Newsletter: September 10th

We have officially begun our inquiry into multiplication. We began with a game called "Circles and Stars." This is a five-round dice game in which you roll twice each round. The first roll determines how many circles to draw and the second roll determines how many stars (or dots) to place in each circle. This completes a round. Once the kids have completed a round they record their score three ways. Say they had three circles with five starts each, they would write: (1) 5 + 5 + 5 = 15, (2) 3 groups of 5 = 15, and (3) 3 x 5 = 15. In this way, we were able to begin seeing multiplication as repeated addition/equal groups (an idea we'll come back to again and again).

Once we had the game down, we invited Mr. Foote's third grade class over to share it with them. Our class taught them how to draw the game board, take turns rolling and recording, and write the results in different ways. As they worked on the game I walked around to observe how they were going about putting these numbers together. Some would go back and count all the stars:

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, ..."

Some would skip count:

"That's 3, 6, 9, 12. 12!"

And others would develop strategies for combining groups of numbers

"There's four 4s. So that's two over here, 8, and two over there, 8. I just add 8 and 8 and it's 16." 

This helps me assess not only the strategies they use but also the level of comfort and understanding that drives them to solve it using the particular strategy they do. During these observations/conferences I have an opportunity to identify and support what they are already doing so well and support them, at times, into other ways of seeing or setting up the problem.

The final step of the game is to tally all five rounds together. Again, this is a task that is tackled in a variety of ways. Some go back and count all those stars again. Others use their fingers to add each round to the growing total. And the rest line up the numbers by place value and add them together (regrouping/carrying as necessary). My goal is to make sure all of them are comfortable with the traditional method of lining up the numbers and adding because this is quickest and most logical in most situations (especially when confronted with increasingly large numbers). However, getting them all there is only possible after figuring out where their current understanding resides and building from that spot.

This rest of this week and next we will be digging further and further into the concept of multiplication. We'll have real world problems, games, analysis of patterns, strategy shares, and even flashcards. In fact, the kids made their first set of flashcards this morning, the twos table. They should practice these for a few minutes each night to help them feel a bit more "automatic" in regards to fact recall. It's not a race. Nor is it a competition. Rather, our goal is to make this aspect of problem- solving  easier so we can focus our attention on the more complex components of a given problem.

Looking at the 2s table by recognizing these are all groups of 2. The kids noticed a number of patterns in this table.

Here is one thing they noticed. The number you multiply two against grows by one each time but the product (answer to the problem) grows by two. For example, 2x3=6 but 2x4=8. I asked them why this is. They thought, discussed in small groups, and then explained that it's because you're only increasing it by one but you're then doubling it, thus growing the product by 2.

Here are some more of their quotes, as recorded on the board during our discussion. "It's like addition. You do it twice." "They're all even numbers (the products)." "It's a pattern. 2...4...6...8... (meaning the products)." "Even if you have two odd numbers you still get an even product."

In writing workshop we have continued to march on with cursive instruction. I can't say it's my favorite thing to teach because there are very few WOW moments where someone comes to a great realization or offers a probing question or challenges us to think about something differently than we had been previously. No, cursive instruction is very much "old school." I'm at the front at the board, they're sitting in the floor or at tables, and I'm demonstrating exactly what I want them to do then they practice it. Over and over again. Thankfully we're almost through the lower-case letters and I have can begin to support our growth as cursive writers with writing that is much more authentic than copying from the board or a worksheet.

After the kids work on their cursive they go out and write independently. So far this has been pure free writing time. They are creating long chapter books, comics, non-fiction pieces they're researching on the Chromebooks, sequels to earlier works in second grade, and on and on. They recently created a list of qualities we might look for in their daily writing to see how they are doing.

The list they produced pretty much focuses on basic writing elements you might edit for. It doesn't reflect a whole lot of craft but we'll continue adding to it throughout the year. In the meantime, they can use this to self-assess the work they're doing each day as well as guide similar assessments and reflections from both me and you. The kids will bring home their writing journals next week for just this purpose. They'll show you all they've been doing with their writing time in class and ask you to engage in a conversation about the things you notice in their writing. I'll send along more specific frames for these conversations next week.

They will also ask you to work with them on the piece they have selected to publish. It will be an opportunity for you to have conversations with them about the things that are working beautifully as well as possibilities for making the piece even stronger. The kids and I will work together to create a template to guide this collaborative work.

Lastly, I'll leave you with a few short items worth knowing about or remembering...

1. The CFI Opening Picnic is this Thursday and will begin at 6:30. As part of the PTO fundraiser, teachers will be doused in buckets of ice water. As much as I'd love to be part of those chilling festivities I'm going to take a pass this time around. On Monday I took my first sick day in about four years and after two weeks of fighting whatever bug that was I'm going to choose to error on the side of caution. However, I'll happily write a check and donate it to the school to support all the great things that happen around here!

2. Our CFI field trip to the Riverbanks Zoo is set for October 10th. In class, we'll be studying habitats as well as doing a novel study about a caged tiger (which will relate back to last year's research of the positives and negatives of zoos). We'll use the zoo trip to support these studies. Look for forms to come home in the next few weeks. As always, we'd love to have you join us!

3. Our class camping trip is Saturday, October 11th. We'll meet up at Sesqui around 3:30 or 4:00 and set up our stuff. The kids will then have small group activities from which to choose (fishing, firewood gathering, nature scavenger hunt, etc). We'll then come back for a big old picnic (each family can pack in a cooler with their own food and drinks) before heading out for a dusk/night hike. After the hike we'll have a bonfire where the kids will host and perform a small talent show (songs, skits, stories, etc). After this we'll just hang out at the fire and enjoy each other's company with some s'mores before turning in to bed. For those who don't want to stay the night, the front gate is usually locked around 9:00 or 9:30. All members of the family are invited and encouraged. The cost will be minimum - maybe $3 - $5 a person at the very most. You can expect to receive much more detailed information about this trip later in the month.

4. Our class is planning to put together another Walk-a-Thon this fall. We want to support Kaleel and all the other kids who are living with diabetes across the nation. We'll formally plan this next week.

5. If anyone would like to volunteer in the classroom or just come hang out with us please let me know. Our door is always open!

Thanks so much,
Chris