Over the past several weeks we have been hard at work in our school's Math/Science/Technology Lab with Mrs. Smith. The children have worked together to solve a REAL LIFE problem for Mrs. Benz ~ What kind of books do kindergarten children prefer - fiction or nonfiction? After brainstorming a variety of ways to tackle the problem, children decided to invite all of the kindergarten classes to vote. Each kindergarten student had the opportunity to record his/her vote using the Smart Board. Our data showed that 49 kindergartners prefer nonfiction books while 33 prefer fiction. Children then used the Smart Board along with a program called Create-A-Graph to create graphs to present our data to Mrs. Benz. She was so impressed with our professional looking graphs!
But then Mrs. Benz came back to us with another problem: Which titles should be purchased for kindergartners to check out of the library? Children were given a choice of two fiction and two non-fiction titles. We were given the cost of each title and a "wallet" with $10 to spend. You would have been amazed at the teamwork and problem solving skills children demonstrated as they worked together to determine which books would be the best ones for Mrs. Benz to purchase. Impressive stuff from 5 and 6 year olds!
Out of the mouths of "babes" ~ here's what children had to say about their work:
* I'm a thinker!
* I'm even smarter than the Smart Board!
* I just used my math brain to figure it out.
* My table always has good ideas for solving problems.
* Everyone should read non-fiction so they can learn about real stuff.
* If you want to know the answer, you just keep thinking in your brain and then you'll know it!
* Now we've solved ALL of Mrs. Benz's problems!
What a pleasure to learn with your children!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I truly enjoyed working with you and your students. Given my upper elementary background, I was a bit concerned going into this project that some of the lessons planned might have been a bit too challenging. (adding four 2-digit numbers, creating and reading bar and circle graphs, working in small groups to solve problems, making decisions, etc.)But I happily discovered that your children were very successful. Children rise to meet the expectations set for them. You have high, yet achievable goals for these kids and you provide them with a learning environment that fosters their thinking, risk-taking, and collaboration. I'm looking forward to more visits by your class to the MST room!
What wonderful work from your kindergarten superstars! I am really impressed. Now if I could only "use my math brain" to properly balance my check book, then I'd be on track!
Post a Comment