I know that the newly adopted California Common Core Standards for Mathematics and English Language Arts are very different from what we have known as our standards in the past. Many parents have questions and are having a hard time with this transition, some have even suggested that the work is too easy or remedial for the students. While it may appear that students are doing work that they may have done in prior grades, let me assure you that there is a method to all of this. The goal of the Common Core Standards is to engage students in higher level thinking skills that they previously may not have been using.
In mathematics for example, the idea is to use more simplistic equations in order to teach to a deeper level of understanding. Students are being taught to be able to express how the process works and explain why the answers are what they are, rather than spending time trying to decipher the answer. Therefore, using equations where the answer is already known to students allows them to focus on and explain details about the how to work the problem and what strategies can be used. The new standards are moving away from memorization and the old "skill and drill" approach to math and toward a higher level of thinking that teaches students to analyze, synthesize, and explain their thinking.
Below are some documents that may help to explain these new standards further as well as a Common Core State Standards trace for mathematics by topic. I will post further math topics as we get to them.
In mathematics for example, the idea is to use more simplistic equations in order to teach to a deeper level of understanding. Students are being taught to be able to express how the process works and explain why the answers are what they are, rather than spending time trying to decipher the answer. Therefore, using equations where the answer is already known to students allows them to focus on and explain details about the how to work the problem and what strategies can be used. The new standards are moving away from memorization and the old "skill and drill" approach to math and toward a higher level of thinking that teaches students to analyze, synthesize, and explain their thinking.
Below are some documents that may help to explain these new standards further as well as a Common Core State Standards trace for mathematics by topic. I will post further math topics as we get to them.
ccsparenthandbook.pdf | |
File Size: | 2339 kb |
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glc4thgradecurriculum.pdf | |
File Size: | 1027 kb |
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