Hailey Anderson

Math 2010

January 22, 2019

Common Core Math Standards

The Common Core standards are a fantastic way to learn and relearn the different

concepts that are being taught in the classroom. These standards are set in place in order to to

keep teachers on track with curriculum and not get sidetracked with other topics that aren’t tested

on. Also, the curriculum is in line throughout the state which makes it easier on students that

have to move throughout the course of the year. As you focus on the standards, it helps your

students focus more on working out the problem on their own rather than having them memorize

facts.

Personally, I have learned a lot by being able to teach others while helping in a math

tutoring lab during my senior year of high school. As well, I am currently in the classroom as a

paraprofessional during a math class. This means that I get to assist in answering questions of the

students when the students are stuck. The school that I help at hasn’t emphasized collaborative

learning a lot, but my AP statistics teacher did.

Something that I found very beneficial in my AP stats class was that we were in groups

of 4 and each person was given a number. We were given group assignments to discuss and then

a random number was called. This would keep all of the group members accountable during the

the activity which will motivate every student to contribute. This same method is discussed in the

“Challenges for Teachers” section of the ​Mathematics Activities for Elementary Teachers

workbook (Dolan xxiv). This is a strategy that I plan on using in my future classroom.
 The concept that I would teach would help the students understand values when adding

and subtracting. A fun activity that can be found on ​uen.org​ under the 1st grade math category is

called “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. For this activity, pair up the students then read through

the story one time while the students listen. At the end of the story, have the students talk in their

pairs to estimate how many items they think the caterpillar ate. Then read the story again and

allow the students to work in their pairs on white boards with objects (blocks, tokens, etc.) to

count the items that were eaten. Pause after each page to give the students time to add everything

up. Discuss with the class to help them realize that there is more than one way to get the right

answer. Having them explain different ways that they solved the problem would be a great

discussion to help them be open to others ideas. This will help the students have a physical

understanding of the tens place by adding up past ten and twenty.

Many different Common Core Standards can be used throughout this exercise. As the

students discuss different methods to getting their answer they can learn and focus on the

standard of constructing a viable argument and critique the reasoning of others. Adding the

objects will be something that they can use in their life everyday. The students will feel more

confident in their ability later on throughout the year. Also, throughout discussing, they will

recognize structure and similarity found in the numbers and processes that were found.

I see this being a useful activity that can incorporate many standards and allow the

students to learn through their peers. This type of learning is called collaborative learning. It’s

where the student work together to learn instead of the teacher doing all of the teaching. The

Common Core Standards are put into place to guide the classroom and the students to success.
The standards will be beneficial throughout schooling and even help them with their future

careers as the teaching is related to real-life situations.

 Resources

Dolan, D., Williamson, J., Muri, M., & Long, C. T. (2015). Mathematics Activities for

Elementary Teachers. Boston: Pearson.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2019, from

https://tasks.illustrativemathematics.org/content-standards/1/OA/A/2/tasks/1150