After a great Thanksgiving break, K3 is gearing up for the December month by studying gingerbread men! This has to be one of my favorite units to teach, because there is so much learning that goes on in all the content areas. We started the week off by reading the traditional folktale, The Gingerbread Man. The book that I had did not have an author listed, so we talked about why we think the author isn't on the cover. In a folktale, a story is told orally and can sometimes be changed to teach a specific lesson. After reading, we recorded information on our Gingerbread Comparison chart. Throughout the week, we read and discussed characters, setting, problems, and solutions in the stories we read. It was AWESOME to see the kindergarteners find similarities and differences in the books, and to apply the lessons in real life situations! On Friday, we reviewed all the stories one last time. The kindergarteners wrote in their journals about their favorite gingerbread story that was read, and why it was their favorite. We talked about how this kind of writing is our own opinion, so it is okay to write what you want! In math, we completed many fun tasks! We started with going deeper into addition problems. We just completed our learning of the "+1" method, so we went further, and used higher numbers (1-6). The kids partnered up, and rolled a die. The first partner wrote one number and drew buttons on the cookie, while the second partner did the same with the second number. Here are a few pictures of the fun and learning that happened with addition! The following day we talk about units of measurement. We talked about measuring how tall objects are, how long objects are, and how big objects can be. We also talked about estimation, and how it helps us determine where to start when measuring objects. I took a gingerbread cut out, and modeled to the kindergarteners how to find the perimeter (the outside measurements) and the area (the inside measurements. We talked about making reasonable estimations, and to my surprise, many of the kids were incredibly close to their estimations! We recorded both estimations and measurements and discussed when and where we could find the perimeter and area. During centers, I held a "Gingerbread Store," to support the kindergarteners with addition using pennies. I modeled to the kids how we needed to buy items to make real gingerbread men, including the the cookie, frosting, and treats that can be used for the eyes, nose, mouth and buttons. Each student got a bag of paper pennies, and bought their items. Some were only $0.01, while other were $0.02 or $0.03. They had to find how much it cost if they were to buy more than one of a treat. We even talked about going to store and buying things. If we didn't have enough, we would put it back. We get money from jobs and the bank, which helps us buy things from the store. It was so powerful!!! At home, I baked gingerbread cookies, made frosting, and bought supplies for the decorating. On Friday, we celebrated our learning by decorating our gingerbread men with the things bought from Gingerbread Store! The kids had so much fun, and LOVED eating their creations.
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January 2018
AuthorI sing, dance, and laugh my way through life! I love to teach, but my desire is to always learn more. I am truly blessed with the life I have! Categories |