As a math instructor and coach, I have found the implementation of the Common Core State Standards to be very beneficial to teaching and learning. Yes, they are challenging; but because of the rigor, we, as teachers, are forced to dig deeper, teach more conceptually, and be especially careful not to be satisfied with memorization and regurgitation.
I particularly love the Standards for Mathematical Practice because they encourage students to look for relationships between and amongst numbers and to think and act flexibly with topics and concepts. In short, students begin to discover their identities as mathematicians.
As crucial as the Standards for Mathematical Practice are for students, it can be confusing at times when and how to insert them into the daily lesson. I wanted to find a way to help.
With the assistance of Frankie Robinson (The Educator’s Book Club), I returned to my research in numeracy and noticed many commonalities between the reading comprehension strategies and the expectations presented in the Standards for Mathematical Practices. There is a common language across the disciplines when it comes to critical thinking, and when we explicitly teach it as a means to deeper understanding, we offer the potential for students to learn how to think in any circumstance.
We created posters describing how a mathematician can use the same reading strategies to think more like a mathematician. The posters include the Standards for Mathematical Practice and offer a common language for critical thinking, which we believe is a recipe for success.
We wanted to share them with you.
Margie Pearse / July 9, 2015
Thank you, Daniel, for your thoughtful response.
I too am grateful for having this forum to share and learn such good instructional practices.
Thanks again!
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Daniel McKee / July 7, 2015
I appreciate Mrs. Pearse’s efforts in contributing such fine insights in linking reading comprehension to mathematical achievement. It’s great that Corwin provides a forum for sharing her professional work.
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