What is it?

Just like there is literacy in reading, there is literacy in Mathematics. Math literacy allows people to move through everyday life using numbers and processing those numbers with daily finance, at the grocery store, home improvement projects, etc. In order to develop that fluency, children need access to mathematical resources and strategies.

Access to Math in the elementary level is about being able to play with numbers and explain your process. This means that Mathematical thinking is brought into everyday life.

Research Statement

Research indicates that all students can learn mathematics when they have access to high-quality mathematics instruction, challenging curriculum, innovative technology, exciting extracurricular offerings, and the differentiated supports and enrichment necessary to promote students' success (Burris, Heubert, & Levin, 2006; Campbell, 1995; Education Trust, 2005; Griffin, Case, & Siegler, 1994; Knapp et al., 1995; Silver & Stein, 1996; Slavin & Lake, 2008; Usiskin, 2007)

Resource Considerations

• This is a great time to reinforce your student's understanding that math is everywhere! Here are some ideas Math is Everywhere!

• Tech Free Activities: Fun ways to do Math Thinking

• Hands-On Challenges for the entire family: Figure This! Math Challenges for Families

• Have an active child? Try out 22 Active Math Games and Activities for Kids Who Love to Move

• Using music and song for learning: Teaching Math with Song

What is it?

Agency is the idea that I CAN do Math. Often, by mid to late elementary, students have already decided if they are a “Math person” or not. By doing activities that do not look like traditional math, we provide the students with the power to take control of their math learning.

Research Statement

Research on children’s early learning shows that an engaging and encouraging climate for children's early encounters with mathematics develops their confidence in their ability to understand and use mathematics. These positive experiences help children to develop dispositions such as curiosity, imagination, flexibility, inventiveness, and persistence, which contribute to their future success in and out of school (Clements & Conference Working Group, 2004).

Resource Considerations

• Math games are a way to allow students to choose what they do while still working on some fluency

  • Math Playground

  • CoolMath for Kids

• Fun 4 the Brain: Math Games

• Math at Home Toolkit | NAEYC

• Explore Learning

• National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

• 3 Act Math is an approach that sets a question to the students first. This website provides the resources to do some of these challenges at home.

What is it?

More complex math problems or doing math over a time frame means that children need to be developing fluency with the skills and having strategies for organizing problems are two great ways to develop that stamina.

Research Statement

Practice should be brief, engaging, purposeful, and distributed (Rohrer, 2009). Too much practice too soon can be ineffective or lead to math anxiety (Isaacs & Carroll, 1999). Statement from NCTM

Resource Considerations

1. Create a plan and set goals

2. Create a project that requires the use of multiple skills.

   • One example: Let’s build a butterfly garden. This requires measurement, sorting, and moneysense for the budget and purchase

3. Developing math fluency websites

2. • • Woot Math provides step-by-step support for practicing solutions

     • Math 4 Raft Race

     • Zearn Math: Top-rated math program- Parents and students can use for practice and students earn badges to level up.

     • Prodigy | Fun math learning platform for kids - Game play that also addresses Math ideas

     • Calculation Nation® - Strategy instruction and practice though games

     • Mr. Elementary Math provides many games, activities and strategies for engaging with math

     • eSpark Learning- Engaging activities around Math and Science

What is it?

Math talk is talking about the processes of solving a problem as you do it.

Math is not just numbers. The thinking that goes into the Math is very important. By talking through the processes and what they are thinking as they do math, we can discover that they had really good thinking, just mis-applied in this situation. We affirm their Math agency and allow them to better understand the concepts they are developing.

Research Statement

Current research suggests that [mathematical] discussion can increase student learning, motivate students, support teachers in understanding and assessing student thinking, and shift the mathematical authority from teacher (or textbook) to community (NCTM, 2018)

Resource Considerations

• Relate Math to real life situations

• Math at our house

• How to Increase Math Talk with Your Kids

• Games you can play and talk about math (each game has instructions on the play and what it is covering)

• STEM activities: This list has different hands-on activities you can do and talk through with your child.

• Use a video tool like Flipgrid or Seesaw for your child to record what they are thinking as they solve a problem