Day 83- Math and Reminders

There were a lot of teachers out today. Unfortunately, the stomach bug and vicious cold are going around again, just in time for the holidays. That's one Christmas gift I would rather not receive! What that means for the rest of us is, since there are teachers out, and no subs were available, we had to split classes.

First grade split Ms. Beckett's class. (Ms. Beckett has been  trooper all week! She's battling a cold that will not go away, and she needed the rest!)

Well, with extra students in my class I didn't want to start a whole new lesson in math, and I didn't want my students to forget what they have learned already. There seemed to be only one solution. Math centers.

I had 5 centers going at one time- students were at each center for 8 minutes before rotating. Some of our math time was taken this morning as we prepared for our Kwanzaa Celebration, and we had to do our calendar time, so around 40 minutes was all we had time for.

Center #1- Making patterns. Students used the colored discs to create patterns, and they had to explain their pattern when I stopped at their table.

I had 2 students explain to me that their pattern was a 'counting by 2s' pattern. I noticed that pattern the most. I differentiated for some of my students by starting  pattern for them and asking them to finish it while explaining to me what they were looking for next.

Center #2- Money Dominoes. Students had to recognize pictorial and numerical representations of coins and match them. Basically, they had to match a picture of a coin with it's number amount. I had noticed that my students could sing our money songs by heart, but when it came to recognizing coins in 'real life', it was a different story. This game showed me who needs more help recognizing coins and who has it mastered.

Center #3- Top It. This is a game from our previous math adoption- Everyday Math. Students use  pack of number cards to compare numbers. It's like playing the game of 'war'. On the count of three, students turn over  card. The student with the biggest number card gets to keep the cards that were turned over. Students also play a variation of the game by flipping over cards and having to either add or subtract the numbers on the cards.

Center #4- Addition fact cards. Recently we have started playing the game 'Around the World' with our addition facts. In the game, two students stand and the teacher raises a math fact card. The first student to correctly give the answer gets to move on to the next student. The first student to make it all the way around the room and back to his or her seat wins! Well, my students look for any chance to practice their math facts so they can do better in the game, so I thought making it a center would be a great idea.

Center #5- Fact family dominoes. Because my students love dominoes. I have noticed that my students have gotten a lot better at recognizing related math facts since practicing their domino facts.

All for fun and fun for all!

**REMINDER** Monday is our Christmas party. It starts at 1:30. First grade is getting together as a group, so each class was assigned something to bring. Our class is to bring CHIPS.
Monday is also our Pajama day! Please make sure your student is wearing pajamas that are appropriate for the weather since we will be going outside if weather permits.

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