Sunday, September 27, 2015

Adventures in Math: Apple Pie - Fractions, Measurement, Estimation, and so much more!

This week, we started our first “Math Adventure.” After reading the book How to Bake An American Pie by Karma Wilson, we decided to pick some apples from the tree in our garden and make apple pies for our 1-3rd grade math groups. Together, we “question-stormed” to figure out what we needed to know in order to accomplish this goal. We came up with the following list of questions:

How many people will be eating?
How many pies will we need?
How many pieces are in a pie?
What ingredients will we need?
How much of each ingredient will we need?
How many apples will we need to pick from our tree?
How can we measure an apple?


















We spent time Monday adding up all the students in both math groups and looking at the different equations and ways we used to get the answer (11 students in one class plus 7 in the other = 18. Plus two teachers and one aide is 18+3 =21, or 11+7+2+1 =21. We shared ideas and looked at different strategies for solving equations, including ways to do mental math by thinking about/making tens. 
Tuesday we got out the circle fraction models and used drawings and models to figure out how many pies we would need to have 21 1/8 sized pieces. Almost all of the students managed to figure out we needed three pies using the fraction models.
On Wednesday, we found 1 ½ apples equaled 1 cup, and then tackled the questions of how many apples would be in 5 cups, (the amount needed for each pie), and how many apples we would need altogether. Using various tools and methods, each student worked through this problem of 5 x 1 ½ and then 3 x 7 1/2. Many easily figured the whole number but got hung up on the fractions. After again sharing ideas and strategies, most of the students built some solid understandings of basic fractions this week!
We also got lots of practice estimating and figuring, and Thursday we looked at basic units of measure and equivalencies. The more advanced math group got practice tripling the recipe. 
On Friday, of course, we measured ingredients, baked, and ENJOYED our pie. It’s been a beautiful week of mathematical thinking, and  it’s great to see that hard work pays off! Yum!

Thursday, September 24, 2015

No taxation without representation!



This week, after reading about events leading up to the American Revolution (the Quartering Act, the Navigation Acts, the Sugar Act, and the Stamp Act of 1765), the Pioneers found out what it really felt like to be taxed unfairly. One student played the part of king, one played the tax collector, and the rest gave up candies as taxes were levied on the color of their clothing, their use of pencils and classroom supplies, and other miscellaneous taxes. General unhappiness led to cries of "Boo!" and "No Fair!" when the King fined the Pioneers 10 candies just for looking at books. Here's some of what the Pioneers had to say about the experience:

It was terrible! All of us were yelling "Boo!" Thumbs down. No taxation without representation! [J.G.] was pretending to be the king and [J.C.] was pretending to be the tax collector. [J.G.] called out a tax and [J.C.] collected it. I only had seven [candies] left at the end!

It made me mad, angry and sad that I had to give my candy to the tax collector and give it to the king. No taxation without representation! Boo to the king. 

Being a colonist was not fair because I ran out of money. The king was not fair. I felt very angry to be taxed too much candy. He didn't care for the colonists. No taxation without representation!

I hate the king very much. It wasn't fair. The king wasn't fair. He was taking all of the candies away. No taxation without representation! My rating is 0 stars.

I did not like [paying taxes]. The king was the worst! I only had three more [candies]. If I was a colonist, it would not be fun. I [would have] had to pay a lot of money! Taxes are not fair.

To be taxed as a colonist is awful, horrible, and bad. I don't like taxes because, well, it's not fair. I'm glad we did not live at that time. Go get 'em, George Washington!

And, from the student who played the king: 
It felt like I was being bad to my people because they were HORRIBLY TAXED! It also made me sad because they were yelling "No taxation without representation!" I had to let go of my sadness afterward.

This all led to a very interesting discussion referring back to our initial questions about transitions, our overarching concept. We started the year wondering WHY things change, WHAT kinds of things change, WHEN things change, and if change makes things better, or worse?

Understanding the anger of the colonists gave us some insight into why things change; for example, some of the Pioneers said that when people become upset or angry they want things to change, or when things are not fair people want to change things so they will be fair. We talked about how this kind of anger among the colonists could lead them to want fairer taxes and fairer government, and whether taxes themselves are unfair. (The general consensus was that some taxes are probably needed, as long as they are fair.) 

We also started to delve into the idea of whether change makes things better or worse. Some of the Pioneers thought that if it leads to war, it means things are worse. Some thought that if the colonists won the war and were able to get rid of unfair taxation, it would make things better. We'll definitely continue thinking and talking about this as we study more about the American Revolution!






Saturday, September 19, 2015

Maker space: Making Colonial-era toys

I love the "Maker" movement, and am so happy we have caught Maker fever here at Seabury! This week the Pioneers got back into our school's new Maker Space for another session of brain-expanding creation.

The students are free to make whatever inspires them, but I usually provide a prompt of some sort to get ideas flowing. Last week, many of the kids focused on making things for the cage of our class pet, Rosie Roborovski, Dwarf Robo hamster.

This week, after learning about what life was like in the colonies and looking at Colonial-era items in the Colonial Williamsburg Museum online, some of us made Colonial-era toys like whirligigs and stick-and-cup-ball catchers. Many Pioneers also went with their own ideas, and at the end of the session we had everything from toys to a Penguin and a cardboard friend named "Mr. Gulp," who drank air through a straw attached at the top of a cardboard tube, and ate through a mouth created at the bottom that moved up and down with a bellows-type action. (Mr. Gulp also got a custom designed house, bed, and blanket - lucky guy!)

Here's a home-made "Jacob's Ladder."

The early stages of creation of "Mr. Gulp."

These whirligigs take serious concentration.


Even Ms. Jackie got in on the action!

He caught it the very first time!

Hey, wait, how do you get it to spin again?

 The cutest penguin ever.                                                  A periscope perhaps?

And one more fancy house for Rosie Roborovski!

Friday, September 18, 2015

We, the Pioneers...

After a quick introduction to the U.S. Constitution, we had our own Continental Congress and created one of our own:



We, the Pioneers, want peace, respect, and freedom in our classroom. In order for us to have these things, we promise to:

1. Treat others the way we would like to be treated.
2. Be safe.
3. Clean up after ourselves.
4. Be responsible.
5. Be respectful of ourselves, others, and our school.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Getting things started, Seabury-style!

The first weeks of school are always packed with new things to learn and do. It's impossible to describe every little thing we've covered, but here are some highlights, and some details about why we do things the way we do -- from the core subjects, like reading, writing and math, to the intangibles, like creativity and collaboration:


Reading
We've been reading a lot, starting to learn about different genres of books, and learning our way around the classroom libraries in both Mrs. Towne's and Mrs. M's rooms (as well as the Seabury library - be sure to check out  the library website in the Seabury blog list - LOTS of great resources for families there). We split into our reading groups and have started to build stamina in "Read to Self" and also learning about how to choose a "good fit" book. This can be hard for Seabury kids, whose interests can sometimes outpace their comprehension levels and whose reading fluency and comprehension levels often outpace a typical classroom library! (Have you ever taken a good look at ours? There's a lot more here than just Clifford and Frog and Toad.) This is one of our major areas of differentiation at Seabury. We use the Daily 5 model in the primary grades so that we get a lot of one-on-one reading time with each child and everyone is challenged at an appropriate reading level, whether they are still learning to read or testing off the charts.
A little aside, here: One of the experiences that led me to Seabury was when my own son (at that time attending 1st grade at an excellent Tacoma public school which I will refrain from naming here) was told he could not read chapter books, but had to choose books from a bin with a particular colored dot. You won't find that happening here! Ask your child what they have learned about choosing a book that's a good fit for them. We know that books are not a "one-size-fits-all" item and the best fit is going to look different for each child!








Investigating math concepts
You'll find us doing a lot of math investigations that are integrated into our area of study as well as learning basic math skills. In the pictures shown here we are working on identification and value of coins by looking closely at the people and symbols represented on the coins and learning about how those relate to our country's history, as well as playing some games to cement skills such as basic addition, skip counting, dollar and cents symbols, place value, decimal points, etc. We know that children's math abilities are not necessarily age-specific, so you won't see all 2nd graders working on the 2nd grade curriculum, 3rd graders on the 3rd grade curriculum, and so on. In the primary grades we break into groups in math as well, so that students are working at the appropriate level of challenge, depending on what they already know and need to learn. We know gifted children have different areas of strength, and if Math is that area, Seabury allows students the ability to work well above grade level, learn something new every day, and to work on enriching and extending their mathematical knowledge rather than doing the same work or more of the same. We know that gifted students don't need as much practice, and that worksheets and hours of repetitive practice do not equal rigor. We also know math class is a great place to learn to persevere, and that it can be incredibly satisfying to work through a hard problem. We know that gifted kids tend to be perfectionists, and we explicitly teach that it is OK to make mistakes -- as long as we learn from them. Oh yeah, we also love math and know that math is cool, and FUN!!!



Collaborating
One of the most researched-supported best practices for gifted students is that they need to work with other gifted students to collaborate, share ideas, and connect with like-minded kids. This is one of the most beautiful aspects of a multi-age classroom; I wish you could be here to witness some of the discussions that occur. Coming up with our class name and creating a classroom constitution last week generated the kind of ideas and comments that just would not normally come up in a 2nd or 3rd grade classroom. The big-picture understandings and questions they generate (my favorite, as we brainstormed the big idea of our transitions concept: Is there anything that does NOT transition?) are fascinating, and, yes, FUN. Having their ideas challenged and expanded is fun for Seabury kids -- that's what keeps them engaged and involved, and why, I think, so many students here perceive learning as fun.






Creating
Have you checked out our new "Maker Space" yet? We know gifted students need opportunities to explore their own interests and ideas, and we created a space in what used to be the Science room downstairs to let students choose from a variety of materials to make whatever they can conceive of.
Art is alive and well here, and our first week included self-portrait drawing, creating a personal and class flag, and spending time in the Maker Space. Last week, we focused on things we could make for our class pet's cage. We have been spending a little time each day working on taming Rosie Roborovski, our Robo dwarf hamster, and the students all love her. Here's what they made:



And, in case, you've missed her guest appearances at pick-up, here's Rosie herself:




So we are off to a strong start. We're all having a lot of fun already as well as learning a lot, and yes, it's going to be a GREAT year!

Introducing ...

The Pioneers!

We chose our new class name, and as far as I m concerned, we could not have chosen a better one for our studies of "Transitions" (this year's overarching concept) and American history and patriots.
Here they are:







Can you tell by these photos that we've got a few characters here? It's gonna be a great year!