~FREE Planning Template~Standards for Math Practices

Looking for a way to plan your math lessons through the Common Core Standards for Mathematical practices?

The Standards for Mathematical Practices "describe the varieties of expertise that mathematics educators at all levels should be developing" in our students. The Standards for Mathematical Practices might seem like the 'unnecessary' icing on the Common Core cake, but I think they are so important.

Because the standards often overlap in a given activity, I wanted to be able to describe one aspect of my math plan and check off multiple practices. This editable template allows you to draft related lessons or units and document the mathematical practices students are engaging in.
The document also includes one math lesson as an example of how you can use the template. (a 5th grade measurement conversion question)

If you have not yet started planning through the mathematical practices, I encourage you to start small. Take a look at the practices. Which ones do you already feel you implement regularly in your classroom? Which math practices do you think 'I know how to do that' or 'I do that in unit xyz"? Which math practices have you perhaps never placed too much of an importance on in your classroom? Of the practices you have rated yourself lower on, which are you most excited about delving more into?

I ask these questions because these are the questions my team has been asking ourselves all year. We knew that our Common Core math conversations had to be different and that a focus on relevancy and the mathematical practices would push us outside of our regular math teaching habits. One of our biggest focuses this year was "Modeling with Mathematics." We have pushed ourselves to consider models in all of our teaching units. (I am not professing that we have hit the mark with our practices, but for a first year implementation of the Common Core, I think we have really prioritized these practices and our students have an idea of what they are...next year can only be better!)

I would love to hear your thoughts, questions, and musings about the mathematical practices. And, if you haven't yet picked up my free Mathematical Practices Summary Document, head on over.

Math Practices Made Easy # 2

This is the second math practices made easy. If you missed the first one, you can find it here.

Today's teaching technique is one I found on the the teachingchannel.org. The teaching technique (routine graphic organizer) is called "Choose 3 Ways."

You can download the Choose 3 Ways word document from the teaching channel website. Check out the whole video below. This video is a solid example of how you could use the workshop model in math and I'm sure you will pick up on other useful techniques as you watch. Definitely worth the 5 minutes!

 

Math Practices Made Easy: Technique #1

Welcome to a new Life, Love, Literacy blog series, Math Practices Made easy. This series is inspired by the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practices. The Standards for Mathematical Practices are important because they "describe the varieties of expertise that mathematics educators at all levels should be developing" in our students. While we have specific standards in each domain at each grade level, we should be embedding the standards for mathematical practices in all that we do.

In this series, you will find a simple teaching technique, the math practices that the technique supports, and links to helpful videos and resources related to the technique. I hope you find simple ways to ensure that the mathematical practices are being incorporated into your math instruction.

Do you need a quick overview of the Standards for Mathematical Practices? Earlier this year, I worked to understand the Standards for Mathematical Practice. I created a free resource that summarizes the Standards for Mathematical Practice. (I needed this resource for myself to help me wrap my brain around the Standards for Mathematical Practice so I hope it is helpful to you too!)