Mathematical Practices
The Standards for Mathematical Practice describe varieties of expertise that mathematics educators at all levels should seek to develop in their students. Encouraging these practices during this unit is important to consider as they support the strategies that are applied and the CCSSM that are targeted. As the students become aware of the practices they are using, they will become more proficient at using them consistently. The eight practices are as follows:
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. Students should start by explaining the problem to themselves and looking for entry points to its solution. Young students can rely on concrete objects and pictures to help conceptualize and solve a problem and answer the question “Does this make sense?”
Reason abstractly and quantitatively. When students look at a problem, they should be able to break it apart and show it symbolically, with pictures, or in any way other than the standard algorithm. Conversely, if students are working a problem, they should be able to apply the “math work” to the situation.
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. Students should be able to talk about math, using mathematical language, to support or oppose the work of others.
Model with mathematics. Students use math to solve real-world problems, organize data, and understand the world around them.
Use appropriate tools strategically. Students can select the appropriate math tool to use and use it correctly to solve problem.
Attend to precision. Students speak and solve mathematics with exactness and meticulousness.
Look for and make use of structure. Find patterns and repeated reasoning that can help solve more complex problems. For young students this might be recognizing fact families, inverses, or the distributive property. As students get older, they can break apart problems and numbers into familiar relationships.
Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. Keep an eye on the big picture while working out the details of the problem. You don’t want kids that can solve the one problem you’ve given them; you want students who can generalize their thinking.
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