Multiplication and Division Strategies

Below is a video clip from our math closing meeting yesterday. Check out these great strategies for multiplication and division!

Multiplication and Division Strategies from Melissa Ross on Vimeo.

Closing Meeting Strategies

Check out this great thinking from a second grade closing meeting!

Oops! The factory put 101 paper clips in each box instead of 100! How many paper clips will you get if you buy 9 of these boxes?

Closing Meeting Paper Clips from Melissa Ross on Vimeo.

Shaping Up!

It is important for our students to not only be able to identify shapes, but to know age-appropriate definitions of those shapes. Students enter the second grade with many misconceptions about shapes. For example:

When asked what shape "A" is, most students in second grade can tell you that it is a triangle. When asked what shape "B" is, some students get very confused. It does not look like shape "A" so it cannot be a triangle. This is when the definitions of the shapes come into play. We teach our students to go through the definition and see if the shape fits the definition, while always using proper terminology.

To practice knowing the definition of several polygons, we play shape games. Check out one of our favorites below.

Shape Practice from Melissa Ross on Vimeo.

Games to Stretch Our Thinking!

We use a variety of games in class to motivate students and get them excited about math. We also use them to refresh concepts we have learned about in class or to give students extra practice. "I Have, Who Has" is one of my favorites. We play this game often and our students love it! Check out the video below for our easiest set of cards, beginning place value.

In the game, each student has his or her own card. The "I have" number is going to be an answer to a question someone asks. The "who has" question is the question that a student gets to ask once an answer has been given. 

In the card above, the student would answer if they heard the question, "Who has 24-10?" The student would then say, "I have 14. Who has 54 + 10?" and wait for a student to say, "I have 64."

Sometimes we time students, sometimes we do it just for fun. Our favorite set of cards are the plus or minus 10 cards. Each card in that deck requires a student to add or subtract 10 from any number 1-99 like the sample above.

Take a look!

How do you add 258 + 392 ?

Yes, this clip is of a second grade student. Thank you for sharing, Miss Russell!

Getting Familiar with 100

As we approach the 100th day of school, (WOW! Already?) we like to do lots of fun activities in class relating to the number 100. We bring in collections of 100 things (like 100 hair clips in our hair, 100 buttons on our shirt, 100 lollipops to share with our friends) and make it our class goal to do 100 nice things before the day is out. The most important thing we do on the 100th day of school, however is work with the number 100. Here are some great games you can play with your child to help increase number sense and strategies in working with 100:

1. Guess My Number on the 100s Chart. In this game, one person thinks of a number. The other person tries to guess the number by asking yes/no questions to eliminate as many numbers as he or she can. When a number is eliminated, it is crossed off of the 100 chart. (For example, questions to ask might include: Is your number even? Is your number greater than 50?)

2. Get to 100. This game requires a 100s chart, game pieces, and a die or playing cards with face cards removed. (Uno cards also work great for this game.)  Players take turns rolling the die and moving forward that many spaces on the 100s chart. The winner must land exactly on the number 100. 

3. Splat is an interactive, blank 100s chart. Any number of games can be created and played with it. When choosing a square, you can "splat" it with one of several different color choices, making the number appear beneath the splat. 

4. Get to $1.00. Players need a die, coins, and a dollar bill. Players take turns rolling the die and putting that amount of money in their "piggy bank." The object of the game is to always have the least number of coins in the piggy bank and to ultimately reach $1.00. (So if you have 5 pennies, you would want to trade them for 1 nickel, etc.) 

Check out this video clip for samples of students playing Get to $1.00, Spend $1.00, Beat the Calculator,  Get to 100, and Guess My Number on the 100s chart. 

What is your favorite 100 game?

Sunshine Math

Aren't Miss Patterson and Miss Hoffman the best!?!?

What is the purpose of Sunshine Math?

Sunshine Math is a program designed to help your child's journey through mathematics. This program will enable your child to become a more independent mathematics learner who is able to address many types of problems.  The program is designed to be a challenge.

Do I Have to Participate? 

Absolutely not. We would like students to work to "cheer on" their classmates if they choose not to participate in the program. It is a big commitment and the work will be challenging. It is normal for students to not be able to answer every question easily. They require critical thinking and problem solving skills. 

How Does Sunshine Math Work?

On Monday of each week, beginning on October 27, a new Sunshine Math sheet will come home with your child. He or she will then complete the problems independently, to the best of his or her ability outside of the classroom. The work will be turned in each Friday to your child's teacher. Students that participate in at least 80% of the program will be eligible for a special luncheon at the Pavilion with others in their grade level participating. At the end of the Sunshine Math program, a "Math Brawl" will take place among students at your child's grade level. The winner of the school Math Brawl will go on to represent Chets Creek at the district level. 

Good luck. We are cheering you on!

What Time Is It?

We have started telling time in our Calendar Math block. Below are some great games and activities you can use to reinforce what we are learning at home.

Telling Time Quiz (by the hour)

Telling Time Quiz (by the minute)

Stop the Clock
What Time Is It?
Time Teller

Second Grade Math Night

Join us for second grade Math Night this Thursday, October 9, 2008 from 7-8:15 PM. During Math Night, the second grade teachers will be going over strategies that your child will be learning this year to increase number sense and bring their problem solving skills to the next level. If you are unable to join us, or would like a refresher when you get home, check out the clips below.  They have been filmed by Mr. Pinchot, a fourth grade teacher and Math Coach at our school.

Addition Strategies:

Addition Overview

Counting Up By Ones

Counting Up By Tens and Ones

Using a Hundreds Chart

Decomposing 

Left to Right Addition

Compensation

Regrouping (The "traditional" method)

Subtraction Strategies:

Subtraction Overview

Counting Down By Ones

Counting Down By Tens and Ones

Distance Between Two Numbers

Landmark Numbers

Decomposing into Tens and Ones

Compensation

Expanded Notation with Negative Numbers

Regrouping (The "traditional" method)

Combinations Club Preview

Check out some of these great strategies!