Math Practice Standards

As part of the Standards for Mathematics, there is a set of 8 Mathematical Practices. These practices describe the abilities and skills all students should develop as they study mathematics. The main goals are to create problem solvers who understand mathematical concepts, explain and demonstrate their thinking, experiment with various strategies and relate math to the world around them.

Below you will find a description of each of the 8 Mathematical Practices in "kid-friendly" language, as they will be presented to your children.

1.Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them: When given a problem, I can make a plan, carry out my plan and check my answer.

BEFORE: Think about the problem. Ask myself, "Which strategy will I use?" Make a plan to solve the problem.

DURING: Don't give up! Stick to it! Ask myself, "Does this make sense?" Change my plan if it isn't working.

AFTER: Check my work. Ask myself, "Is there another way to solve this problem?"

2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively: I can use numbers and words to help me make sense of problems.

3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others: I can explain my thinking and respond to the mathematical thinking of others.

4. Model with mathematics: I can recognize math in everyday life and use math I know to solve problems.

5. Use appropriate tools strategically: I can use certain tools to explore and help me deepen my math understanding.

6. Attend to precision: I can be precise when solving problems and clear when I share my ideas.

Careful and clear mathematicians use: math vocabulary, symbols that have meaning, labels, units of measurement and calculations that are accurate and efficient.

7. Look for and make use of structure: I can see and understand how numbers and shapes are organized and put together as parts and wholes.

8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning: I can notice when calculations are repeated.