Numeracy Development
We start every morning with a book we call our Calendar Book. Calendar Books are individual student folders that each student works in every day. The first page of the book is a copy of a calendar for the month we are in where the students mark the day off and record special events. By doing this students are learning to read a typical calendar format and understand the concept of a week and month. The next page is a chart where students graph the weather. This is a great opportunity to work on graphing skills as well as reading and comparing data.
Once these two quick tasks are accomplished students turn to a new page in the book and start writing equations that equal the number of the day. I provide students with a choice of 3 numbers to select from. Students then write equations that equal that number. For example if a child selects the number 10, he or she might write the following equations:
I assess the equations looking for a variety of operations and the complexity of the numeracy concepts applied. As the year progresses students become more and more creative in their equations and start seeking more advanced ways to get the answer. Students who are ready for a challenge will be introduced to multiplication and division. I typically call multiplication “groups of” and division “shared by” as these words have more meaning for the children.
Once these two quick tasks are accomplished students turn to a new page in the book and start writing equations that equal the number of the day. I provide students with a choice of 3 numbers to select from. Students then write equations that equal that number. For example if a child selects the number 10, he or she might write the following equations:
- 9+1=10
- 5+5=10
- 12-2=10
- 2+2+2+2+2=10
- 20-12+2=10
I assess the equations looking for a variety of operations and the complexity of the numeracy concepts applied. As the year progresses students become more and more creative in their equations and start seeking more advanced ways to get the answer. Students who are ready for a challenge will be introduced to multiplication and division. I typically call multiplication “groups of” and division “shared by” as these words have more meaning for the children.