From the 1 & 2 Classrooms

From the 1 & 2 Classrooms

Calendars and Additive Thinking in Maths:

Students in Year 1 and 2 have been looking at calendars in Maths the last few weeks. We have been discussing how many months there are in a year, how many days in each month and if we have any calendars on display in our classrooms. 

We found examples of calendars in the daily calendar and birthday charts. 

We then looked at special events which happen in each month and began making a yearly calendar. Each month, students will be given a blank calendar page and need to fill in the month, dates and any special events which have occurred in that month. We used our birthday charts to find any student birthdays for that month and looked at what had happened in the classroom in January and February. We can't wait to begin filling out our March page this week and the other months as the year goes on! 

Make sure if there's a family birthday or event in your family that occurs in March to discuss with your child, then they can include in on their March page.

Along with calendars we have also been looking at how different activities take different amounts of time to complete. We brainstormed activities which could take 1 minute, 30 minutes, an hour or even a whole day! 

Year 1 and 2's have also been looking at different additive thinking strategies to help with counting to 20, counting by 2's, 5's and 10's, using 2 numbers to make 20 and 3 numbers to make 30. 

Here are some photos of students using 3 domino cards to make 20. We can see an example of 10+9+1=20 and 8+7+5=20. Students then had to find the matching domino card to their equation. 

How many different ways do you think you could use 3 numbers to make 20? Practice with students at home and see who can find the most ways!

Thank you for reading, 

Year 1/2 Teachers