Sorting: The concept of noticing

I began our maths learning this year with sorting. The idea is that students will begin to see differences and attributes that objects have in common. Without the skill of 'noticing', I believe maths can be extremely difficult for students. We have started sorting by using a variety of things, many which would easily be found in a classroom.

The group of students working with these counters were so engaged, they chose to continue working until they had sorted the whole container of counters.

 This student sorted these cartoon monsters by how many eyes they had. Other students sorted them by the expression on their face, number of legs etc. You can download these monsters here.

We collected objects from outside and this student sorted them by texture e.g. dry leaves, soft leaves, sticks.

Other ideas for sorting are (objects that may have more than one attribute)

• bottle lids
• jars
• bread tags
• popsticks
• straws
• pipe cleaners
• receipts
• small boxes
• photographs
• pieces of material
• student names
• letterheads
• company logos e.g. from brochures/catalogues 

Making in the Studio

Every day after lunch my studio and the neighbouring studio, PLAY. There are so many opportunities for learning and conversation, which when you teach an EALD class, you want to encourage as much as possible. One of the choices children have is to make. Last term our making materials and tools were probably not presented in the most appealing way and children were less interested. This term I have noticed more students choosing to be creative, which has been great for practicing those fine motor skills e.g. cutting, folding, taping, gluing.

Ideally I would love clear trays or boxes and do away with the need for labels, but we have made use of the storage we have. 

Small making materials are stored in old coffee jars.

Some children are struggling to find their own creativity and need some inspiration. For those students we have taken an old notebook and glued in pictures of what other children have made or found some photos online. 

Storage is still a problem and big boxes are stored in the hallway while smaller materials are stored in the trays. 

I would love to see your making areas and continue to improve ours as the year goes on. 

Happy making :)