Math Happenings!

Here are some of the things we have been learning about in Math!

We used a pumpkin to learn about circumference, or the distance around. Each student made a prediction, or a smart guess, and cut a piece of yarn to the length they thought it would be around the pumpkin.

Then, they each tested their piece of yarn 

and decided if it was too short, too long, or just right.

We also measured the height of our pumpkin using different objects. 

We measured using cubes, crayons, and paperclips.

Before we measured, we wrote our predictions. Then, after, we recorded our results and drew a picture to match what we observed.

Next, we used our pumpkin to learn about weight! We predicted whether we thought each object was heavier or lighter than our pumpkin. Then we tested each object and determined that we only needed to change one thing--even the heaviest of all the kids' backpacks still wasn't heavier than our pumpkin!

At first, we tried using a scale but quickly realized that some things didn't weigh enough to measure it. Then, we tried to use our classroom balance scale but quickly saw that our pumpkin was too big to fit! 

 

Thus, for some objects, we had to go with the most basic form of determining weight...simply picking each item up and deciding which is heavier!

To wrap up our pumpkin exploration, we conducted an experiment to see if a pumpkin would sink or float. We first started with a small pumpkin. The majority of the class predicted that it was going to sink. But when we conducted our experiment...it floated!!!

One student said he had tried this before and his pumpkin sunk. He said his pumpkin had been bigger, though, so maybe only big pumpkins sink. Thus, to test it, we tried two or three other pumpkins that ranged from slightly bigger all the way to our huge (very heavy!) green and orange striped pumpkin to see if our hypothesis was correct: small pumpkins float but big pumpkins sink.

But the same result--every pumpkin floated! Amazing!
We had a blast making our discoveries!

TALLIES

In other, non-pumpkin related news, we have been working like crazy with tallies up to 10! They are doing a great job remembering that the fifth tally has to be diagonal.

ADDITION

We have also been working on addition--which means putting things together. We have learned how to write equations using the plus sign and equal sign and we can apply different strategies to help us. Below, he is spilling 7 counters and then coloring the boxes the correct colors according to how many were red and how many were yellow. Then, he wrote the equation to match. 

GREATER THAN/LESS THAN

We learned that the alligator (greater than/less than sign) only likes to eat BIG, JUICY numbers. The students have gotten so good at comparing numbers and deciding which way the alligator should face--or if the numbers are the same in which case they use the equal sign!