Preparing students should be an ongoing process. The process requires sufficient instructional time and appropriate instructional strategies. While it is certainly appropriate to conduct some form of review, “cramming” is far less effective than an ongoing set of instructional practices that naturally and continually prepare students for the test specifically and for higher levels of understanding generally. A sound K-8 mathematics program embeds these strategies into all instructional planning.
Strategy 1: Asking “Why?”
Probably the best way to implement a “thinking curriculum” – a curriculum that is language-rich, focuses on meaning and values alternative approaches – is by regularly asking students “Why?” A simple, “How do you know that?” or “Can you explain how you got your answer?” or the basic, “Can you explain to the class why you think that?” forms the basis of a mathematics curriculum that goes beyond merely correct answers. A student who can explain his or her answers often has a stronger understanding of mathematics and can help other students develop understanding. Questions like, “How did you get 17?” or “Why did you add?” give students powerful opportunities to communicate their understandings and give teachers powerful tools to assess the degree of understanding. Classrooms where students are regularly explaining how and why, both
orally and in writing, are classrooms that effectively prepare students for many of the open-ended items .
Strategy 2: Embed In Context, Present As A Problem
Consider the vast difference between “Find the quotient of 20 ÷ 1.79” on the one hand, and “How many hamburgers, each costing $1.79, can be purchased if you have a $20 bill?” Both problems expect that students can divide. However, the former directs students to a single long division algorithm with a three-digit divisor that isn’t even tested . The latter places the mathematics in a context and expects students to understand that division is an appropriate operation to use to solve a practical problem. In addition, the latter encourages estimation and raises the issue of sales tax, all of which is assessed . Most importantly, the contextualized problem shows students that mathematics is a useful tool.
Strategy 3: Ongoing Cumulative Review
One of the most effective strategies for fostering mastery and retention of critical mathematical skills is daily, cumulative review at the beginning of every lesson. Rarely does one master something new after one or two lessons and one or two homework assignments. Many teachers call this “warm-ups” or daily-math. Five to eight quick problems to keep skills sharp can be delivered orally or via visual methods. Every day teachers should present: a fact of the day (e.g., 7 x 6); an estimate of the day (e.g., What is a rough estimate of the cost of 55 items at $4.79 each?); a measure of the day (e.g., About how many meters wide is our classroom?); a place value problem of the day (e.g., What number is 100 more than 1,584?); a word problem of the day; and any other exercise or problem that reinforces weaker, newer or problematic skills and concepts. This form of review, often patterned after the types of items and item formats used on that embeds review for the test in what is recognized as sound instructional practice.
Strategy 4: Ensure A Language-Rich Classroom
Like all languages, mathematics must be encountered orally and in writing. Like all vocabulary, mathematical terms must be used again and again in context until they become internalized. Just as young children confuse left and right until they develop strategies and connections to distinguish between the two, older children confuse area and perimeter until they link area to covering and perimeter to border. A language-rich classroom, in which mathematical terminology is regularly used in discussions, solving problems and in writing, can make a big difference in how effectively children learn mathematics. Posting vocabulary in the room, perhaps on a word wall, is one way to ensure that mathematical terminology is used on a daily basis. While not exhaustive, the vocabulary word list found in each grade-level section of this handbook should be used to ensure that the language used and expected is never new to students.
Strategy 5: Use Every Number As A Chance To Build Number Sense
The development of number sense is one of the overarching goals of mathematics at the elementary level. Number sense is a comfort with numbers that includes estimation, mental math, numerical equivalents, a sense of order and magnitude, and a well developed understanding of place value. The development of number sense must be an ongoing feature of all instruction. A review of reveals how much of the test focuses on these critical number sense understandings. A simple strategy for incorporating number sense development into all instruction is to pause regularly and, regardless of the specific mathematics being taught, ask questions such as the following:
Which is most or greatest? How do you know?
Which is least or smallest? How do you know?
What else can you tell me about those numbers? For example, “they are both odd,” “all are mixed numbers,” “their product is about 18 because you can round.”
How else can we express .2 (2/10, 1/5, 20%, .20)?
Incorporating this strategy into daily instruction creates a mind-set that the numbers in every problem posed and in every chart or graph used can strengthen and reinforce number sense. For example, in a simple word problem that asks students to find the sum of 57 and 67, teachers can first “pluck” the numbers from the problem and ask students to list four things they can say about the two numbers. Consider how much mathematics is reviewed when students suggest findings such as the following:
I see two two-digit numbers.
Both numbers are odd.
There is a difference of 10 between the numbers.
The 67 is greater than the 57.
The ones digit is the same and the tens digit is one apart.
One number is prime and the other is composite.
I see 124.
Strategy 6: Draw A Picture (Mental or Real)
We say casually that “a picture is worth a thousand words” but we seldom connect mathematical concepts to their pictorial representations. A significant proportion of the tasks for pictorial equivalents of mathematics ideas. A powerful way to help students visualize the mathematics they are learning, or to reinforce understanding, is with mental images or pictures that students actually draw or create. Consider how
infrequently we ask students to, “Show me with your hands about eight inches” or, “Use your fingers to show me an area of about 10 square inches.” Consider how important it is that students can draw pictures of fractions and mixed numbers like ¾ or 2 ½ and of decimals like .3 and 1.2. Consider how powerful a class discussion about the different pictures for “three-quarters” can be when students show three quarters (25-cent pieces), a shaded pizza slice, a window pane, three stars out of four shapes, a ruler, a measuring cup and simply ¾! Consistently embedding, “Can you draw a picture of...?” and “Can you show me what that would look like?” into instruction can pay rich benefits in both student understanding .
Strategy 7: Build From Graphs, Charts and Tables
Many real-world applications of mathematics arise from the data presented in graphs, charts and tables. This is why so many of the items are based on data and include graphs, charts and tables. To best prepare students for these contexts, as well as develop the essential skills of making sense of data and drawing conclusions from data that is presented in graphs, charts and tables, teachers are encouraged to make far greater use of these forms of data presentation. Given a graph or table, students can be asked (similar to Strategy 5) to identify five things they see in the graph or table. In addition, students can be asked to draw two appropriate conclusions from the data and justify those conclusions. So consider “milking” the graphs and charts found in your textbook or data that students find during “data scavenger hunts” by copying the graph, chart or table for students and asking them to create five questions that could be answered by the information in the graph or table. Ask students to share their questions and generate a list of the best questions for future use.
Strategy 8: How Big? How Much? How Far?
No strand of mathematics assessed on the Connecticut Mastery Test produces student scores as consistently weak as the measurement strand. Rather than leave all measurement to a single chapter that is often skipped entirely, teachers are encouraged to make measurement an ongoing part of daily instruction. First, questions like, “How big?,” “How much?,” “How far?,” “How heavy?” all help to develop measurement understanding. Second, measurements of things such as arm span, book weight, area of circles, or breath-holding times all provide great sets of data and, therefore, use measurement to gather data that is analyzed and generalized – integrating many important aspects of mathematics. Finally, more involved projects like determining the number of students that can fit in a classroom or the number of hours students have been alive are wonderful opportunities to keep measurement on the front burner of daily instruction.
Strategy 9: Omit What Is No Longer Important
A significant amount of time and energy is expended by teachers and students on skills considered less important by national and state standards and not even assessed on the , the Academic Performance Test . District mathematics curriculums must become more focused on what is truly valued and teachers must give themselves and each other permission to skip textbook pages that no longer serve useful purposes. In fact, the proverbial “mile-wide, inch-deep” curriculum that results in far more coverage of topics than mastery of key concepts undermines many efforts to raise student achievement. In addition, time that is no longer spent on increasingly irrelevant skills – particularly those done most often with a calculator – frees up valuable minutes and hours for increasingly important skills like estimation, algebraic reasoning and problem solving. So carefully review what is NOT assessed – particularly complex, multidigit computation – and redirect what is taught to focus on those skills and concepts that have lasting value and that ARE assessed.
Strategy 10: Focus On Sense-Making As Well As Correct Answers
One of the most powerful test-taking skills for multiple-choice items is the artful elimination of obviously absurd answers. However, identifying such “obviously absurd answers” – for example, a sales tax of $129 dollars instead of $1.29 on a $20 item – requires a mind-set that mathematics makes sense. This “minds-on” approach to instruction is in sharp contrast to the rote regurgitation of rules and procedures to get correct answers to exercises that all too often comprises mathematics instruction. For example, when teaching how to convert mixed numbers to improper fractions and vice versa, it is imperative to teach why these forms are equivalent. Students who only know how to multiply and add and not why 3 ¾ is equivalent to 15/4 are at a disadvantage in life . Focusing on the why – that is, focusing on understanding and sense making – emerges from consistent use of many of the preceding strategies, particularly 1 and 6.Teachers can improve instruction significantly by adopting the mind-set that good mathematics instruction begins with an answer. That is, when a student responds (for example) “17,” the next question should be something like, “How did you get that?” When the student responds “I added” or “I rounded” or “I took about half,” the next question should be something like, “Why did you do that?”
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