We all look at modern curricula, textbooks, scope and sequence documents etc. and feel a bit overwhelmed. The Common Core State Standards initiative is one solution. It doesn't tell anyone how to teach or insist on specific content. It merely gives us a common set of skills with which students should be proficient at developmentally appropriate levels, or grades.
Even the Common Core can seem daunting if you dig too deeply at first. I would advise checking out the summary document on the website itself. You will find that the essential skills for each grade level are listed in focus documents that are incredibly simple to comprehend.
The Common Core Standards for math evolved from the NCTM Focal Points. For years these focal points formed a terrific guide for what needed to be mastered. They are based on recent research in how the mind processes math. This research has, I believe, fundamentally changed the way we teach mathematics.
We no longer believe that simply having procedural fluency is enough. Students today must understand what they are doing. I see this almost everyday in working with students at in algebra. some of my private clients attend schools which use ancient textbooks, heavy in language and complicated drills but little focus in the underlying concepts.
When we look at the evidence and milestones that students must achieve, consider investing additional time in teaching numeracy, construction and deconstruction of quantity for quantities up to and including ten, and of course, place value. Place value and the concepts underlying multiplication, division and fractions are essential. They simply must be done thoroughly. As important though is the way these concepts are introduced and developed. They cannot be rushed or taught procedurally for some test. They must be firmly placed and soundly developed to a level beyond familiarity.
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