (see description above). the students are getting better at recognizing the word cues for addition, but subtraction is still much more difficult for most of the students (as it should be since they have not yet been introduced the skill in the regular classroom curriculum. In addition, students have learned three games, two to increase their fluency in addition and/or subtraction, and the third to extend what the have learned about pattern recognition. The first game that works the addition fluency is Addition Bingo. Students work with sums up to 20 - each box has an addition problem (8+7, 10+5, etc.) and they have to recognize they can put a chip on their bingo card when the number 15 is called The second game, "Knock Out," works both addition and subtraction fluency. The students roll three dice, add the total of all 3 dice (or add 2 and subtract one), and then place marbles on the board on any numbers that add up to that total. Each numbered space from 1 to 18 has two marble holes and when a player controls both holes his or her marble cannot be "knocked out" by an opponent. If the player has only one marble on that number his or her marble can be knocked out by an opponent who chooses to take that number. "Knock Out" (available from www.mugginsmath.com for those of you looking for a good family game - get the "two-sided" game that includes "Knock Out" and "Muggins", a Mensa Award-winning game that uses all four operations - www.mugginsmath.com). As an extension of their work in pattern recognition in the regular classroom I have introduced the "Set" game (www.setgame.com). This game requires students to look at a board with 12 cards laid out and find "sets" of three cards that are all 3 the same or all 3 different in 4 different categories (shape, shading, color, and number) all at the same time. This takes pattern recognition to all new level - literally 4 levels - as they must constantly try to group cards and put them through the four category filters to determine whether or not the 3 cards are a set. Last year was the first year that I tried Set with kindergartners (usually I reserve it for older students). Several of the students are doing an outstanding job learning this complex game. Others will pick it up as we play it additional times. CURRICULUM UPDATE - November 2011 Several computer games will also be introduced during the month of November, selected from the following: Whale Bonds, Adding Bricks, and "Funky Mummy 20" (See detailed descriptions below). All these games work on addition skills at progressively more difficult levels. We have been having difficulty with Adobe Shockwave and have not been able to play "Count Hoot's Number Games" at school, but it is a great game if you are able to access it at home. CURRICULUM UPDATE - December 2011 Our focus this month is on the Techniques of Problem Solving series. I am assisting students in reading the problems as needed and then students must write down their answer to each problem in the answer packet. We are practicing not calling out answers so that I can more accurately assess what concepts students have mastered. In January these "Math Challenge Folders" (TOPS problems packets and answer packets) will come home. CURRICULUM UPDATE - January 2012 Beginning in January, students will be issued "Math Challenge Folders" with packets of word problems from the Techniques of Problem Solving series that we have been working on during our in-school sessions. Students will complete a minimum of 5 problems at home each week. Students will bring in to school whatever problems they have completed and we will go over any problems that they missed and discuss strategies for similar problems in the future. With any remaining time in each session we will do extension activities of the current math unit in the regular classroom or select from the activities we used in the fall. ON-LINE COMPUTER GAMES "Whale Bonds" - Students must link two pipes together that together form a length of 10 units. When they do it correctly they save a whale that is stranded by the beach by adding enough water to get him back to the ocean. This game is great for "point and click" skills with the mouse or touchpad and helps build fluency in what I call "ten pairs." I showed them how to use their fingers to create the pairs of 1 and 9, 2 and 8, etc. The direct link: http://www.ictgames.com/save_the_whale_v4.html "Adding Bricks" - This game requires that students answer an addition problem by typing the number that answers the problem correctly. When students complete enough problems correctly, the pile of bricks they have accumulated is rearranged to form a house. Beware that the workmen in the game "whistle why they work" so you may want earphones or mute the computer to keep your sanity. Here's the link: http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/adding_bricks_k/ "Mouse Addition" (also called "Pizza Pizazz", though the students tend to call it simply "The Pizza Game") Students are presented with an addition problem and the sum corresponds with one of the table numbers in the pizza restaurant. When students deliver enough pizzas to the correct table number they are given an opportunity to create their own pizza using whatever toppings they wish. Direct link: http://www.fun4thebrain.com/addition/pizzaAdd.html "Monkey Addition" - Students help a monkey cross a river with a hungry alligator. If students select the right sum to a stated math problem the monkey crosses the river safely. If not, the monkey becomes lunch for the alligator. Students may also select subtraction (there are also multiplication and division levels for older students). The direct link to the game is: http://www.playkidsgames.com/games/apples/savetheApples.htm "Flight for Fuel" - Students fly a space ship and try to capture needed fuel without overfilling their tank. For example, if they have picked up 5 fuel cells and need 2 more to fill their tank they have to skip groups of 3 or more fuel cells or they will overfill their tank and crash. I like this one because they have to think about what to target and don't just blast through everything that they see floating in the sky as is the case in more simplistic games. Here's the link: http://www.ictgames.com/flight_for_fuel.html On "Johnnie's Math Page" (http://jmathpage.com/) students click on the "Number" tab (the one with the polar bear) and then scroll down to the "addition" games. There are space games, animal games, and much more. One game is a pizza restaurant with numbered tables to choose from. They need to bring the pizza to the number that matches the sum of the two numbers they are given. When they deliver enough pizzas correctly they get to make their own pizza with all sorts of crazy toppings - including doughnuts! Sums go up to 20 so it is a good challenge. It also keeps a running tab of correct and incorrect answers so you can peek over a shoulder to see if the child is blindly guessing or truly trying to add the numbers. Also on this site "Funky Mummy 20" (sums to 20) - each correct answer activates a dancing mummy - don't let your child scam you with the easy level of this game of sums up to 10. The most challenging game on this site has a series of carnival rides with a line of passengers, called "Addition Tickets" (or "Tickets Please!"). The rides will only run if the individual cars on the Ferris wheel, roller coaster, and tea cup ride are full. One ride has one seat per car, another 2, and the third 3. The student needs to divide up 14 passengers so that at least one car of each ride is full and then distribute the remaining passengers so that there are no half-filled cars. This one is sometimes a challenge for adults ... most of the kids did very well with it. Direct link: http://www.pbs.org/parents/earlymath/grades_games_tickets.html "Addition Surprise" - This game steps up the challenge level significantly. It requires that students find a pair of numbers that add up to the target number they are given. The game board is a grid similar to Battleship except that both axes have numbers. When the child correctly clicks on a box (such as the intersection of row 3 and column 6 for the target number 9) that box and all other boxes that add up to the target number are "revealed" - there is a puzzle underneath each grid and a total of 4 different puzzles to maintain student interest for multiple times playing. The grids go from 0 to 9 and the tricky part is when the students forget to count the zero column. The sums go up to 18. http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/add/add.html "Count Hoot's Number Games" - This game has options for addition, subtraction, or a mix of both operations. The nice challenge in this game is that it is not always the sum that is missing in the equation, sometimes one of the addends is missing: 7 + __ = 9 This game is easy to play because it is a simple point and click. It also will not move on to the next problem until the correct answer is selected. There are three levels of difficulty for each operation. Here's the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/numbers/ch1.shtml "Number Line Express" - This game builds understanding of numbers from 1 to 100. Students drive the train and are asked to either pick up or drop off passengers. They must move the counter up or down the number line the appropriate number of spaces. I like this game because when an incorrect answer is input the game will say "that number is too low" or "that number is too high." Here's the link: http://www.hbschool.com/activity/mmath/mmath_lion.html |