Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Family Fun Game: Beat the Calculator Addition

Today in math I introduced a new game from the math curriculum we use, Everyday Math. The game is called Beat the Calculator. You can play with 2 or 3 people. Give it a try at home and let me know what you think!
  • Materials
        1. number cards 0-10, four of each number. (idea: use a deck of cards with the face cards pulled out of them)
        2. calculator
  • Directions:
    1. Shuffle deck and place it in front of the players.
    2. Assign roles. One person is the "Brain" and one person is the "Calculator." If you have 3 people, make someone the "Caller."
    3. The "Caller" (or one player, if you only have two players) picks two cards and places them face up on the table.
    4. The objective is to say the solution the fastest, using the following rules: The "Brain" has to use their brain to solve the problem with mental math, and the "Calculator" must use the calculator to complete the problem. 
    5. The cards go to the person who solved the problem the fastest.
    6. After 5 turns, switch roles and keep playing.
As a variation, you can use subtraction (but make sure you say the bigger digit first.) In class, we do not focus on the person who wins. It is more important to play the game fairly and have fun while learning.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Spelling Practice Online

Today the students took their first spelling test and I can proudly say that everyone got a 60% or better... congratulations! This is a big accomplishment since spelling in Miss Rorey's room works different than it might work in other classes.

At the start of the week, students take a pre-test. Any word that they already know how to spell on the pre-test is not included in their spelling list for the week. This means that all of the students should be learning 10 brand new words every week.

One online tool I want to share with you to help you study your spelling list is a site called Spelling City. You can find it at http://www.spellingcity.com.

Once on the sight, you can enter your spelling words into the site and practice your words by playing games. It creates individual games from the list you entered.

In addition, you can search our school, International School of Tanganyika, or search my name, Aurora Risdon, to find a list I have included on the site. These lists will often correspond to the unit of inquiry we are teaching or be tailored to students who are new to English.

Check it out and let me know what you think..... and most of all, keep up the good work with your spelling!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Homework Signatures

Hello families! I hope that everyone had a good weekend. This is just a reminder to turn in your Homework Contract signature. The form was sent home last week and I am still missing a few.

Homework is going to start first thing on Monday. Each day every student will be expected to complete some maths, practice their spelling words, and write a reflective sentence in their Linkbooks about what they read during their 20 minutes of nightly reading. Parents, please remember to sign the Linkbooks each night before they are sent back to school.

Thanks for all of your help and support!
Miss Rorey