Archived Monday Math Morsels

Posted: Mon, 10/22/2012 - 2:56pm Updated: Tue, 05/07/2013 - 1:15pm

Each Monday, a short article or video will be posted to this site to support the implementation of Indiana's Common Core (INCC) for Mathematics. For previous Monday Math Morsels, please check the archive page.

August 2012

  • August 20, 2012: “The Mathematics Standards: How They Were Developed and Who Was Involved”, an explanation by authors William McCallum and Jason Zimba.
  • August 27, 2012: Partnership for Assessment of readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) has released math sample items for public review. Visit the PARCC website to provide valuable teacher feedback on these assessment items similar to those that may appear on the proposed 2014-15 assessments.

September 2012

  • September 10, 2012: PARCC has released the final version of the Model Content Frameworks which includes grades 3-11. The PARCC Frameworks outline the major, supporting, and additional content for each math course. The Frameworks can be used by teachers to align course content that will prepare students for the anticipated PARCC assessments.
  • September 17, 2012: “50 Important Links for Common Core Educators” is a one-stop shopping experience for teachers, students and parents seeking information and resources related to the Common Core.
  • September 24, 2012: The National PTA’s “Parents Guide to Student Success” offers grade level documents for parents to know and understand both the INCC Literacy and Mathematics expectations. Parents are given sample math problems that their child should be able to do at the end of each grade level, questions to ask the teacher, and additional resources if their child is struggling with INCC content.

October 2012

  • October 1, 2012: Illustrative Mathematics provides rich tasks for each common core standard in grades K-12. As Indiana schools transition to INCC, embedding these tasks into your current curriculum will allow students to experience not only the content standards but also the Standards for Mathematical Practice.
  • October 8, 2012: The K-8 Publisher Criteria for the Common Core Standards for Mathematics was released by the Illustrative Mathematics Project. This document is designed to provide support for schools as they evaluate instructional materials around INCC for Mathematics.
  • October 15, 2012: PARCC provides a quarterly newsletter to inform educators about the common core standards and anticipated PARCC assessments. Join the newsletter distribution today to receive up to date information on standards and assessment.
  • October 22, 2012: The Kansas Association of Teachers of Mathematics has developed grade level ‘Flip Books’ for K-12 math teachers. These resources provide a detailed description of each common core standard as well as examples and curricular links.
  • October 29, 2012: These flexible, ready-to-use modules intend to support educators in the understanding and effective implementation of INCC. The modules are intended for use directly by individual educators, in professional learning communities, or for preparing to lead the professional development in a school or district setting. The time required for each module can be customized, suitable for a variety of applications, by expanding the amount of time spent on the activities and in discussion.

November 2012

  • November 5, 2012: Inside Mathematics is a professional resource for educators with access to specific classroom examples of teaching methods and tools for mathematics instruction. The short video clips can be a useful tool for Professional Development sessions to discuss the Standards for Mathematical Practices as well as the implementation of INCC for Mathematics.
  • November 12, 2012: What does it mean to be Math Literate? Students should be able to DO, UNDERSTAND, and APPLY mathematics, both in and outside of the classroom. Using the Standards of Mathematical Practice, this site helps define and describe Math Literacy as well as provide teachers with specific examples of each Mathematical Practice.
  • November 19, 2012: INCC and the Standards for Mathematical Practice require teachers and students to shift their thinking about the elements of an effective mathematics classroom. This two page document from NCTM outlines some of the elements needed to achieve this along with some ideas on getting families involved.
  • November 26, 2012: Procedural fluency is one of the key instructional shifts in INCC mathematics. It is a marriage between speed and conceptual development. This article highlights the essential partnership between both in order to attain appropriate fluency levels.

December 2012

  • December 3, 2012: Implementation of Indiana’s Common Core Standards brings with it the important discussion of College and Career Readiness. What does it mean for students to be College and Career Ready? Are we preparing our students for the next generation jobs? Education Week addressed this issue in their April 2012 issue.
  • December 10, 2012: It can be difficult to find good, quality INCC items/tasks for grades 6-12. The Mathematics Assessment Project provides teachers with rich tasks, lesson plans and additional resources connected to the Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP). Over the next two years EVERY math teacher should plan to supplement their instruction with rich, common core tasks that incorporate the SMPs.
  • December 17, 2012: PARCC has release an updated version of the Model Content Frameworks. The updates affect Grade 8, Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 standards. The documents have been updated in the INCC Math Toolbox on the IDOE webpage.

January 2013

  • January 7, 2013: Looking for K-12 Common Core tasks you can use in your classroom? New York City Schools, in collaboration with national math experts, has developed some excellent tasks that align to the Common Core Standards. These tasks include:
    • Unit overview and task description
    • Teacher-annotated student work representing a range of performance levels
    • Rubrics used to assess student work
    • Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles
    • Other instructional support materials. You can find these tasks on this website.
  • January 14, 2013: The Common Core State Standards in mathematics were built on progressions. These documents explain why standards are sequenced the way they are, point out cognitive difficulties and pedagogical solutions, and give more detail on particularly knotty areas of the mathematics. The documents can be used in professional development, curriculum mapping and content review. It has never been more important for teachers to understand the standards before and after the grade level they teach.
    • http://ime.math.arizona.edu/progressions/#products
    • Other Important Information:
      • Thank you to those of you who participated in the INCC Math Survey in December. The results of the survey are attached. If you have a need for professional development related to Indiana’s Common Core Standards please contact me or Heather Baker, Elementary Math Specialist and we can provide PD for your school/district or we can direct you to resources and/or other PD providers.
      • Attached are the High School Common Core Standards by course. The standards documents include the PARCC emphasis for each standard. Approximately 70% of your instructional time should take place in the ‘Major Cluster’ areas.
  • January 22, 2013: Math Solutions provides free videos for teachers that examine and demonstrate the Standards for Mathematical Practice. Often educators will ask ‘How should my classroom look different?’. ‘What does Math Practice #2 look and sound like in the classroom?’ These helpful (short) videos can provide guidance to teachers as they transform their classrooms into Common Core Classrooms.
    • Take a Closer Look: Once a month on the Monday Math Morsels, we will be highlighting a past Monday Math Morsel that is especially helpful. Something that is worth a second glance. Our January ‘Take a Closer Look’ is the following:
      • Publisher’s Criteria This resource aims to assist schools in aligning their materials and curricular resources to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. This alignment of materials to the standards will ensure an effective and smooth transition to the CCSS. The document helps schools identify how well materials address the three shifts (focus, coherence, and rigor), the alignment to the Standards, and also the structure of the Standards. If you are in an adoption phase or simply need to reevaluate your curricular materials, this document will assist you.
  • January 28, 2013: Grade level vocabulary in Indiana’s Common Core Standards is critical to students’ conceptual understanding of the mathematics. In addition, the grade level vocabulary will appear on the PARCC Assessments. We would recommend that each teacher begin to incorporate the common core grade level vocabulary as soon as is appropriate for the content you are teaching, yet this school year. Students should not memorize the definition of these words, rather they should be able to use and understand the words in a mathematical context. IDOE is currently updating the original attachment sent out and will post those in Learning Connection and on the webpage as soon as possible.

    As always, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me or Heather Baker, Elementary Math Specialist (hbaker@doe.in.gov).

    Have a great week!

February 2013

  • February 4, 2013
    • Spotlight: This month, our spotlight for Monday Math Morsels will focus on the Standards for Mathematical Practice.  Integrating these into daily lessons is so important.  In order to effectively implement these practice standards, a certain classroom culture must exist.  This article discusses this culture and how to get students talking about math.
    • Take a closer look: Part of the process of implementing INCC is making parents and community members aware of the change.  These links can help schools identify important messages for their stakeholders.  
    • As always, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me or Heather Baker, Elementary Math Specialist (hbaker@doe.in.gov)
  • February 11, 2013
    • Spotlight: In our work, we constantly highlight the Standards for Mathematical Practice as something to integrate into daily instruction with the content standards.  It is so important that students think and talk like mathematicians on a daily basis rather than practicing it as a separate skill.  This Prezi will take about 15 minutes of your time, but is well worth it to develop your understanding of the practices as well as the importance of embedding them everyday.  Use this also in any district/school level PD sessions to help spread the word also.
    • Take a closer look: Inside mathematics. This site provides educators, administrators, coaches, and those who lead professional development a multitude of resources.
      • Videos – the videos listed here are great to use for either professional development or for independent learning.  They capture lessons utilizing the Standards for Mathematical Practices as well as embedding the content standards into the lessons.
      • Tools for Educators – the tools that are provided are extremely helpful.  There are problems of the month, tasks and assessments, and tools for coaches/administrators.
      • Tools for coaches and administrators – provides videos and other resources for coaches to continue their work with teachers.  In addition, there are observation guides, teaching rubrics, Power Points just to name a few.
    • As always, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me or Heather Baker, Elementary Math Specialist (hbaker@doe.in.gov) Have a great week!
  • February 18, 2013
    • Spotlight: One of the great things about implementing the Common Core is the word “common.”  So many people are working hard at providing information and resources to educators across the nation.  You can access a multitude of resources through www.commoncoreconversation.com.  There are resources, web links, blogs, Edmodo conversations, and access to multiple State Departments of Education.  
    • Take a closer look: Many of you have already heard of and experienced LearnZillion.  There are short videos to use for instruction for students in grade 3 and above.  To capture how to use this tool, we have done a short screencast for you.
       
      To further navigate the site, visit the videos found here.
    • As always, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me or Heather Baker, Elementary Math Specialist (hbaker@doe.in.gov). Have a great week!
  • February 25, 2013
    • This document highlights ways to use number lines in math instruction and assessment.  The use of a number line within the content not only helps build conceptual understanding, but also requires students to use some key Mathematical Practices.  The most obvious is “use appropriate tools strategically.”  In giving students tasks to solve with a number line, they can visually see their thinking as well as use the tool to help explain their thinking.  Other practices that are embedded in the use of number lines are looking for patterns and repeated reasoning (SMP 7 and 8).  By using a number line, students can begin to see patterns and repetitions in order to generalize to more complex problems. 
      http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/acre/standards/common-core-tools/org...
    • Take a closer look 
      We have continued to work to provide electronic support to schools and teachers.  We continually post new things in the math toolkits as well as adding new professional learning modules every month.  Please check back here often and forward the URL to others so more educators can access the information.  http://www.doe.in.gov/achievement/curriculum/indianas-common-core-mathem...
    • As always, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me or Heather Baker, Elementary Math Specialist (hbaker@doe.in.gov).
    • Have a great week!

March 2013

  • March 4, 2013
    • Quality Common Core Math Tasks
      Finding quality common core tasks to use when creating classroom assessments, formative assessments, summative assessments or targeted assessments can be a daunting task (no pun intended J).  There are many websites that claim they have high quality common core tasks, however; that is not always the case.  We have made mention of Illustrative Mathematics (llustrativemathematics.org) and the Mathematics Assessment Project (http://map.mathshell.org/materials/index.php) as two excellent websites that house great math items.
       
      The New York Department of Education has published common core tasks in a grade level ‘package’ for grades 3-8.  These tasks are of high quality and would be a fantastic foundation to build from as you look for items to use with your students.  You can find these item ‘packages’ at http://engageny.org/resource/new-york-state-common-core-sample-questions.
    • Take a closer look
      A new Professional Learning Module has been added to the IDOE Mathematics webpage.  This professional learning module emphasizes how the rigor in mathematics will change with the new Common Core Assessment in 2014-15. Teachers are asked to examine math items within their grade level to begin to familiarize themselves with the level of rigor their students will be asked to perform on the new assessment.  The module includes a Facilitator video, Discussion Questions and all necessary tasks and documents that will be needed for the professional development session.  You can find the module at http://media.doe.in.gov/commoncore/2012-09-13-MakingConnections5.html
       
      As always, we are here to help.  Feel free to contact me (lferry@doe.in.gov) or Heather Baker (hbaker@doe.in.gov) with any questions or concerns.
  • March 11, 2013
  • An incredibly important paradigm shift with the transition to Indiana’s Common Core Standards is the movement to standards based instruction rather than ‘textbook based’ instruction.  There are five VITAL steps every math teacher should be taking at this point…
  • Take a closer look…
    Take a look at the latest addition to our Indiana Common Core webpage… we have recently added videos explaining the high school standards documents entitled “Making Sense of the High School Standards”.  Coming soon are some additional high school videos explaining the shifts in high school content.
     
    You can find the new high school standards video at http://media.doe.in.gov/commoncore/2013-02-27-CommonCore.html
     
    We are here to help, feel free to contact me (lferry@doe.in.gov) or Heather Baker (hbaker@doe.in.gov) for additional support

  • March 18, 2013

    • The Teaching Channel provides hundreds of videos/activities/lessons related to the Standards for Mathematical Practice and the Common Core Math Standards.  The number one question we get at the IDOE is ‘What does a Common Core classroom look like or sound like?’  The Teaching Channel resources can answer that question for you.

  • March 25, 2013

    • The National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM) has created some outstanding Professional Learning Modules around the Standards for Mathematical Practice.  These modules include some fantastic activities/tasks along with videos, all of which highlight certain Math Practices.  It is often difficult to envision the Standards for Mathematical Practice in the classroom and resources such as this can be helpful in creating that vision.
      NCSM support for the Standards for Mathematical Practice:  http://www.mathedleadership.org/ccss/itp/index.html

April 2013

  • April 1, 2013
    • The Common Core State Standards are structured by Progressions.  Each progression creates a coherence in the mathematics that student learn.  For example, the Fraction Progression begins in 3rd grade and continues through 5th grade.  Students learn about equivalent and unit fractions in 3rd grade and then proceed to operations with fractions in 4th and 5th grade.  In Algebra 1 and Algebra 2, the Function Progression defines how students learn about domain/range, graphs, tables, equations and application of all of the different functions through the common language introduced in the Function standards.  The study of these progressions in K-12 is critical to understanding the instructional impact of the standards.  Illustrative Mathematics is creating Progression Professional Development that teachers can use to fully understand how the mathematics is connected.  One such Progression resource is the Fraction Progression on the Illustrative Mathematics site: http://www.illustrativemathematics.org/pages/fractions_progression
  • April 8, 2013
    • Phil Daro, one of the authors of The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, explains the difference between ‘Answer Getting’ which is what we prize in American mathematics versus developing a conceptual understanding in the classroom.  He discusses several international examples of successful mathematics instruction and how these examples influenced the writing of the CCSS.  The video is 17 minutes in length, but it is worth the time, even if only to see the ‘butterfly method’.  J  Link to video: http://vimeo.com/30924981
  • April 22, 2013
    • Louisiana has created some fantastic teacher and administrator toolboxes stuffed with common core resources.  There are scope and sequence recommendations, formative and summative assessments, lesson plans and learning goal software.  Since we are all (47 states) under that same common standards our efforts do not and should not be duplicated.  Please review these resources for use in your school or classroom.
      http://www.louisianabelieves.com/resources/classroom-support-toolbox

  • April 29, 2013

    • Texas Instruments provides a wealth of activities and free professional development for schools.  As many schools move towards an increased use of technology in the classroom, the TI website is a useful resource.  In addition, students will be asked utilize an online TI ‘like’ calculator on the PARCC assessment, it would be helpful for students to become familiar with the technology sooner rather than later.
  • May 6, 2013
    • We receive many emails and calls asking for support with textbook selection.  We have found that several state DOE’s have conducted a comprehensive textbook analysis related to the Common Core. One of the most comprehensive we have found is from Louisiana.  We encourage you to use this as resource if you are in the market for new curricular materials related to Common Core.  http://www.louisianabelieves.com/academics/content-and-textbooks