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Hand Washing for Kids – Crawford the Cat – Educational

Grade 1 Math

By Dale Beltzner
September 19, 2009

There’s a lot to absorb in math this year, from patterns and comparisons to addition and subtraction

First grade is a year of exploration in mathematics. Teachers take advantage of the natural love of learning most first-graders have to boost students’ ability to conceptualize and calculate groups of numbers. This year your grandchildren should really begin to connect the ideas of numbers with the written numerals that represent them. First-graders should be able to count and write the numbers from 1 to 100 as well as be able to count by 5s and 10s to 100. They should be able to compare amounts, determining which is greater or lesser. Children will also use blocks and other “manipulatives” to construct models of simple addition and subtraction “sentences” (otherwise known as equations). At the same time, they will learn to write simple addition and subtraction sentences to represent the models they construct. And they will learn basic addition facts, with sums to at least 12, and basic subtraction facts (subtracting from 12 or more). Among other important and practical concepts during this building-block year are learning to tell time, at least to the hour and half hour, identifying and extending patterns, and identifying similarities and differences among basic geometric shapes. Above all, first-graders should come to appreciate the wonder of math.

Constructing Math Skills. Your grandchildren’s math textbooks may look quite different than those that you or your children used. Part of the reason is the influence of educators favoring a “constructivist” approach to learning mathematics, in which children construct their own meaning of mathematics through various activities, focusing on the process as much as the result. In some schools following this approach, students as young as first-graders are encouraged to use calculators to complete their calculations, rather than memorizing fundamental addition or subtraction facts. But even at the earliest grade levels, the need to master basic facts is essential to success in mathematics. Children who don’t need to think about what 5 + 6 equals will move through their lessons far faster than those who do. Some teachers who are uncomfortable with the constructivist approach add addition and subtraction “drilling” exercises to their lesson plans to help kids master basic computation facts. You can do the same when you’re with your grandchildren.

• David Schwartz and Steven Kellogg’s How Much Is a Million? (HarperTrophy, 2004) helps little kids understand big numbers, making immense amounts immensely less scary.

• The rhyming puzzles and computer-generated images in Greg Tang’s Math for All Seasons (Scholastic, 2005) make it fun for grandchildren to practice working with patterns, grouping, and symmetry.

• Grandchildren will boost memory and shape-recognition skills while trying to beat you in this online game of Concentration.

What’s My Number? Write the numbers 1 to 20 on a piece of paper. Then tell your grandchild that you’re thinking of a secret number. When they guess, tell them if they are too high or too low. The goal is to discover the number in as few tries as possible. As you play, your grandchild can use beans or other markers to cover the numbers that have been ruled out.

Double Digit. Here’s a game to reinforce first-graders’ understanding of greater and lesser values: Prepare two game cards, one for you and one for your grandchild, each with two columns, one for “Tens” and the other for “Ones,” with empty boxes to fill in under each heading. Take turns rolling a die. After each roll, each player must write the number from the roll in either the tens or the ones column. The player that creates the highest number in each round gets a point and the first to five points wins the game.

Editor’s Note: Dale Beltzner has been a teacher, principal, and freelance educational writer for the past 30 years. He has worked in public and private schools in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. Dale currently teaches fifth grade in Coopersburg, Pa., and serves as the district’s elementary math subject leader.

We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Source Grandparants

AMILCAR ALAS

Case Type: Endangered Runaway
DOB:	Sex: Male
Missing Date: Aug 27, 2009	Race: White
Age Now: 13	Height: 5’8″ (173 cm)
Missing City: LEESBURG	Weight:120 lbs (54 kg)
Missing State : VA	Hair Color: Brown
Missing Country: United States	Eye Color: Brown
Case Number: USVAVA09-99
Circumstances:Amilcar was last seen on August 27, 2009 wearing a light blule tee-shirt and gray jeans. He may still be in the local area.

Missing Kids

BRITTANY LEE AHDOSY

Case Type: Endangered Runaway
DOB: Oct 7, 1993	Sex: Female
Missing Date: Oct 30, 2008	Race: Am. Ind.
Age Now: 15	Height: 5’7″ (170 cm)
Missing City: LAWTON	Weight: 183 lbs (83 kg)
Missing State : OK	Hair Color: Black
Missing Country: United States	Eye Color: Brown
Case Number: NCMC1110037
Circumstances:Both photos shown are of Brittany. She may use the alias name Shelby Lynn Moore.

Missing Kids

ALESSANDRA AVENDANO PALMER

Case Type: Family Abduction
DOB: Oct 13, 2005	Sex: Female
Missing Date:Mar 21, 2007	Race: White
Age Now: 3	Height: 2’0″ (61 cm)
Missing City: ORICK	Weight: 26 lbs (12 kg)
Missing State : CA	Hair Color: Brown
Missing Country: United States	Eye Color: Brown
Case Number: NCMC1107499
Circumstances: The children are missing from Orick, California. They may be in the company of their father and may have traveled to Mexico. Alessandra’s ears are pierced. Their mother has applied for the return of the children under the international civil treaty: The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. DO NOT PICK UP BASED ON THIS INFORMATION.

Missing Kids

OSCAR JAMES AVENDANO

Case Type: Family Abduction
DOB: Jun 28, 2002	Sex: Male
Missing Date:Mar 21, 2007	Race: White
Age Now: 7	Height: 3’11” (119 cm)
Missing City: ORICK	Weight: 40 lbs (18 kg)
Missing State : CA	Hair Color: Lt. Brown
Missing Country: United States	Eye Color: Blue
Case Number: NCMC1107499
Circumstances: The children are missing from Orick, California. They may be in the company of their father and may have traveled to Mexico. Alessandra’s ears are pierced. Their mother has applied for the return of the children under the international civil treaty: The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. DO NOT PICK UP BASED ON THIS INFORMATION.

Missing Kids

GAD-JUNIOR-ACOSTA-JIMENEZ

Case Type: Family Abduction
DOB: Jan 11, 2005	Sex: Male
Missing Date: Aug 21, 2008	Race: Hispanic
Age Now: 4	Height: 3’0″ (91 cm)
Missing City: HENDERSONVILLE	Weight: 40 lbs (18 kg)
Missing State : NC	Hair Color: Black
Missing Country: United States	Eye Color: Black
Case Number: NCMC1120903
Circumstances: Both photos shown are of Gad. He is missing from Hendersonville, North Carolina. Gad may be in the company of his mother. They are believed to be in Mexico. Gad may wear glasses. His father has applied for the return of the child to the United States under the international civil treaty: The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Do not pick up based on this information.

Missing Kids

YASMINE RAYON ACREE

Case Type: Endangered Missing
DOB: Oct 25, 1992	Sex: Female
Missing Date: Jan 15, 2008	Race: Black
Age Now: 16	Height: 5’1″ (155 cm)
Missing City: CHICAGO	Weight:125 lbs (57 kg)
Missing State : IL	Hair Color: Sandy
Missing Country: United States	Eye Color: Brown
Case Number: NCMC1088268
Circumstances: Both photos shown are of Yasmine. She was last seen at home on January 15, 2008.

Missing Kids

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