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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Day 131- As American as Apple Pi

In celebration of Pi Day (3.14 in math) we did.... NOTHING! Ha! My students wouldn't know Pi if it bit them, and I honestly wouldn't know how to explain it.
We did, however, learn about Johnny Appleseed and the rights and responsibilities of American citizens, so I thought the title would be catchy.

For you mathematically minded folks, check out the link to It's Pi Day!


Our main story this week is on Johnny Appleseed. Today we read the story from the textbook and discussed the different tall tales that have formed from his story. He might not really have worn a pot on his head, and he probably didn't make close friends with the wild animals, but he helped his fellow Americans!

Johnny Appleseed part 1

Johnny Appleseed part 2

I just love these old Disney videos! Of course we had to stop and talk every few minutes about the fact and fiction of the video, but we agreed that Johnny Appleseed was a great helper to his fellow man.

In math we started a new Topic- subtraction. We had a brief discussion on what we already knew about subtraction: it's when you take away, you can count backward, subtraction is a line - and not a plus sign +, it makes numbers smaller... you get the picture.

We looked at dominoes (like we've been doing for months now) and found the addition and subtraction problems that matched. My students were thrilled that they already knew how to do the lesson! I'll try to get a video tomorrow of how to find Fact Families using dominoes. 

In social studies we discussed the rights and responsibilities of citizens of the United States. We only looked at the rights to vote and pay taxes today. And, oh my goodness, what a conversation! I wish I had a camera going during the lesson! In fact, we were so fired up (well, maybe it was just me who was fired up...) that Mrs. Overton came out of her office to check things out.

Here are the highlights:
1. No one likes paying taxes, but taxes go toward lots of things! Firefighters, police officers, emergency medical workers, basically people who help us everyday! How about nice roads to drive on? Schools in which to learn? Our Armed Forces? Yep, all paid with taxes! 

2. Citizens have the responsibility to vote for the person they feel would best suit the office for which they are running. Since no one should vote blindly, citizens also have the responsibility to pay attention to the world around them and research the issues before casting their ballot.
3. Citizens become fully in charge of their rights and responsibilities when they turn 18. Age 18 is when one becomes an adult. Until that time, we use school, home, and the community as 'practice' time for when we have all of our rights. 
For example- in our classroom my students earn tickets or Cub Cash for a job well done. (like money for a job) Students have to pay 'taxes' when they need things like a pencil sharpened in the middle of a lesson, or need to use the bathroom when it's not bathroom time. It's good practice!

Tomorrow we talk about serving on a jury! I love this unit!

Literacy center pictures:



 Word Wall

 Simile activity

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