In like a lamb!

     This week we spent a LOT of time assessing for parent teacher conferences and second trimester grades for report cards!   You may have noticed when very little mail came home this week!   But we took some time out of our busy week to discuss the old saying "March comes in like a lion, but goes out like a lamb".   Each child had the opportunity to make their prediction about how they thought the weather would 'come in' on March 1st on two graphs.   One graph was a horizontal graph, the other a vertical graph.   Most of the time, kids are familiar with the vertical graph, but it is important to be able to gain information from many types of graphs.   Many questions can be asked once the graphs are completed, such as 'which column had the most?', 'which had the least?'   'How many more in this column than the other one?' 'How many fewer?' and many more.   These types of questions are very important for working in math language encountered in future grades and on district and state assessments.   I like to start off asking the class what they notice about the graphs.  I am always pleasantly surprised at the many things they can tell and the math language they use!  
     The day would not be complete without a cute art project to reinforce the concepts learned.   They made lion/lamb faces to hang in our classroom!   Watch your head when you visit next week for parent teachers conferences or you may run into a lion!   Ask your child if their prediction was correct on our graphs!   March definitely came in like a lamb this year!   Enjoy the sunshine and long weekend!

Vertical graph

Horizontal graph

Paper plate lion/lamb project