Kindergarten has been working hard at making observations about different numbers. We've been working hard at decomposing numbers, recognizing patterns, & skip counting. We have recently been learning about odd and even numbers. I really wanted the kids to understand WHY a number is even or odd.
Today we were introduced to two new friends that go by the names of Even Steven & Odd Todd. Well, Even Steven LOVES for everything to be fair and equal. Whenever he brings in a snack or treat for the class, he wants everyone to have the same amount. He doesn't like hurt feelings or for friends to feel left out. He always likes for his right hand to hold the same amount as his left hand. Well, Odd Todd isn't quite the same. He just doesn't care. He likes when his left hand holds more than his right hand. He doesn't care if all of his friends get the same amount. He doesn't mind when things aren't equal or fair. The kids agreed that Odd Todd didn't sound like quite a good friend.
I really wanted the class to understand this concept. We are definitely a visual class (myself included). We used mini erasers and I grabbed a small handful. We counted the erasers out on a plate. I then asked the class how we could decide if the number was Even or Odd. Hands went flying up! "Count them again!" "Put them in their hands!" "Make sure each hand has the same!"
Wow. I was blown away. The kids were problem solving right in front of my eyes. They were so engaged & I could see their little brains working up a storm. I had volunteers come up & do the next step. They placed an eraser in one hand, then the next eraser in the other hand (& so on). When we were left with one eraser their eyes got big. What should we do?? Kids were raising their hands at the chance to solve the problem. Some suggestions were to put the eraser back in the container. "But what about our number? It was 19. If we take one away what number is that now?"
After a few tries we realized that the 19 erasers would go to Odd Todd because he likes things to be all mixed up and not equal. They realized that one hand had 10 while the other had 9. That just wasn't going to work for Even Steven!
They had a blast in math today. Tomorrow we will be working in pairs to see if we have an Even Steven amount of candy corn or an Odd Todd amount. Then we get to eat them and enjoy!!
Today we were introduced to two new friends that go by the names of Even Steven & Odd Todd. Well, Even Steven LOVES for everything to be fair and equal. Whenever he brings in a snack or treat for the class, he wants everyone to have the same amount. He doesn't like hurt feelings or for friends to feel left out. He always likes for his right hand to hold the same amount as his left hand. Well, Odd Todd isn't quite the same. He just doesn't care. He likes when his left hand holds more than his right hand. He doesn't care if all of his friends get the same amount. He doesn't mind when things aren't equal or fair. The kids agreed that Odd Todd didn't sound like quite a good friend.
I really wanted the class to understand this concept. We are definitely a visual class (myself included). We used mini erasers and I grabbed a small handful. We counted the erasers out on a plate. I then asked the class how we could decide if the number was Even or Odd. Hands went flying up! "Count them again!" "Put them in their hands!" "Make sure each hand has the same!"
Wow. I was blown away. The kids were problem solving right in front of my eyes. They were so engaged & I could see their little brains working up a storm. I had volunteers come up & do the next step. They placed an eraser in one hand, then the next eraser in the other hand (& so on). When we were left with one eraser their eyes got big. What should we do?? Kids were raising their hands at the chance to solve the problem. Some suggestions were to put the eraser back in the container. "But what about our number? It was 19. If we take one away what number is that now?"
After a few tries we realized that the 19 erasers would go to Odd Todd because he likes things to be all mixed up and not equal. They realized that one hand had 10 while the other had 9. That just wasn't going to work for Even Steven!
They had a blast in math today. Tomorrow we will be working in pairs to see if we have an Even Steven amount of candy corn or an Odd Todd amount. Then we get to eat them and enjoy!!