December

Dear Families, 


December is a very fast and busy month, for you and here at school.  Just to keep you posted on what is going on here at school, I am listing some important and exciting upcoming events and dates.  During the month of December we will be learning about different holiday traditions!  We will be studying Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas.  Everyone is already excited and anticipating the holiday season in our classroom.  We will be planning a holiday party the week before Christmas break, I will send home a notice concerning this event at a later time.  Report cards will be coming home shortly, if you have any concerns or questions about your child's grades please call or send me an e-mail and we can set up a meeting.  


December Dates:


December 2nd - Rick Charette Concert 
December 7th - Early Release
December 9th - Report Cards come home!!
December 14th - Holiday Concert at 2:00
December 23-January 2nd - Christmas break

Math Games

Addition Top-It

Materials: 

Deck of Cards A-9.  Mark Ace as 1.

Objective:

To collect the most cards

Directions:

One player shuffles the cards and deals the cards to the players

Each player turns over 2 cards and calls out the sum of the numbers.  Players check each other’s work.

The player with the greatest sum takes all the cards.  In case of a tie, each player turns over 2 more cards and calls out the sum.  The player with the greater sum takes all of the cards.  Cards are placed on the bottom of the winners deck.  

Play ends when a player is out of cards.

Beat the Calculator

Materials:

Deck of cards A-9.  Mark Ace as 1.

Calculator

Objectives:

To beat the calculator in finding the answer to an addition fact

Directions:

 One player is the ‘brain’, one is the ‘calculator’, and one is the ‘caller’.

One player shuffles the cards and places them with the numbers face-down.

The caller draws 2 cards from the number deck and asks for the sum of the 2 numbers.

The calculator solves the problem using a calculator.  The brain solves it without a calculator.  AS soon as a player has found the sum, he or she says it aloud.  The caller decided who got the correct answer first.

Players trade roles every 10 turns or so.

Coin Dice

Materials:

60 pennies

12 nickels

6 dimes

2 dice

Objective:

To have more money than the other players

Directions:

Players put all the coins in a bank.

Players take turns.  For each turn, player rolls both dice and takes as many pennies from the bank as the total number on the dice.

As the end of each turn, a player makes any possible exchanges form the bank- 5 pennies for 1 nickel, 5 pennies and one nickel for a dime, 2 nickels for a dime, or 10 pennies for a dime.

To pick up the last pennies, the total number on the dice must match the total value of the remaining coins.

The winner is the player who has more money.

Dice Roll and Tally Game

Materials:

Game Master

1 die

Objective:

To be the first player to have 5 tally marks next to each of the numbers 1 - 6

Directions:

 Players take turns rolling a die and putting a tally mark next to the appropriate number on their tally chart.

The first player to have at least 5 tally marks next to each number is the winner.

Variation: Players take turns rolling the die for 3 minutes.  Before they begin, have them predict which number or numbers will come up most often.

Digit Game

Materials:

Deck of cards A-9. Mark A as 1.

Objective:

To collect more cards than the other player

Directions:

One player shuffles the deck and places it with the numbers face down.

Each player draws 2 cards form the deck and uses them to make the largest number possible.

The player who makes the larger number takes all the cards.

The game is over when all of the cards have been used.

Fact Power Game

Materials:

Game Master 51

1 die

1 crayon per player

Objective:

To have the greatest number of marked spaces

Directions:

Player 1 rolls the dice and moves that number of spaces on the game board, following the arrows.  

When players land on a space, they say the sum.  The other players in the group check the answer.  If it is correct, the player marks the space with his color.  Once a space is marked, it is skipped over by the other players.  

The player with the most spaces marked, is the winner.

High Roller

Materials:

2 dice

Objective:

To roll the highest number

Directions:

One player rolls the dice.  The player keeps the die with the larger number and throws the other die again.

The player counts on from the number rolled on the first die to get the sum of the two dice.  

Each player repeats steps 1 and 2.  the winner is the player with the highest number after 2 rounds.

Penny-Nickel-Dime Exchange

Materials:

1 die

20 pennies

10 dimes

10 nickels

Objective:

To collect more dimes than the other players

Directions:

Players put all the coins into the bank.

Players take turns rolling the die and collecting the number of pennies from the bank that matches the number rolled.  Whenever a player acquires 5 or more pennies, he or she needs to make an exchange.  Whenever a player has at least 2 nickels or 1 nickel and 5 pennies, he or she needs to exchange the coins.

The game ends when there are no more dimes in the bank.  The player with more dimes is the winner.

Tic-Tac-Toe Addition

Materials:

Game Master 150 (or create your own game board)

Objective:

To find the sum of 3 numbers

Directions:

Players use the 4 number grids at the top of the record sheet.  

They draw a straight line through 3 numbers on a grid if they equally the sum in the square.  There is more than one combination for each sum.

Variation: Players make up their own puzzles using the blank grids on the bottom of the record sheet.

Turn Around Facts Game

Materials:

Game master 155

2 dice

20 pennies

Objective:

To collect more pennies than the other players

Directions:

Players take turns.  At each turn, a player does the following:

Rolls the dice and finds the total number of dots on the 2 dice.

Writes the total in the appropriate box in the table, then writes the sum in the ox for the turn around fact, if there is one.

Takes 1 penny from the bank for each box in the table he or she has filled in.      

         If the box has already been filled in, the player takes no pennies from the bank    

             and loses the turn.

         The game is over when all the pennies have been taken.  The player who took   

             more pennies wins.

Spelling

November  7, 2011

Dear Families,

Because the week of the 7th and the week of the 21st are short weeks we will be switching things around.  So as to not lose ground with the consistency of spelling we will be having this weeks spelling test on the 15th and the week afters test on the 22nd.  Please practice these words with your child.