Week of 2/26

This week, we were able to observe a new math concept introduced to the class. The class has worked with word problems, but now is working on their answers to word problems. Their answers must include a picture, an equation, and a written explanation of how they reached their answers. This caused a few nervous reactions from some of the students, but most ofthem seemed to get the idea.
The class is also working on the money unit. Since they have been "feeding the piggy" all year during morning meeting, they do have some idea of the coins they are using, but are now gaining a better understanding of each coin and its value. The teacher has given each student a box that they keep plastic coins in. They can earn new coins by performing well and behaving throughout the day. When they gain new coins, they can change them with the teacher for a higher valued coin. This seems to be very motivating for the students to learn the values of their coins.
We administered our pre-assessment this week as well. We read Goldilocks and the Three Bears to the students, which they have heard many times before. They then filled out a sheet telling us what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story. The responses were very interesting. Some students drew pictures and others wrote quite a bit. Most students were able to think of something that happened in each part of the story, but there were a few exceptions. It is interesting to see the small details they picked out of the story or the pictures from the book to put on their charts. Most of the class came up with the same ending, which was the last page of the book, where in this version, Goldilocks jumps out of a window to run away. While many of the students had some idea of the three parts of the story, I think that we will be able to work well with the class teaching them new terms and details included in stories.