Foundations of our Math Class

Math understanding is like a stair step. Understanding often builds on previous concepts and knowledge. Without a strong foundation of sturdy steps, ongoing math understanding could prove to be very difficult. That is why a strong foundation of math skills from previous years is so important!

Here are some areas I address to further strengthen mathematical foundations:

1. Students MUST have a fluent ability of math facts. They must be able to recall answers precisely and without hesitation. Math fact mastery in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division is a necessary goal in fourth grade. Students should already have mastered their addition, subtraction and basic multiplication facts, as these are standards relevant to third grade. We will be reviewing these skills with our Xtra Math program.

2. Students must also understand academic vocabulary terms. Academic vocabulary are words and terms typically found in academic areas, like our math book and state tests like ISTEP. Developing a rich math vocabulary will help students develop a deeper math understanding as well as perform better on state tests. Students will learn SEVERAL new academic terms this year in both English/Language Arts and math!

3. Students must have a strong conceptual understanding of the meaning of numbers. When students see a number, they must know how that number is constructed, what each place value piece means. For example, 4,459 means 4,000+400+50+9.