to Title I Math! I am so excited to have this opportunity to work with you and your child!
WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO
September has been a busy month! We have been getting to know one another and establishing routines. We have tried to spend a little time on the computers each day so the kids get comfortable logging on, memorizing their passwords, and navigating to some of the educational websites that we will be using throughout the year. Be sure to click on the "Websites" tab to check out a few.
Parents often ask what we do in Title Math. During each Title Math session we attempt to work on the following:
Basic Addition and Subtraction Facts; the building blocks for all kinds of math - according to research this is the greatest determinant of future success in Math. Currently we are using this time to work on number recognition, oral counting, quantity discrimination and one-to-one correspondence; all are pre-requisites to beginning our work on basic facts. A Fla$h-4-Ca$h packet containing numbers to 100 was recently sent home. Students earn cash in their Title I Bank Accounts for time spent practicing their number recognition flashcards. New Fla$h-4-Ca$h slips will come home every two weeks. Look for addition and subtraction flashcards to come home in the next month or so. Either set of cards qualifies for Fla$h-4-Ca$h. If you would like some pointers on incremental rehearsal (a flash card strategy), please stop in. It's a simple technique that can make flashcards practice much more effective and enjoyable. You can also refer to the handout that came home with your child’s flashcards.
North Dakota Common Core: these are the skills needed to be successful on class assignments and standardized assessments.
Classroom Reinforcement: We attempt to spend a little time each day reinforcing content that is being covered in the classroom. Our small group setting and the extra exposure to content really benefits most children.
WHAT YOUR CHILD HAS BEEN LEARNING IN MATH:
Most first grade classrooms have been working on 2-D and 3-D shapes. Your child should be able to identify the following shapes and tell you the number of faces, sides and vertices (corners): 2-D (Plane figures): circle, square, triangle, rectangle, hexagon 3-D (Space Figures or Solids): sphere, cylinder, cube, cone, rectangular prism and pyramid
WHAT’S NEXT
Many classrooms are now beginning to lay the groundwork for addition and subtraction; exploring ten frames and ways to make a number. They will also begin working on writing math expressions using math symbols (+,-,=).
Again I look forward to working with you and your child. Please feel free, to call, email or stop by anytime!