Well Organized Website for Common Core Math

Common Core Math

Beth Sandbothe shared this incredible math website with us from Howard County Public School System. The school district has a page organized for each grade level for Common Core Math.  Each 1st-6th grade website includes:

• Planning for Mathematics
• Assessment Tasks by Standard
• Supporting Mathematics

The Kindergarten page is set-up a little differently than all the other grade levels, but it is also full of kindergarten math resources.  Take just a minute to check out your grade level page.  We promise it will be worth your time.  

Here are the links for each grade level:

Kindergarten   https://gradekcommoncoremath.wikispaces.hcpss.org/Kindergarten+Home

Grade 1           https://grade1commoncoremath.wikispaces.hcpss.org/Grade+1+Home

Grade 2           https://grade2commoncoremath.wikispaces.hcpss.org/Grade+2+Home

Grade 3           https://grade3commoncoremath.wikispaces.hcpss.org/home

Grade 4           https://grade4commoncoremath.wikispaces.hcpss.org/

Grade 5           https://grade5commoncoremath.wikispaces.hcpss.org/home

Grade 6           https://grade5aglcommoncoremath.wikispaces.hcpss.org/home

Thanks for sharing, Beth!

Standards of Mathematical Practice - One Practice at a Time

Mathematical Practices are embedded in every math lesson we teach.  The Standards for Mathematical Practice describe varieties of expertise that math educators at all levels (K-12) should seek to develop in their students.  These practices rest on important "processes and proficiencies" with longstanding importance in mathematics education.

Mathematical Practice #8

Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

What should students be able to do?

• See repeated calculations and look for generalizations and shortcuts.
• See the over all process of the problem and still attend to the details.
• Understand the broader application of patterns and see the structure in similar situations.
• Continually evaluate the reasonableness of their intermediate results.

Questions the Teacher Can Ask to Develop Mathematical Thinking:

• Can you explain how this strategy works in other situations?
• Is this always true, sometimes true or never true?
• How would we prove that...?
• What do you notice about...?
• What is happening in this situation?
• What would happen if...?
• Is there a mathematical rule for...?
• What predictions or generalizations can this pattern support?
• What mathematical consistencies do you notice?

Real Life Math Fails

I don't know about you, but when I go to a place of business and the person can't give me correct change, I get frustrated!  I don't want to put my students out into the world without real-world skills.

Using real-life examples of math fails will help increase student interest and get them thinking when they're out there in the real world.  Simply put math fails up on the Smart Board and ask students to explain the problem.  Take these for example:

I'll take one.  And then another one.  But not two, please. :-)

For the calorie counters out there, you might think twice...

How many nuggets do YOU see?

We all need a little swagger, right?  How much are you willing to pay for it?

Don't be fooled during your shopping trip on Black Friday!

Not 50%?  Huh...

Hey, big tipper!

What is it made of?

Every dollar counts!

That really is stealing, isn't it?

Standards of Mathematical Practice - One Standard at a Time

Mathematical Practices are embedded in every math lesson we teach.  The Standards for Mathematical Practice describe varieties of expertise that math educators at all levels (K-12) should seek to develop in their students.  These practices rest on important "processes and proficiencies" with longstanding importance in mathematics education.

Mathematical Practice #7

Look for and make use of structure.

What should students be able to do?

• Apply general mathematical rules to specific situations.
• Look for the overall structure and patterns in mathematics.
• See complicated things as single objects or as being composed of several objects.

Questions the Teacher Can Ask to Develop Mathematical Thinking:

• What observations do you make about...?
• What do you notice when...?
• What parts of the problem might you eliminate..., simplify...?
• What patterns do you find in ...?
• How do you know if something is a pattern?
• What ideas that we have learned before were useful in solving this problem?
• What are some other problems that are similar to this one?
• How does this relate to...?
• In what ways does this problem connect to other mathematical concepts?

Standards of Mathematical Practice - One Standard at a Time

Mathematical Practices are embedded in every math lesson we teach.  The Standards for Mathematical Practice describe varieties of expertise that math educators at all levels (K-12) should seek to develop in their students.  These practices rest on important "processes and proficiencies" with longstanding importance in mathematics education.

Mathematical Practice #6

Attend to precision.

What should students be able to do?

• Communicate precisely with others and try to use clear mathematical language when discussing their reasoning.
• Understand the meanings of symbols used in mathematics and can label quantities appropriately.
• Express numerical answers with a degree of precision appropriate for the problem context
• Calculate efficiently and accurately.

Questions the Teacher Can Ask to Develop Mathematical Thinking:

• What mathematical terms apply in this situation?
• How did you know your solution was reasonable?
• Explain how you might show that your solution answers the problem.
• What would be a more efficient strategy?
• How are you showing the meaning of the quantities?
• What symbols or mathematical notations are important in this problem?
• What mathematical language..., definitions..., properties can you use to explain...?
• How could you test your solution to see if it answers the problem?