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Math

Objectives and Goals

The Math program lays a solid foundation of number sense, math concepts and strategies that can be built upon as the students master new skills.

Strategies

Strategies include using the Touch Math program that enables students to learning, touching, counting patterns and placing touch points. Calendar skills introduce the concepts of day, month, year; yesterday was, today is, tomorrow will be, count days of school using ones, tens and hundreds; observe and graph weather each day and review geometric shapes.  Students practice sorting, counting and graphing. Manipulatives include teddy bear counters, unifix cubes, and pattern blocks.  The program introduces rulers and scales, and the concept of beginning, middle and ending.  Parenting pages extend the lessons at home.

Assessments

Calendar concepts: each child has the opportunity to be the helper of the day and place the number on the calendar and graph the weather. Each day we review geometric shapes and count how many days we’ve been in school and place a straw in the appropriate column of a pocket chart in the ones, tens, or hundreds place.

The introduction of math concepts also includes an activity to weigh and measure each child in the beginning and end of the year and each child weighs an apple on a balance scale using teddy bear counters. Each child colors and sequences the life of a pumpkin from seed to jack-o-lantern and the life cycle of a caterpillar to butterfly. Students estimate the number of ribs around a pumpkin and measure its circumference. They use pattern blocks to make turkey, lamb and caterpillar puzzles.  They also graph throughout the year sometimes as a whole group such as graphing their favorite Thanksgiving foods and make predictions about whether or not the groundhog will see his shadow. The children also complete personal graphs such as when they sort, count and graph the colors of jellybeans and unifix cubes or the number of animals on the farm. The children also have an opportunity to sort and classify toys, fruits, vegetables and clothes and sequence animals as they interpret “The Mitten.” Students learn to illustrate the beginning, middle and ending of a story. Students also apply their understanding of Venn Diagrams to compare and contrast "The Three Bears and The Three Snow Bears" as well as "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Jack and the Jellybeanstalk".