Bridges Student Work - Grade One

Sample One

Teachers at all grade levels recognize that sorting is an essential component of making sense of math. It is the first step in finding patterns, spotting trends, organizing data, and solving problems of all kinds. During Unit One of Bridges, children are guided in the direction of counting and comparing as they examine the buckets of bugs and bug cards. Their observations are then used to put objects into groups-things that belong together. Attention is focused on sorting collections by attributes such as size, design, texture, and color.

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Sample Two

Five of the units in Bridges in Mathematics, Grade One feature problem solving with picture problems. These problem solving activities are thematic, and are based on the big mathematical ideas of each unit. Unit one problems revolve around bugs, unit two uses sea stars and crabs, unit three utilizes lobster legs, unit four focuses on penguins, and unit six on farm animals. In each unit, children solve five to seven premade picture problems posed by the teacher. After the sample problems are posed and solved, students create their own picture problems for the class to solve. The following four problems were constructed by a child of mid-range math ability.

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Sample Three

Number Corner is an interactive calendar display where basic skills are introduced and reinforced throughout the year. First graders engage in an activity called Friday’s Figuring where they look at the calendar setup and figure out combinations that equal the day’s date. For example, January 20 might generate 18+2=20, or 5+7+7+1=20. Bridges utilizes calendar components such as magnetic tiles, hundreds grid, calendar grid, money, and Unifix cubes as pictorial representations that can lead to additional equations or counting patterns. Teachers working with Bridges report that students now realize that there are specific quantities involved in developing an equation, and their equations reflect this.

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