First graders are connecting their real world to their school world. A young child does not perceive separate segments of learning--it is all inclusive. To capitalize on this learning many studies are integrated and very active. So-o-o we got out of our seats, left the room in search of numbers everywhere. My students went on a number hunt, looking for numbers all over the school grounds.
The first suggestion was to visit the office. At first it looked like the only numbers in the office were the ones on the digital clock. The telephone was soon spotted and it became a general topic of interest. I soon heard conversations about their own telephone numbers. As the students were reciting their telephone numbers some were very careful to include the dash within the number! The students tried to determine the school's phone number but had difficulty determining which number belonged to the office. Mrs. Patton (one of our secretaries) explained that all the numbers belong to the school. "We have many phones all over the building so that when Mom calls she can get in touch with the school on one line and the nurse can be talking to another Mom on the other line." Mrs. Patton also showed us how the intercom works--the students were quick to see that there is a number beside each button on the intercom. The numbers represent the room numbers--our room number 3 was quickly found. As we were about to leave the office Katrina looked at the door and exclaimed, "I see numbers." There on the door was a giant calender with the dates for the entire school year. Our secretaries, Mrs. Baroni and Mrs. Patton, write the important events of the year on this calendar.
From the office we ambled out the front door and onto the walkway. Suddenly I heard a chorus of "I see numbers." They had discovered the school's cornerstone. While we were discussing what one-nine-six-six could mean Josh suddenly put it together and said "1966--that's a year!" A cornerstone discussion occured on the spot. Using stones as manipulatives, we discovered that our school is 30 years old.
We continued our walk through the parking lot until Devin yelled "Stop--I see numbers!" Sure enough, there were lots of numbers on the license plates of the teachers' cars. The license plates presented a perfect medium for a crayon rubbing. Materials were quickly gathered and students chose their special car to do this activity. (I had gotten permission from the owners prior to our number walk!) The students had fun with this crayon rubbing--some seemed surprised when the numbers began to appear through the paper. Later, back in the classroom they wrote about their numbers, compared them and placed them in sequential order.
As long as we were outside, I suggested that we look on the playground for numbers. Some students didn't think there were any numbers at all on our playground. At first glance the playground looked numberless until several students spied the hopscotch court. I suddenly discovered that many students did not know how to play this game. I gave a quick explanation/demonstration of the game as I played it. Of course they had to try out this new game!
As we were walking on the sidewalk ready to reenter our building the students looked up and saw numbers on a traffic sign. They knew that cars and buses have to go slow near the school. This prompted a discussion about our buses. Everyone was talking at once, telling me their bus numbers. I asked them why we have bus numbers. "We use bus numbers to tell the buses apart because they all look the same." One small voice said, "not all the drivers look the same!"
As we reentered the building we saw Bill (our custodian) measuring a piece of wood with a big tape measure. He explained that he uses numbers everyday from counting cans of paint to measuring pieces of tile.
As we walked quietly passed the library the students started to whisper numbers. I heard 345-355-352. I asked them what numbers were they saying. They answered that they were repeating their library numbers. In order to take a book out of the library they have to give their number to the librarian. She then scans the book so it is recorded under their name and number. The students' number will stay the same from kindergarten through sixth grade.
We were walking quietly by the classroom doors until numbers were discovered on each door. We had to check this out throughout our hallway. Sure enough all the doors had numbers on them. There also seemed to be a pattern of odd numbers on one side and even numbers on the other side. We checked out all 39 rooms and found that the entire school has the same pattern.
We had almost made it back to our room when we decided to check out the computer room. We found that each computer has a number on its keyboard and its monitor. Having a number on the computer reminds the students where they belong (like house numbers).
Returning to our classroom, we wrote a class story about our number hunt. We had found numbers everywhere!