Rockford Public Schools believes that all students are able to learn and understand math at high levels. The mathematics program is designed so that every student has access to and is successful with rigorous mathematics. It demands that students develop a depth of understanding and ability to apply mathematics to real-life situations as college students and employees do on a daily basis. 

In prekindergarten through grade 8 mathematics, the standards lay a solid foundation in whole numbers, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, and decimals. Students develop understanding of concepts, procedures, and applications of mathematics. Elementary students develop a fluid and flexible use of numbers and operations. Taken together, these elements support a student’s ability to learn and apply more demanding mathematics concepts and procedures in middle and high school.

In High School, math classrooms focus on authentic problem solving, problem solving in teams, and mixed spaced practice.  Learning essential mathematics as a need that arises from problem solving and collaboration makes important concepts and procedures more valuable and memorable.  These classrooms also provide teachers and students the path away from the rote memorization of checklists of discrete facts, toward the mathematics defined and outlined in the Illinois State Standards for Mathematics.  

Rockford Public School’s mathematics programs calls on students to practice applying mathematical ways of thinking to real world issues and challenges; they require students to think and reason mathematically. Children mature mathematically at different paces, throughout each grade level, and demonstrate various levels of implementation of the eight mathematical practices. These behaviors develop over time and often emerge during certain learning activities and through the study of specific, critical mathematics topics and standards.

Students of mathematics have daily opportunities to develop how to think and reason mathematically. They develop behaviors of mathematically proficient students who:

• 1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

  2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

  3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

  4. Model with mathematics.

  5. Use appropriate tools strategically.

  6. Attend to precision.

  7. Look for and make use of structure.

  8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

The RPS curriculum is researched and written by Rockford teachers and is designed to provide students a thorough grounding in essential knowledge and skills that will give them a leading edge in tomorrow's global environment. Our curriculum challenges students to develop inquiry skills, solve problems, innovate, collaborate, communicate effectively, and achieve goals.

The RPS curriculum is aligned to the New Illinois Learning Standards. These standards for literacy and mathematics education resulted from a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The Standards were developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators and experts, to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce.

RPS Curriculum is:

1. Deep: Mastery of essential skills is emphasized at each level, so students build the skills and confidence to tackle more advanced concepts.

2. Broad: Instruction crosses content areas – for example, science and social studies curriculum incorporates reading, math, and writing skills.

3. Relevant: Classroom lessons are reinforced through hands-on activities and real-world experiences.

4. Active: Students learn by exploration, using creativity, critical thinking and analysis to discover answers to problems, and practice collaboration and effective communication. 

Students talking and collaborating should occur often every day during math, not just at one particular time (during number talks, problem solving, partner work, games, etc., kids are talking about the math). They should be reasoning, explaining, modeling, comparing, justifying- being a mathematician. More info in the Standards for Mathematical Practice.

The Elementary Math Framework and Middle School Math Framework allot 5-10 minutes for a short activity every day for students to practice computational strategies. This does NOT have to be at the start of your math block, though that is most common.  If you have a 10 minute gap in your schedule, use that time to engage students in an activity that allows THEM to think deeply, problem solve, develop strategies, communicate, reason and justify mathematical ideas. Number or Problem talks and strings are most commonly used during this time.  More info here.

A Number talk is displaying one problem or image to elicit many different strategies and models from the students (formative assessment).

A Number string is a set of related problems given in a particular order to lead students to a particular strategy (introduce & practice ONE strategy).

Standards of Practice (SoP)

QUALITY INSTRUCTION

We  prioritize active learning, safety, and relationships to help all students grow. 

Practice 3: Students build number sense to develop a fluid and flexible use of numbers and operations. 

Metric K-5: Observations reflect students’ use of flexible thinking and efficient strategies consistent with the Standards of Mathematical Practice. 

Computational strategies are the heart of number talks. It is a quick time of mental math practice for your students to focus on developing skills and strategies around math operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication or division).   These types of talks must be done a minimum of 3 days a week in order to give students time to practice strategies and use them fluently.  More info about strategies here.              

More information and resources:

SoP Look For document     poster        hand signals      Sentence Starters pdf     Spanish     Arabic

Number Talk strategies       Talk Moves pdf        More information       

Structuring your math block:   More information here

The Key Shifts in Mathematical Instruction focus on students learning through problem solving, not just solving problems. The Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMPs) describe varieties of expertise that mathematics educators at all levels should seek to develop in their students.  Your math block will reflect this by focusing on student-centered learning and discourse.

The CCSS shifted the focus, coherence, and rigor in the standards at each grade level.  Of the three shifts, rigor is most often misunderstood.  It is not going farther, faster or covering the next year's math standards, but instead is using mathematics to problem solve, making sense of math conceptually, and connecting conceptual understanding to procedural fluency.  All three of these are done with equal intensity.

"Key Shifts in Mathematics” https://achievethecore.org/page/900/college-and-career-ready-shifts-in-mathematics 

Math Frameworks:

Elementary Math Framework and Middle School Math Framework