Bringing geometry to life

One of the important aspects of the way we teach mathematics today is that we try to relate what is happening in the classroom to real world applications.  Two dimensional geometry can be seen at play in the world of quilting (along with estimation, measurement and pattern).  The children 'oohhhhed' and 'aahhhhed' as they unfolded the quilt that my own grandmother made for me almost 3 decades ago.  There was so much to talk about!

The next day, two of the girls shared their own quilts, one through pictures and this little one by bringing it into class!  Hers was made by her great grandmother!  What a treasure!

Using the squares and the triangles that are created from the squares, each child was invited to make a 'paper quilt.'  What aspect of pattern is amiss in this example and the other one below?

This student took a chance but didn't plan out the layout before gluing and now is struggling to fill in the areas with either squares or triangles.  Sometimes it is the mistakes in life that teach us our greatest lessons!

Today was a good day!

The staff at Jean Vanier Catholic School LOVE our parents who support the learning in the classroom, the need for fundraising, and the family that we have become.  To say 'thank you' in a meaningful way, we offered a hot cup of coffee (donated by Starbucks! THANK YOU!) and some little delicious pastries to those who dropped their children  off for school.  Those who could, came inside where the library was all sent up (and warm!) for the chance to partake and visit!

Some just had to drive through, though, as they were on their way to work!  We thank you all!

In mathematics, we are being a study of shapes (geometry) and learning a whole new vocabulary!

Do you know what a parallelogram or a rhombus is?  Ask and the Grade 2 students will tell you!

The students are currently working on taking a square, folding it on the diagonal, cutting it into 2 triangles, and then using 4 of those triangles to create a new shape.  Wow!  Geometry requires a good understanding of the vocabulary used!

We have been combining our health and language learning lessons.  Today we finished writing directions on how to properly clean our teeth.  All students should be reaching their writing targets independently now.  That means that capital letters begin a sentence, punctuation ends a sentence, the majority of words are spelled correctly, joining words are not used to begin a sentence, adjectives are added, sentences vary in structure and paragraphs can be attempted.

Can you guess what we used to create the model of our teeth as we flossed?

First Communion

The first of our little angels received her First Holy Communion tonight!  May her relationship with Our Lord continue to be strengthened as she continues on her faith journey!

Solving problems is what mathematics is all about!

What some of you might not know is that I have a younger brother whose older son is in Grade Two.  Recently, my brother called and asked if I "understood the new math"?  I laughed!  There is nothing new  about math.  What is new is that the students are not taught only one method to find an answer.  Instead, the students are encouraged to explore possibilities, play with numbers, look for strategies that are efficient, and most importantly, understand the meaning of numbers.

Seldom are the students asked to find the answer.  Instead, they are asked to solve a problem.  It might sound like semantics, but there is an underlying message.  I want the students to feel comfortable with the process of trying to solve a problem, rather than worry about getting a correct answer.

Today we met for our 'math congress' which basically is an opportunity for us to share, safely, as a group, the manner in which a problem was attempted to be solved.  It never ceases to amaze me how deeply and richly the students think when they are not tied to following one particular way to do things!  In the photo above, the girl was demonstrating how she figured out how much money would be needed to buy 17 party hats, it each one cost 15 cents.  Look at her rich understanding of numbers, as she added 15 to each previous number to create a counting or number line:  15, 30, 45, 60. 75. etc.  She did it!

We shared our different ways to try this problem.  What 5 coins could you use to equal 45 cents?

Note the thinking here:  This child didn't need to count each dime, instead recognizing 4 X 10 is 40!  He was multiplying and didn't even now it!

No child is ever reprimanded for mistakes.  One of our beliefs in our math community of learners is that WE LEARN FROM MISTAKES.  This gal didn't  realize that she had only used 4 coins, or that they added to 50 cents until she shared.  It was the perfect opportunity to reinforce that once a solution is figured out, the student should go back and check it again. By doing this is a group setting, all of the students got the benefit of hearing this valuable feedback.

Sharing is encouraged and valued.  When one student is 'stuck', the others volunteer to 'whisper in his/her ear', allowing one student to practise their learning, and the other to have 'a hand up' to assist them in being successful.

How would you count out 6 coins to equal 55 cents?  We found more than one way!

This little guy choose one nickel, then five dimes.  The next girl wanted to share her idea which was 5 dimes, then one nickel.  Again it was a wonderful opportunity for the group to be reminded of the associative property, not that they heard that big fancy word.  It means that I can add the same numbers in different order and still arrive at the same sum.

The minute this girl put down her coins, she said "Oh no!  I see what I forgot!  I needed 6 coins!"

Learning from our own mistakes, or those of others, really moves our own learning forward.  It was a great day in math and each of the students agreed, almost crawling over each other to be the next to share!  This new math is creating students who aren't afraid of numbers and don't say "I don't get it" quite as often!

The Last Supper

                    May the joy of the Risen Lord be with all of you!

Using a project found on the Catholic Icing blog , the students learned about the Last Supper, the Passover meal that Jesus and His Disciples ate before Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.  We referred to the painting by Leonardo da Vinci and noted that the men were in groups of three to represent the Holy Trinity.  They learned the names of the men, recognized that they could imagine what the men were thinking by their arm gestures, and recognize some of the desciples by what was in their hands.

I hope that this child-friendly version of The Last Supper takes 'pride of place' on your Easter Sunday table

and that Jesus, Our Risen Lord and Saviour, takes His place within your heart!

A picture is worth a thousand words

Yesterday, we heard what would happen to our part of the world overnight.  We now know that the groundhog's prediction was true...we did have 6 more weeks of winter!  What we didn't know was that we actually are onto our 10th more week of winter!

Here's my vehicle before I left for school....can't even see what colour it is meant to be!

The front of the school at around 11:00 a.m.

A view of the school drop-off zone in the parent parking area!

BUT...I'll take the snow rather than tornadoes, any day!

A swimming we will go.....

What a great morning the students in our class had as they worked swimming at their individual level.  Some worked on their floating, 

on their ability to keep their head under water, and

on keeping their arms straight during a swimming stroke.

Look at those happy faces!

They will be swimming every Tuesday morning, as part of their physical education program until the end of May.  Feel free to come and watch!