If you homeschooled and then sent your child to PS, was it hard to adjust to Common Core?

[1GirlTwinBoys]

Was it hard for them to adjust to the way PS is teaching math?  Difficult transition if the math curriculum you were using wasn't CC aligned?

[Scrub Jay]

:lurk5:

[school17777]

Both of my girls repeated the math class that we had done at home the year they went to b&m school. It wasn't necessary, but it gave them confidence in math and has served them well. My son went on to the next math course, same as he would have done at home. He had no problem, but math is easy for him. There is a difference in learning with a teacher in the classroom than with video segments/out of a book and with mom, for my kids anyway.

[NorthwestMom]

We did Singapore math and when DD entered 3rd grade she was fine. DS did Singapore math for grade school, Abeka pre-Algebra, and Foerster Algebra, and did fine when he hit public school geometry. HTH.

[HSmomof2]

Ds and dd went to ps this year for 4th and 6th grades. Math has been ok.....ds in 6th grade has had trouble with ps writing expectations. We had done WWE 1-4, and he was not prepared for the writing required in ps. We are afterschooling to remediate that. Although there are so many things about ps we don't like (and Common Core has nothing to do with it), they are likely coming home next year.

[Word Nerd]

Common Core is a set of standards, and how they are implemented varies from one school to another. My DD's school switched from Saxon to a CC-aligned math program last year. Some of the terminology was different from what she was used to, but the teacher explained when it was just a different term for the same concept or strategy they learned previously. The biggest adjustment for DD was having to explain some answers in detail--not just showing her work but providing written explanations of her solutions. Some of the questions are poorly written and seem intentionally confusing, but that's a publisher/textbook writing issue, not a Common Core issue.

[redsquirrel]

Nope.  My son went from being homeschooled k-8 to public high school. He studied Algebra at home, took the state Algebra test as an 8th grader and was placed in geometry as a 9th grader. We used Singapore Math from k-6 and then AoPS pre-algebra in 7th and AoPS algebra in 8th.

 

CC isn't a method or a curriculum. It is a set of standards and expectations of what topics will be covered in what year. It's really not that big a deal.

 

Most of my friends who have sent kids to public elementary school say the biggest adjustment from homeschooling is the volume of writing. When you homeschool it is so easy to cover a topic orally with your kid. But a teacher with 19 kids needs them to do a lot of writing. They spend a lot of time filling in worksheets to show master of the topics.

 

 

[KathyBC]

We don't have common core, but to give a partial answer, the child who did not struggle with math at home does not struggle with math at school. The child who found it difficult at home finds it even more so with less one-on-one.

[Pawz4me]

No.  DS entered high school last year as a freshman after being home schooled from second through eighth grade.  It was the school's first year of using a CC aligned math.  DS placed out of Algebra 1/Math 1 and started in Math 2.  He had no problem whatsoever.

[grantmeawish]

My kids (2nd and 3rd) just started back at ps. The new math at ps is definently different. They both used singapore before. My 4th grader is ahead in math but the way they expect them to get the answer is different. We are working on it and he is doing well. However he has no idea how they are learning long division so he does it his way. I haven't noticed he is marked off for this. The way they use number lines is different and annoying as is the 4 step process for simple addition. The teacher allows my Dd to check her answer her way but must still use their method. Singapore was more more efficient I teaching mental math than whatever curriculum they are using.

Writing and grammar is a big adjustment for the 4th grader. Much more writing in ps and they are further along in grammer. It's no big deal as I teach him as they go. They are. Ugh doing well and probably close to the top of there classes.

They LOVE the social aspect of school. I am trying to be ok with the academics. I miss singapore and story of the world but we don't have time to after school 😔

[SparklyUnicorn]

Some of the features of "new" "cc aligned" math that I see people object to are things we have done at home for years. Number bonds being the most obvious example.

 

Same here. 

 

A lot of people are complaining about this, but when I ask for real examples of the "horror" they can't ever produce any examples. 

[ksr5377]

I looked at the Common Core approved math text of a friend's child and thought it seemed a lot like Singapore.  I can understand that the 'horror' comes from never being taught that way and then switching to it after years of something else.  I was NEVER taught the way my kids are with Rightstart and Singapore and I have learned so many things by teaching my kids, and my oldest is only in 3rd grade.  However, I think it would be next to impossible for me to start understanding Singapore at a 5th grade level if we just had to jump into it - which is what has happened with common core. 

[redsquirrel]

I looked at the Common Core approved math text of a friend's child and thought it seemed a lot like Singapore.  I can understand that the 'horror' comes from never being taught that way and then switching to it after years of something else.  I was NEVER taught the way my kids are with Rightstart and Singapore and I have learned so many things by teaching my kids, and my oldest is only in 3rd grade.  However, I think it would be next to impossible for me to start understanding Singapore at a 5th grade level if we just had to jump into it - which is what has happened with common core. 

 

you are right. And it doesn't have to be that way. My local school district took it upon themselves to switch to SM in preparation for the coming of CC.  There was a community discussion about how to do it. Should it be done all at once, across all grades 1-5? Or should it roll out year by year?  Both approaches have their pros and cons.  In the end it was decided to implement it all at once. The main reason was that if they used a year by year roll out the first year of students would always be having a 'new to Singapore' teacher.

 

They started it at one school and had teachers from every grade 1-5 and every elementary school in for frequent observations. There were some teachers who chose to be trained as mentor-teachers in SM. There are several SM mentors at every school and they are available to help any teacher who needs it. They still have bi-weekly 'math meetings' at every school to share ideas and discuss any difficulties. For the first couple years there was a constant flow of information from the schools to the community. Heck, I didn't even have a kid in the elementary schools and even I knew everything that was going on.

 

It was one bump year and then things got a lot smoother. I certainly asked my friends how it was going and they all seemed to think it was fine. The school was in communication with them and everything seemed to be happening pretty much the way they had been told it would. There were some things the district anticipated would be difficult and they were, but it passed. A friend's son was a 5th grader at the time and he wasn't thrilled, but he was also confident that what he was dealing with wasn't his fault and that it would get better. It did.

 

But, that approach takes money. Our district could afford to take two teachers out of the classroom for two years to run the rollout and to train mentors and to hold meetings in the community, etc. That didn't come cheap.

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I looked at the Common Core approved math text of a friend's child and thought it seemed a lot like Singapore.  I can understand that the 'horror' comes from never being taught that way and then switching to it after years of something else.  I was NEVER taught the way my kids are with Rightstart and Singapore and I have learned so many things by teaching my kids, and my oldest is only in 3rd grade.  However, I think it would be next to impossible for me to start understanding Singapore at a 5th grade level if we just had to jump into it - which is what has happened with common core. 

 

I do agree with this.  It seems quite ridiculous to radically change methods so many times.  Since I've lived here they've used three different math programs.  From Everyday Math to Math in Focus to something else now (I don't know what, but I did hear they no longer use MIF). 

[Anne in CA]

Yes, math and science have been very hard for me dd this year. In fact, she is very academically competitive and only got a C in science last semester. The trouble with math and science is that there is only ONE right way to get an answer. Getting the right answer and showing all your work can still get you an F if you do not do it the "right" way. This means my dh who has a computer science engineering degree who probably knows (and has used in a practical sense) more math than her teacher, cannot help her. Also, it is a good thing she has no interest in a STEM career because I cannot imagine how she would do in college after such limited math and science. But she is doing very well in her other classes. All A's, and she is learning things and they are interesting to her.

[Kalmia]

If by Common Core you mean Pearson created language arts materials (they are the company in charge of the PARCC test) and math in which students must explain their answers in writing, my daughter far exceeded what was being done in 4th grade in both of these. This is because she is a bright, FLEXIBLE child with a solid foundation in math and reading from homeschool. However, at least 50% of my daughter's grade (we are in a 60% free and reduced lunch district) is struggling with the Pearson materials and the writing part of the mathematics as well as the multiple steps required to do simple calculations (they just aren't ready to keep all those steps in their head and lose track and then make mistakes). The self esteem of these kids is decreasing as the demands ramp up. A lot of my daughters classmates believe themselves to be stupid based entirely upon the fact they are being asked to do tasks far ahead of where they are developmentally and where their most basic skills are (if you are still struggling with writing counting the "writing" portion of math against you may kill your grades in the one subject that was a success for you). While many of the Common Core standards are fine in isolation, THE GRADE LEVELS AT WHICH they are expected to achieve them are laughable. Clearly, no child development experts were consulted when assigning the standards to grade level. In our school, it is not uncommon for children to finally achieve basic reading fluency around the beginning of third grade (meaning they can read a chapter book at a reasonable pace and understand it). Well, that is not enough for PARCC testing. They must be able to find supporting evidence for every decision they make about the meanings of words or the themes in the story. Take a look at the link below.

 

http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/english/

 

 

I believe if they had left elementary school alone and brought in the standards relating in middle school after children had mastered basic handwriting, keyboarding, writing and reading skills they would be much more of a help to the students instead of a great obstacle to many. Of course, my disclaimer is that I am a great believer in the grammar stage. It really is okay to leave abstract thinking to logic stage.

[catz]

I can say as someone with a math degree and was born with some intuitive mathiness that seems to run down our family tree, some of the methods used in NEW math (I don't think this is a CC specific thing, I saw this when my oldest was in K and 1st) that kids are forced to use methods that are not necessarily at all logical for kids that just get math. And to see a big fat F on your paper when you're getting right answers, but not the "right" way because you're an out of the box thinker is pretty discouraging.  The challenge of math for kids like this is not the concepts.  It's learning to write them out in steps that make sense to someone else.  And I think many elementary math teachers do not think like mathematicians.  So they develop a very narrow view of RIGHT and WRONG based on whatever is in their answer key.  I actually think the typical classroom can be pretty destructive for a kid like this without some modification and ongoing advocacy. 

 

In general, CC does not scare me however.  It's just a list of standards, most pretty easy for the average homeschooler to hit IMO.  I definitely think the harder transition is jumping through hoops and the amount of output required when you spend 7-8 hours in a classroom.

[MIch elle]

No.  Younger ds used R&S Math 1-5 CLE math 6-7; attended public school in grade 8 (in MA which had/has harder stds than CC) with no problems in any academic subject. He's a senior this year.

 

My ds may have had problems if he had gone into grade 4 or 5 because they were teaching/using lattice multi-digit multiplication but the middle school NEVER used lattice so he was never expected to know or use it.  They went back to traditional multiplication & division for all grades (thank goodness).

 

What grade would your dc attend public school?  The entrance grade may matter.

[Anne in CA]

Seriously? Your husband is that advanced in math, yet he cant( or won't) find a way to understand how your daughter is being taught? This is beyond ridiculous. IMO, he either is not that advanced in math or incapable of understanding the class method, or he has chosen to merely complain about it instead of helping your daughter. What am I misunderstanding?

 

... This is not a personal insult. I see this often all over FB and various sites. It seems to be more of a whine against CC instead of a remedy to help the child learn what the school is asking for.

This is simply BS. It IS a personal insult. My husband has a highly advanced understanding of math was paid to work in the math lab and the computer lab at Portland State because he is AMAZING at teaching math. My husband does not have a lazy bone in his body and works very hard to make sure all three of his kids get a good education. My dh has never "merely complained" about anything in his life rather than take action.So, that was really rude.

 

What you are misunderstanding is that Common Core math/ science does not allow for actual knowledge. If you do not arrive at answers the EXACT same way that the curriculum expects you to, the answer is "wrong", even if it is right. If you do not want to understand that, it is YOUR problem, but please do not insult my husband, or I will set you straight again, lol. 

 

The reason you are seeing this all over FB and sites is that it is a real problem, and it is true. Learning actual knowledge is not the goal of Common Core, and if you don't want to understand that, then there is no reasoning with you. I have friends in other states who are having the same problems with their kids and it is very real. 

[catz]

... This is not a personal insult. I see this often all over FB and various sites. It seems to be more of a whine against CC instead of a remedy to help the child learn what the school is asking for.

 

Honestly, I think there's often a misunderstanding of the complaint (at least some I have seen).  My complaint is that elementary math teachers cannot think outside their narrow understanding.   They are dumbing down math to a procedure instead of encouraging mathematical thinking.  For kids who just GET the concepts, doing a long procedure makes no sense in their head.  Someone who really gets math can talk a kid through the procedure in a way that makes sense to them or can evaluate that a child really gets the concepts, instead of just saying just do it my answer key's way and giving a child an F if they don't.  I've gotten into more than one argument on the internets about how every kid needs to learn matrix mathematics, number bonds, jump through a 2nd grader teachers hoops or else they'll never amount to anything, etc.  Umm ... I never did and I have a degree in math and comp sci. Many early elementary teachers would struggle to even do high school level math.  I did mediocre in elementary math because it was very rote and procedural, and got A's through high school through graduate level math classes when being taught by experts.  I think our schools would do better by having more math specialists and encouraging creative problem solving and have some alternatives to how kids are evaluated in math.  I think drill and speed should be treated separately than mathematical concepts.  Proof of understanding the actual concept being taught should allow kids to move on.  I don't think every kid is served well with the same method or style of learning. (and again, I do not think these are CC specific issues).  So I guess I do think the system is fundamentally broke in this area and in particular I don't like the idea of slapping a letter grade on very young kids. 

 

So, I think the point about grade level was a great one.  If you're starting a kid in school at the algebra level, it's not going to matter if they visualize 5x3 in their head or learned number bonds or matrix multiplication or whatever.   I think the elemenatry classroom can be frustrating for those kids that might be classified as GT and asynchronously developing. 

 

And apologies to the OP, since this is somewhat off topic.

 

ETA - my kids used Singapore old edition at home (no standards) for elementary math.  I was comfortable enough to skip, adapt, and modify when it made sense for them. 

[Slartibartfast]

I looked at the Common Core approved math text of a friend's child and thought it seemed a lot like Singapore.  I can understand that the 'horror' comes from never being taught that way and then switching to it after years of something else.  I was NEVER taught the way my kids are with Rightstart and Singapore and I have learned so many things by teaching my kids, and my oldest is only in 3rd grade.  However, I think it would be next to impossible for me to start understanding Singapore at a 5th grade level if we just had to jump into it - which is what has happened with common core. 

 

We have the CC Singapore math book

 

Some of it does add extra steps to basic math problems.

 

He is only in 1st grade and that is the main thing that has really angered him, just all the extra steps. I see the point of it but my ds is great at adding in his head but once they started adding all the extra steps he started having trouble and rebelling against it.

 

 

[Anne in CA]

CC is a method, not curriculum. Do you understand that? Maybe you or your husband needs to have a visit with the math teacher and ask exactly what method she wants. Then he can learn it and teach it you your daughter, since she is not understanding it.

Seems like a problem that can be easily solved, since he is advanced with understanding mathematical concepts. What grade is your dd?

But you are wrong--CC does involve understanding mathematical concepts.It is " actual knowledge", but also factors in understanding the why's. Perhaps it's a choice of poor curriculum, poor teaching, etc, but certainly it's being explained in a way some children and their parents are not understanding.

And for goodness sakes, it's not like CC went out and discovered some previously unknown math concepts. It is similar to SM, and many kids can't handle that type of learning, especially if its not started at a young age. But it's still not rocket science, just basic math concepts.

My son used SM. He's a math/physics major now. I do understand how kids can get confused. I also know it was my job( homeschooled or not) to find a way to help him understand the rules. That's why I asked if you'd learned the teacher's rules and class methods, in order to help your child. If everyone did that I think things would improve greatly. Many districts are doing well with CC. It's not going away any time soon, so it needs to be understood.

I will point out that my son used SM very successfully, and that my dh and myself and fairly knowledgeable about how that works. Common Core IS the basis of of curriculum my daughter uses, I can go on the website that the state of CA has set up and see how to get right answers. No one complaining about CC believes they went out and invented math concepts. The trouble is that when your child comes home and has an F on an assignment that has all the right answers because the night before you helped her do her homework in a way that seemed compatible with was was on the website for CC but you did not do it EXACTLY the same way, you have HONEST FRUSTRATION, you are not a whiner. You cannot know what the teacher is looking for when you were not in the classroom with your child, and to communicate every day with the teacher to make sure that EVERY problem is lock step is unreasonable. People have lives. I am not wrong that actual knowledge is not valued in my child's math class. You are making a wrong assumption. You are wrongly assuming that parents are lazy whiners. Most parents that I know are not. And I can assure you that classifying me as an incorrect lazy whiner is not something that an intellegent person who knows me would do.

 

My ds is a computer science major in college now and the math education he received in our home served him very well. If my dd were at all interested in a STEM career we probably would knock ourselves out to figure out how to write out every single CC math/ science problem so that her grades would be better. She does have an A in math right now, and she got a B last term, so it is not as if we, or other parents who are voicing real concern are throwing our kids to the wolves. We understand it isn't going anywhere and we are not throwing up our hands in fear, we are rightfully concerned. I honestly do not know what happens to kids who do not have parents who can help them, 

 

I spent more than 15 years as a dedicated home school mom and I cultivated a love of learning and appreciation for knowledge that is not compatible with CC math. In Language Arts my dd is so far ahead of the CC stuff it isn't even funny. 

[Joyofsixreboot]

DS returned into 8th grade this year. No problems. He has been far ahead. He has had to learn how to do power points and artsy group projects but he figured it out in about 3 weeks.

[Tsuga]

Seriously? Your husband is that advanced in math, yet he cant( or won't) find a way to understand how your daughter is being taught? This is beyond ridiculous. IMO, he either is not that advanced in math or incapable of understanding the class method, or he has chosen to merely complain about it instead of helping your daughter. What am I misunderstanding?

 

... This is not a personal insult. I see this often all over FB and various sites. It seems to be more of a whine against CC instead of a remedy to help the child learn what the school is asking for.

 

Yeah, I have seen the entire CC curriculum in addition to seeing it taught at K - 8th grade.

 

It's really not hard. It is one grade below what I learned in honors classes in CA in the 1980s. I just cannot fathom what people were doing before.

 

 

 

I cultivated a love of learning and appreciation for knowledge that is not compatible with CC math.

 

There are no incompatible maths. I would venture to say perhaps you appreciated arithmetic, but not math. What I like about CC is that it demands teaching mathematics vs. arithmetic.

 

There are no incompatible math methods. I have never once in my entire life seen a math textbook at my fluency level (i.e. calc and below) that I did not understand. Because part of really getting math, really knowing it, involves being able to translate it to reality in many ways.

 

I do feel bad for people who are being taught by teachers who don't understand math either, or who are being test-prepped and not taught.

 

But the standards... I mean... have you seen any other countries' standards? These are not that far off. :(

[Arcadia]

 The trouble is that when your child comes home and has an F on an assignment that has all the right answers because the night before you helped her do her homework in a way that seemed compatible with was was on the website for CC but you did not do it EXACTLY the same way, you have HONEST FRUSTRATION, you are not a whiner. You cannot know what the teacher is looking for when you were not in the classroom with your child, and to communicate every day with the teacher to make sure that EVERY problem is lock step is unreasonable.

 

The problem is that some teachers are not comfortable with math and they blindly follow the answer key in the teachers guide or whatever is the recommended solution.

 

ETA:

My older took California's trial run of the SBAC common core tests last April. His school did prep for the test even though the results won't affect the schools.  His public school teacher was wonderful in that she was able to mark my older boy's algebra by understanding his working rather than just checking the solutions manual.

[Tsuga]

The big problem is that every time we try to teach math, we give up.

 

So generation of teacher after teacher â€‹literally only knows arithmetic and in general often does not like math. They have low expectations for children because they themselves were not educated.

 

And then we say, "You see! Mathematics is too hard for kids!" Never mind that if we could just get through  a single generation of educators maybe we could stop this insane cycle. It is why I work so hard with my kids and why I support common core in spite of everything.

 

We have got to learn to teach mathematics in this country. We have GOT to stop saying stupid is okay for the dumb ghetto kids.

 

And believe it or not, there were educators and child development specialists and international education specialists consulted throughout the process.

[Cafdog]

DD returned to PS as an 8th grader this year.  We had been using Saxon Math since the 3rd grade.  She was a little behind in her algebraic concepts (graphing equations, in particular), and seems to be somewhat ahead of her peers in Geometric concepts. At her grade level, there is very little of the "weird" CC arithmetic issues like you see with the younger grades. 

 

FWIW, this was not a big surprise.  Much as I liked the Saxon books, I thought they were a bit slow in introducing the graphing topic in the Pre-Algebra book we used last year, but did a great job with a consistent, gentle focus on geometry.  I took her to a local tutor this summer who was very familiar with our school district and the math publishers they use(d).  It was really helpful to have her give some extra practice in the equation graphing, as the school district here really pushes that from 6th grade up, and we had only touched on it in Saxon at the very end of 7th grade.  

 

CC really pushes group work/group projects/group solutions...in every subject.  That was a more difficult transition for my only-child homeschooler. 

 

 

 

[Tsuga]

Can I clarify something to the letter, once and for all? Here is the common core. This is it, for 2nd grade math. They do not introduce a methodology.

 

If it's not in here, it is not common core, but (a) your state's curriculum development sub-contractor; (b) your child's teacher, © your school district's curriculum development team or sub-contractor, (d) someone else. Okay? Okay? There are people who do not want to expose gaping holes in what passes for education in parts of the US and there are still others who are trying to make money off this no matter what. But that is not the same as having a national standard of accountability.

 

http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSIMath%20Standards.pdf

 

Page 17

 

Please note that a great deal of the formatting issues, including capitalization, have to do with the way the PDF was saved and with copying. These mistakes are not in the original document and you can verify by clicking the link.

 

 

 

mathematics | Grade 2

In Grade 2, instructional time should focus on four critical areas: (1) extending understanding of base-ten notation; (2) building fluency with addition and subtraction; (3) using standard units of measure; and (4) describing and analyzing shapes.

(1) Students extend their understanding of the base-ten system. This includes ideas of counting in fives, tens, and multiples of hundreds, tens, and ones, as well as number relationships involving these units, including comparing. Students understand multi-digit numbers (up to 1000) written in base-ten notation, recognizing that the digits in each place represent amounts of thousands, hundreds, tens, or ones (e.g., 853 is 8 hundreds + 5 tens + 3 ones).

(2) Students use their understanding of addition to develop fluency with addition and subtraction within 100. They solve problems within 1000
by applying their understanding of models for addition and subtraction, and they develop, discuss, and use efficient, accurate, and generalizable methods to compute sums and differences of whole numbers in base-ten notation, using their understanding of place value and the properties of operations. They select and accurately apply methods that are appropriate for the context and the numbers involved to mentally calculate sums and differences for numbers with only tens or only hundreds.

(3) Students recognize the need for standard units of measure (centimeter and inch) and they use rulers and other measurement tools with the understanding that linear measure involves an iteration of units. They recognize that the smaller the unit, the more iterations they need to cover a given length.

(4) Students describe and analyze shapes by examining their sides and angles. Students investigate, describe, and reason about decomposing and combining shapes to make other shapes. Through building, drawing, and analyzing two- and three-dimensional shapes, students develop a foundation for understanding area, volume, congruence, similarity, and symmetry in later grades.

Grade 2 | 17

Common Core State StandardS for matHematICS

Grade 2 overview

operations and algebraic thinking

• represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction.

• add and subtract within 20.

• Work with equal groups of objects to gain foundations for multiplication.

  number and operations in Base ten

• Understand place value.

• Use place value understanding and properties of operations to add and subtract.

  measurement and data

• measure and estimate lengths in standard units.

• relate addition and subtraction to length.

• Work with time and money.

• represent and interpret data.

  Geometry

• reason with shapes and their attributes.

mathematical Practices

1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

4. Model with mathematics.

5. Use appropriate tools strategically.

6. Attend to precision.

7. Look for and make use of structure.

8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

Grade 2 detail

operations and algebraic thinking 2.oa

Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction.

1. Use addition and subtraction within 100 to solve one- and two-step word problems involving situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.1

Add and subtract within 20.

2. Fluently add and subtract within 20 using mental strategies.2 By end of Grade 2, know from memory all sums of two one-digit numbers.

Work with equal groups of objects to gain foundations for multiplication.

3. Determine whether a group of objects (up to 20) has an odd or even number of members, e.g., by pairing objects or counting them by 2s; write an equation to express an even number as a sum of two equal addends.

4. Use addition to find the total number of objects arranged in rectangular arrays with up to 5 rows and up to 5 columns; write an equation to express the total as a sum of equal addends.

number and operations in Base ten 2.nBt

 

Understand place value.

1. Understand that the three digits of a three-digit number represent amounts of hundreds, tens, and ones; e.g., 706 equals 7 hundreds, 0 tens, and 6 ones. Understand the following as special cases:

   1. 100 can be thought of as a bundle of ten tens — called a “hundred.â€

   2. The numbers 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 refer to one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine hundreds (and 0 tens and 0 ones).

2. Count within 1000; skip-count by 5s, 10s, and 100s.

3. Read and write numbers to 1000 using base-ten numerals, number names, and expanded form.

4. Compare two three-digit numbers based on meanings of the hundreds, tens, and ones digits, using >, =, and < symbols to record the results of comparisons.

Use place value understanding and properties of operations to add and subtract.

5. Fluently add and subtract within 100 using strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction.

6. Add up to four two-digit numbers using strategies based on place value and properties of operations.

7. Add and subtract within 1000, using concrete models or drawings
   and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method. Understand that in adding or subtracting three- digit numbers, one adds or subtracts hundreds and hundreds, tens and tens, ones and ones; and sometimes it is necessary to compose or decompose tens or hundreds.

8. Mentally add 10 or 100 to a given number 100–900, and mentally subtract 10 or 100 from a given number 100–900.

9. Explain why addition and subtraction strategies work, using place value and the properties of operations.3

1See Glossary, Table 1.
2See standard 1.OA.6 for a list of mental strategies. 3Explanations may be supported by drawings or objects.

Grade 2 | 19

measurement and data 2.md

Measure and estimate lengths in standard units.

1. Measure the length of an object by selecting and using appropriate tools such as rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes.

2. Measure the length of an object twice, using length units of different lengths for the two measurements; describe how the two measurements relate to the size of the unit chosen.

3. Estimate lengths using units of inches, feet, centimeters, and meters.

4. Measure to determine how much longer one object is than another, expressing the length difference in terms of a standard length unit.

Relate addition and subtraction to length.

5. Use addition and subtraction within 100 to solve word problems involving lengths that are given in the same units, e.g., by using drawings (such as drawings of rulers) and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.

6. Represent whole numbers as lengths from 0 on a number line diagram with equally spaced points corresponding to the numbers 0, 1, 2, ..., and represent whole-number sums and differences within 100 on a number line diagram.

Work with time and money.

7. Tell and write time from analog and digital clocks to the nearest five minutes, using a.m. and p.m.

8. Solve word problems involving dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies, using $ and ¢ symbols appropriately. Example: If you have 2 dimes and 3 pennies, how many cents do you have?

Represent and interpret data.

9. Generate measurement data by measuring lengths of several objects to the nearest whole unit, or by making repeated measurements of the same object. Show the measurements by making a line plot, where the horizontal scale is marked off in whole-number units.

10. Draw a picture graph and a bar graph (with single-unit scale) to represent a data set with up to four categories. Solve simple put- together, take-apart, and compare problems4 using information presented in a bar graph.

Geometry 2.G

Reason with shapes and their attributes.

1. Recognize and draw shapes having specified attributes, such as a given number of angles or a given number of equal faces.5 Identify triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes.

2. Partition a rectangle into rows and columns of same-size squares and count to find the total number of them.

3. Partition circles and rectangles into two, three, or four equal shares, describe the shares using the words halves, thirds, half of, a third of, etc., and describe the whole as two halves, three thirds, four fourths. Recognize that equal shares of identical wholes need not have the same shape.

4See Glossary, Table 1.
5Sizes are compared directly or visually, not compared by measuring.

Grade 2 | 20

 

 

 

 

 

There you go. There it is. The Common Core, being implemented by varyingly corrupt and/or upstanding school districts around these United States.

 

Also, my child's class did all this in first grade and regularly writes out explanations for math, and the teachers only mark it wrong if it literally contains false information.

 

The main new material this year is doing it all in the hundreds... not too hard. Yes they do it ten ways. That's what makes it fun!

[Tsuga]

Not sure this is fair. Teachers are tasked with teaching whatever the district adopts. The district may or may not train the teacher.

 

It is not fair to assign blame to teachers if we are talking about moral wrongness. It is also not fair to talk about teachers as if their job were so easy and required no training so that new curricula could be introduced with zero training, you know, because it's not like teaching is a professional skill and you have to have a master's degree or anything. I agree.

 

But the causal attribution--the problem is not with the math itself, but with the teacher's application of the curriculum--is strictly speaking true in some cases.

[Anne in CA]

Yeah, I have seen the entire CC curriculum in addition to seeing it taught at K - 8th grade.

 

It's really not hard. It is one grade below what I learned in honors classes in CA in the 1980s. I just cannot fathom what people were doing before.

 

 

There are no incompatible maths. I would venture to say perhaps you appreciated arithmetic, but not math. What I like about CC is that it demands teaching mathematics vs. arithmetic.

 

There are no incompatible math methods. I have never once in my entire life seen a math textbook at my fluency level (i.e. calc and below) that I did not understand. Because part of really getting math, really knowing it, involves being able to translate it to reality in many ways.

 

I do feel bad for people who are being taught by teachers who don't understand math either, or who are being test-prepped and not taught.

 

But the standards... I mean... have you seen any other countries' standards? These are not that far off. :(

My dd is a ninth grader. The math itself is not hard at all. What is hard, and IMO completely unreasonable, is that if every single problem on a homework assignment does not look exactly (and I do mean exactly) like the teacher's manual, the problem will be marked wrong. Algebra is different than long division there are lots of steps, symbols, ect and if you get even one wrong she will not receive credit for doing the problem correctly. It ridiculous that her teacher has zero latitude. Also, all math dd's math tests are given in groups. Don't even get me started on that. I don't know if that is part of high school CC or just something her own school does, but it is not cool. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

We have the CC Singapore math book

 

Some of it does add extra steps to basic math problems.

 

He is only in 1st grade and that is the main thing that has really angered him, just all the extra steps. I see the point of it but my ds is great at adding in his head but once they started adding all the extra steps he started having trouble and rebelling against it.

 

I think that is understandable.  It is probably very difficult and tiring for a lot of first graders to do that much writing.  Between adding more steps to math problems and making them write longer compositions, it's a lot of writing.  My kids would have been quite miserable I'm sure.

[Tsuga]

My dd is a ninth grader. The math itself is not hard at all. What is hard, and IMO completely unreasonable, is that if every single problem on a homework assignment does not look exactly (and I do mean exactly) like the teacher's manual, the problem will be marked wrong. Algebra is different than long division there are lots of steps, symbols, ect and if you get even one wrong she will not receive credit for doing the problem correctly. It ridiculous that her teacher has zero latitude. Also, all math dd's math tests are given in groups. Don't even get me started on that. I don't know if that is part of high school CC or just something her own school does, but it is not cool. 

 

I quoted the entire text of the CC above. You can see that nowhere does it say, "There is only one way to follow this method."

 

This is poor teaching. I am sorry. It is nuts. My stepdaughter also participates in group tests in math. It is why I pay my kids to do math outside of school and will take them out of that math if that happens. Seems like the lazy teachers love the idea that kids can teach themselves. Bleh.

 

Check out Russian Math clubs around the country. That's what my kids will be doing when I can no longer teach them effectively. They will be prepared for tests overseas if need be.

[Word Nerd]

Not sure this is fair. Teachers are tasked with teaching whatever the district adopts. The district may or may not train the teacher.

 

The PP did say "some" teachers, not many, most, or all.

[Spy Car]

My best guess is that children who have been using so-called "conceptual" math programs at home (Primary Mathematics, Miquon, MEP, Right Start, Math Mammoth, Math-In-Focus, and the like) would be in very good shape for Common Core, and probably in a better position than many (most?) PS kids. Those using "procedural" programs would likely be in for a rough transition.

 

Bill

[FaithManor]

My niece is struggling mightily after homeschooling for 1st - 6th grade. BUT, I am going to be honest here, it doesn't have a lick to do with common core. Not at all. It is the curricula her school has chosen - which from my perspective was written by illiterate chimpanzees because that is the only explanation for the sheer stupidity of the wording of many of the story problems - and her teacher's inability to actually teach the material.

 

It is not popular to say here, but one cannot teach that which one does not know. This guy needed to spend all summer studying his new text which he admitted he did not do. He picked it up to make lesson plans one week before school began. :banghead:  :banghead: :banghead:  

[FaithManor]

The big problem is that every time we try to teach math, we give up.

 

So generation of teacher after teacher â€‹literally only knows arithmetic and in general often does not like math. They have low expectations for children because they themselves were not educated.

 

And then we say, "You see! Mathematics is too hard for kids!" Never mind that if we could just get through  a single generation of educators maybe we could stop this insane cycle. It is why I work so hard with my kids and why I support common core in spite of everything.

 

We have got to learn to teach mathematics in this country. We have GOT to stop saying stupid is okay for the dumb ghetto kids.

 

And believe it or not, there were educators and child development specialists and international education specialists consulted throughout the process.

This is so very, very true. And to get a K-6 teaching license in my state, one does not have to take a college math class so long as one passes the test of basic skills which is stupidly easy! I gave a practice exam of it to my then 11 year old, and he earned a 95%. BUT, the 5th grade teacher down the road has openly admitted she failed (so less than 72%) the exam three times before narrowly passing with a 73%. She's teaching 5th grade mathematics. Makes my head spin.

 

There is a huge difference between computational arithmetic and actual mathematics. This country will continue to lag behind in math and science until the culture embraces this truth, and chooses to do something about it.

 

I totally agree with Binip on this one! Mathematics education should NOT be the province of expensive private schools and districts in wealthy areas, but often times, this is exactly the case, and kids are given up on in this regard long before they ever make it out of elementary school.