Report cards will be coming out in the middle of March, and we’ll be emailing you in February about signing up for the report-card-conferences.
In Second Grade Math, students are learning that you subtract when you are “taking away” something. You also subtract when you are finding the difference between two quantities. So, if I have six jelly beans and I give you 2 of them, I would say, “6 take away 2 = 4 left.” If, on the other hand, I have six jelly beans and you have 2 jelly beans, and the question is, “What is the difference between us? It’s not correct to say, “6 take away 2 =4” because there is no “taking away” happening. It’s important to say “6 subtract 2= 4. Five is the difference.” This become important in 3rd and 4th grade when kids have to find the difference between two quantities and really struggle to picture the operation to use because they have always associated subtraction with take-away.
Take away:
six
x x x x x x
6-2=4
Difference:
I have six and you have two. What is the difference (between your # and my #)?
Me: x x x x x x
You: x x
I can read this as 6-2=4 because I can take my six. And compare them to your two.
I subtract the number of mine that are the same as yours (we both have two). That leaves me with the difference between us:
(my) 6 minus the 2 (of yours that are the same as the two of mine) = the 4 (that are the difference between us because only I have them.)
An easier way to solve difference problems is to count up from your 2 to my 6:
Me: x x x x x x
You: x x
Your two plus _____ reaches my 6.
Hmmm. The difference must be 4.
4 is the answer.
"Busted!": ask your second grader why we said "Busted!" to each other today. (The answer is that while we were practicing "difference" problems, if one partner mistakenly said "take away" instead of "subtraction" and "difference", the other partner could say, "Busted!"
First Grade Math-This week students learned about the Little Blue Penguins. They learned that they are 16 inches tall and can weigh 2-3 pounds. Students are comparing them to two penguins (The King Penguin and The Rockhopper Penguin) that they learned about last week. What can your child tell you about any of these penguins. Can they compare them? For example, how much taller is the King Penguin compared to the Little Blue Penguin. Here is the info so you will know:
Rockhopper Penguin- 18 inches tall and 5-6 pounds
King Penguin- 36 inches tall and 30 pounds.
They also learned some new games. One game is called Help A Skuwa.
Can they tell you what a Skuwa is? (It is a bird that is a predator of the penguin. ) This game reminds you of Old Maid. The students are practicing two digit numbers and matching them to a picture. More next week about some other games they are learning.
First Grade Fundations: Students are beginning a new unit on “glued sounds” such as –ang, -ing, -ink, -and unk.
Second Grade Fundations- We finished up our unit on suffixes. More on what's coming up soon.d We are in our third round of our Science workshops. Ask you children how the workshop went this week and how it blends with what they learned in prior weeks about Solids, Liquids and Gases.
We talked about wearing glasses. Both Mr. B. and Ruben both got glasses this week, and we all talked about how it feels awkward to wear them at first, but you sure can see better and do more if you put them on. You can notice more when you are doing science experiments, you can see the board more easily in math, you can read the handwriting letters on the wall, so your handwriting will be neater, You can see from far away if your friend is up on the hill or not! And then there’s the fact that everyone tells you that you look smarter if you wear glasses. So, if you have a friend who is embarrassed to wear their glasses, tell them to go ahead and put them on so they can look smart and be smart!
Looking for a few good singers. The Horizon House Band is still looking for a few parents who would like to join us in the WSD Variety Show on March 11th. A few songs we are considering singing right now are Peace Train, Good Lovin’, and Return to Sender. We’d love you to join us. l
Half-day coming up: Next Tuesday, February 1st is a ½ day for a teacher inservice.
Have a great weekend!
David
