With the implementation of the Common Core Learning Standards, the way we teach and look at mathematics has changed. We now are focusing not only on basic computations, but the concepts and reasons behind the math. The new push is to have students, in all grades, gain a deeper understanding of the math that they are learning. It is no longer enough to know that 2 x 5 = 10, students must be able explain how they came to the answer of 10. They must be able to explain the process they took to obtain that answer both verbally and in written form. This new push can be challenging for some students. Often they are not comfortable explaining or justifiying their answers.
In order to help you better understand what your child needs to master by the end of the year, you can
click here to download the New York Common Core Math Standards for grades K-12.
Reviewing the standards that your child is responsible for both in their current grade and other grades allows you to better help them.
Once again we will be using the GoMath program. Throughout the course of the program your child will look at various concepts, work on tasks, both independently and with others, that will require them to think critically about various concepts. They will also be asked to have conversations with peers about their thinking and reasoning. Students will also work on explaining their work in written form while incorporating more math specific vocabulary into their responses.
We know that some of the concepts and the way we solve problems in the GoMath program may be new to you and different from the way you learned them in school. If you ever have any questions about something in the program we will be more than happy to help you better understand it, so you can better help your child. Also know that we are not against you showing your child a different way of solving a problem. Just understand that the way we show them in class will be the way they are evaluated on when taking tests in class. Some questions ask for a specific way of solving the problem and that way must be used. If a question is not asking for a specific strategy to be used, then the student can use whatever strategy they are more comfortable with to get the correct answer. Please make sure you encourage your child to read both the directions and question carefully to make sure they are answering the questions the proper way.
Throughout the year your child will also be expected to work on their fact fluency. Being able to compute quickly and efficiently will allow your child to easily work through the basic math of a problem. This will allow more time to critically think about the math reasoning behind that computation. In the beginning of the year your child will be reviewing their basic adding and subtracting facts. These are the basic facts from 1 - 20 in both addition and subtraction. Reviewing these facts nightly will prove to be beneficial in multiple ways. It will allow them to answer questions quicker and more efficiently, builds confidence in their ability, and will help them better understand concepts such as multiplication and division. These basic adding and subtracting facts will only be reviewed for a few weeks in the beginning of the year, then we will move on to the multiplication and division facts. In order for a child to be fluent in any type of computation they should be able to answer multiple problems within a few minutes. One way our school is working towards higher achievement in fact fluency is by giving quarterly fact fluency exams. These exams are given in every grade 4 times a year starting in September. Students will have to answer 50 questions and will be given 4 minutes to complete all questions. We do not expect every student to answer all questions at first, our hopes are that as the year goes on they will be able to answer more questions correctly than on the last exam. As a way to get your child ready for these exams we have a nightly math tracker for home work. This is where you can review these facts with your child using flash cards, online math games or any other way of studying their facts. Third grade is a transition grade this is why in the beginning of the year we ask that you only practice their addition/subtraction facts for homework. We will let you know once we start multiplication, please do not have your child practice these facts until we start them in class.
This year your child will be working on more intense word problems than in previous years. Word problems have become a huge part of the math curriculum. The word problems your child will be working with will be much longer and more complicated than in past years. In the past word problems may have only required one step in order to solve. Now students are required to perform multiple steps in order to obtain the answer. By the end of the year the steps needed to solve word problems can be a combination of any of the 4 operations (adding, subtracting, multiplication, and division). One of the hardest parts of solving these word problems is reading them and understanding what they are asking. Students often get confused after reading such a long problem. Once they are confused they are not able to solve the problem correctly. Throughout the year we will be working on using strategies to help students solve these difficult problems. These strategies are designed to help students break down a word problem and solve it correctly. It will help them look for key information and how to apply that information in the correct order.
Many of the word problems your child will see this year will be based on real life situations, this is often what cause confusion for many students. One way to help your child understand these complicated word problems is to give them as much real world experience as possible. Often the problems we see in class have to do with making packs and bunches of things, cooking & measuring, sharing things with groups of people equally, time & money. Talking to your child and explaining what is going on when out in stores, vacations or even when planning things at home will help give them this real word experience that will help them in the classroom.
All math homework that goes home will be either a review of past concepts or will be directly related to the work that was done in class that day. When completing the nightly homework please sit with your child and ask them to explain to you how they came to their answer, ask them what strategy they used to obtain their answer. Also ask to see the work, students must get in the habit of showing their thinking/work. This helps them see any possible mistakes when they are checking their work.
If you ever need help with any of the math concepts your child is working on please feel free to ask us, we are more than happy to help you help them!!