counting and representing

Our morning message often has a question for children to respond to. As part of this, there are opportunities to count, compare, and represent. It is important for children to understand that there are many ways to show a number, to solve a problem, and to represent an idea. Our morning message work provides the context for conversation and reflection - viewing different ways to represent the same number challenges children to think differently or use a different lens.

Notice Ava, the problem solver, as she prints the number 18 by finding it on our math calendar and placing it on the morning message. This is a powerful example of how children can access the classroom environment to be independent learners.

 

We continue to work with the number 10 in different ways. Our math journals have already begun to show children's work counting and representing, answering questions and showing their thinking. Much of their initial work connects to our community and days in school as well as math read alouds.

We have read about and used dots in many different ways this week. We read the book Dot as part of our conversations around feeling stuck and growing within our learning community. We played "find your dot match" for morning greetings and read the book 10 Black Dots. In the below images you can see children finding their number (digit) and dots match.

If you have the number 9 on your card, you are looking for the peer with 9 dots on their card, then you sit elbow-to-elbow and knee-to-knee with your match on the green oval. Once we point, read, and check all of the matches, children turn and greet their partner.

One child said this was their favorite part in our day. We love find your match greetings!

 

Following our reading of 10 Black Dots, the children each thought of something they could make with 10 black dots. Then, they used all that they know about stretching words to write what they drew a picture of and record how many dots. I laminated their work and put the pages together for our first published class book! We connected our work to the work they are doing during writing workshop; thinking, planning, and drawing a picture. It was important to check in about remembering how to stretch our words and using our letter sheets from the literacy shelf - while children do this during writing workshop, it was a great opportunity to remind them that they have access to our letter sheets all of the time. Children counted and recounted, checking their work, just like mathematicians do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were many math and literacy elements to this experience, but perhaps the most powerful is the excitement and joy to read our book. On Friday, children took turns in small groups to read the book following snack, counting and checking the work of their peers. There was a shared feeling of empowerment amongst the math artists.