Amanda Burnard - K-2 Instructional Coach
Primary Math Instruction at Indian River
IRCSD has adopted the New York State Mathematics Curriculum, EngageNY —also known as Eureka Math — which is a complete, PreK through 12 curriculum that carefully sequences the mathematical progressions into expertly crafted modules. A nationwide survey by the RAND Corporation found that 57% of elementary school and 47% of secondary teachers use Eureka Math or the version of this curriculum developed for EngageNY.org. This surpasses the use of any other curricula, particularly at the elementary level where the next most popular curriculum is used by just 32% of teachers.
How can I help my child succeed?
You may notice that at the primary level, your child may or may not be bringing home homework. Today's math is taught very differently from the way most adults learned. Some of what you see may seem confusing. The best way to help your child at home is by doing the math in everyday life with them and listening to how they are solving math at school. For example you may ask your kindergartner to sort coins by type. How many pennies, dimes, nickels, or quarters are there in each group? Your first grader will be able to count the dimes and pennies and tell their value. Your second grader will be able to tell the the total value of a given amount of coins.
Practice addition and subtraction or tell math stories. The following are the fluency requirements by grade level:
K - add/subtract 0-5
1 - add/subtract 0-10
2 - add/subtract 0-20
New York State Next Generation Mathematics Learning Standards
You Tube has many great videos that may help you to better understand what your son or daughter is learning about as young mathematicians. There is an accompanying video for most of the lessons in the curriculum and can be easily searched for by lesson.
For example, to find the first lesson in kindergarten use the search terms "Kindergarten Module 1 Lesson 1".