Math Empowers Parents
Middletown Township Public Schools
Grades K-2 ~ 3rd Trimester 2017-2018
Math Empowers Parents, Grades K-2 is a newsletter for parents of children in Kindergarten through second grades. Each publication will include information on how parents can support and foster the love of math at home.
What is Number Sense?
18 x 5
Summer Dreambox Challenge
This summer's DreamBox Challenge is all about growth! Persevere through the tough lessons and grow your brain this summer! The school with the greatest growth percentage wins the Summer DreamBox belt! The competition runs July 8 through September 1.
Math Learning Loss During Summer
"On average, students lose approximately 2.6 months of learning in math over the summer — and teachers have to give up weeks of class time, or more, to make up for that loss." Read this short article to find out different ways to prevent this math learning loss.
Summer Themed Math Read Alouds
Shaping Up Summer
As young readers journey into the natural world, they discover numbers, patterns, shapes — and much more! — can be found in everyday plants and animals. What if animals and plants knew math, just like us? Would spiders draw pictures in their webs? Would narwhals sort blocks of ice by shape? Would insects know what’s above and what’s below? In Shaping Up Summer, the final title in the Math in Nature series, nature comes to life to help children grasp concepts of geometry, symmetry, and spatial sense. This interactive, poetic, and artful picture book series is an enticing way to introduce math to young readers — they will laugh, use their imaginations, and learn through activities inspired by the books.
One Watermelon Seed
In this deceptively simple counting book, Max and Josephine tend their garden while readers follow along, counting from one to ten as the garden is planted. Then readers can count in groups of tens as the garden is harvested, while they search through the pictures for the many small animals that are hiding throughout. A concise and clever text introduces color and rhythm, and the illustrations are bright and engaging, making this a perfect counting book for children aged four to seven.
Ten Flashing Fireflies
A beautifully illustrated story in which there are 10 fireflies at night and two friends are collecting them. Every time one firefly is collected in their jar, this is one less in the sky.In the book, ten fireflies are flying around in the night sky, and one by one they are caught and put in the jar. Through the pages in the book, students see all the combinations for making ten (0 + 10 = 10, 1 + 9 = 10, etc.). The book suggests acting out the story: nine fireflies in the sky and one in the jar–nine and one make ten.
Math Fun in the Sun!
Seashell Sorting and Counting
While at the beach, collect all different types of shells. Children can sort by different attributes - color, size, shape, etc. Discuss the various attributes and how the shells are sorted. Then, count and add the number of shells in the groups to find totals. As well, find the difference between the number of shells in groups using subtraction.
Even and Odd Beanbag Toss
Attach different numbers to beanbags for sorting into buckets. Label two buckets, even and odd, then have the children toss the numbered beanbags into the correct bucket. As the children play the game, encourage them to justify their choice and explain why the number is even or odd.
Puddle Jumping
This game can be adapted to many different levels. Use blue construction paper and a black marker to make "puddles" with numbers. The numbers can be 1-20 for number recognition and counting. The numbers can be multiples of 10, or they can go past 20. Set the puddles out on the ground (tape can be used to secure them in place) and let the children jump. They can jump from number to number in order if working on number sequence. They can jump on called out numbers if working on recognition. They can jump on sums/differences if calling out addition/subtraction facts. Or they can jump on numbers based on clues like "2 more than 14" to work on more and less.
Dreambox Adventure Friend Checklist
In the Dreambox K-2 Environments, students complete lessons in the Adventure Park with the help of Stella. They are invited to play through four themed stories (Pirates, Pixies, Dinosaurs, and Pet Friends).
While working on lessons, students earn tokens and discover Adventure Friends based on their current theme. The tokens can be spent on math-based games in the Arcade. Use the checklist attached below to keep track of the Adventure Friends over the summer!
While working on lessons, students earn tokens and discover Adventure Friends based on their current theme. The tokens can be spent on math-based games in the Arcade. Use the checklist attached below to keep track of the Adventure Friends over the summer!
Lisa Cashin
Elementary Mathematics Specialist
Leonardo Elementary School
Catherine Woodle
Elementary Mathematics Specialist
Fairview and Lincroft Elementary Schools