I saw my first groups today and had a chance to read That is NOT a Good Idea by Mo Willems to two kindergarten classes today. I will read the same book to the other two kindergarten classes on Thursday.

In fourth grade math, students started with an activity called Four 4s. Students must find every number between 1 and 20 using only four 4s. For instance, 4+4+4+4=16 or 4/4 +4/4=2. It’s a pretty challenging task, but really requires students to think about numbers flexibly. We’ve only just started this activity, though it will be blended with additional back to school activities over the next week or so.

Third grade reading started out by checking out the new books in my library. Most students left with 1-2 books to read. Some left with books that are likely not “just right” fits for them, but I think the will likely figure that out sooner rather than later. In every one of those cases, students left with books that I think may be a little too long for them at this point in the year. We talked a little about the books they like to read and some of what they did this summer.

Fourth grade reading also started by checking out new books in my library. There was also some cheering as students were reminded they could now read books in the “Fourth Grade Only” bin. I do my best to ensure that students are reading books that are appropriate for them, but as they get older that gets a little harder to manage as students mature at different paces. If your child comes home with a book that you feel is inappropriate, please let me know and I will have a conversation with your child about picking good fit books.

In third grade math, students will be working with the concept of equal groups. While they have started working on the concept of multiplication in their math classes, this pushes their understanding of multiplication by tying it to the concept of division. Students will have to determine all of the different ways they can share 36 crackers. Once they are sure they’ve managed that, they must then look for patterns in their answers and we will discuss how this relates to multiplication and division. This is an activity that will take quite a few days, but will really help students to build a solid conceptual understanding of what is going on as they multiply and divide.