By Darcie Steeves, 2nd Grade Teacher
“My mother made a chocolate cake! How many eggs did it take? 9, 18, 27, 36…”
Do you remember jumping rope as a child along to some sort of rhyme? Maybe you started with “Bubble gum, bubble gum, in a dish…” instead of a chocolate cake. The second graders have been working hard from their at-home “Second Grade Grottos” and are in the middle of a mathematics block. This week their morning warm-ups have included some Chinese Jump Rope activities to practice their 9’s times table. They are also making their own flashcards for games they can play to learn these foundational math facts.
The 9’s times table has many special discoveries that delight the children. First, like all the other times tables, it has a unique pattern that creates a geometrical design within a circle which has been divided into ten equal parts. Secondly, it has its own trick using just your ten fingers to solve a problem on the 9’s table. You can discover it for yourself here. Finally, on Monday the second graders will add one more “9’s secret” to their lesson book:
9 (0 + 9 = 9), 18 (1 + 8 = 9), 27 (2 + 7 = 9), 36 (3 + 6 = 9), 45 (4 + 5 = 9), 54 (5 + 4 = 9), 54 (5 + 4 = 9), 63 (6 + 3 = 9), 72 (7+ 2 = 9), 81 (8 + 1 = 9), 90 (9 + 0 = 9), 99 (9 + 9 = 18 –> 1 + 8 = 9), 108 (1 + 0 + 8 = 9)
Isn’t that wonderful?!
Earlier this week the students wrestled with division problems that didn’t work out exactly right—there was something leftover. In the math world this is called a “remainder.” I reminded my students that sometimes life is just like that. We try to make things equal for everyone, but sometimes it doesn’t work out just right. And, sometimes, what is fair for everyone doesn’t look equal at all! Perhaps remembering this life lesson is just as important as understanding how to calculate a remainder in the world of mathematics.
You may also be interested in…
- Click here to learn more about our 2nd grade curriculum.
- To take a virtual tour of our school, and to learn more about our curriculum and program openings, please contact our Admissions Director, Soni Albright, at admissions@clws.org – or click here to schedule a tour online.