What is Everyday Mathematics?
Everyday Mathematics is the elementary grades math program used in Washington Township elementary schools. Some facts about the program, adapted from the publisher's "Top Five Facts" document are presented below. For further information, follow the links to the right.
“Everyday Mathematics is a structured, rigorous, and proven program that helps students learn mathematical reasoning and develop strong math skills. Everyday Mathematics is the program of choice for over 3 million students in over 185,000 classrooms nationwide. No other program has been developed as thoroughly and carefully over time, with full field testing prior to publication. In addition, no other program has the extensive verification that it works. Here are the top 5 facts to know about Everyday Mathematics:
· Everyday Mathematics is research-based. The University of Chicago School Mathematics program responded to a National Science Foundation grant to develop a rigorous mathematics program that would teach students more mathematics, beginning at Kindergarten. The result is that Everyday Mathematics has a solid research foundation.
· Everyday Mathematics was field tested one year at a time—and revised based on feedback—prior to publication. Twenty years of experience demonstrate that students and teachers can be very successful with Everyday Mathematics.
· Everyday Mathematics has higher expectations for both teachers and students.
Everyday Mathematics not only teaches basic skills, but also expands beyond traditional drills. The program encourages children to understand why math is important and how they reach their answers, so they internalize what they are learning. As a result, students find it easier to remember basic skills, to apply what they know in order to solve problems, and to think mathematically. Children learn and practice all of the basic math facts, and they do it in multiple ways, including paper-and pencil exercises, hands-on use of math manipulatives, and skills-based mathematics games.
· Everyday Mathematics’ unique instructional design ensures that students learn basic skills and mathematics strategies and can apply them in a variety of situations. Research has shown that children learn best when new topics are presented at a brisk pace, with multiple exposures over time, and with frequent opportunities for review and practice. The sequence of instruction in Everyday Mathematics has been carefully mapped out to optimize these conditions for learning and retaining knowledge.
· Everyday Mathematics effectiveness has been documented through a variety of studies. No other program has been scrutinized as widely, both from researchers and program users.”
Please look at our Overview of Student Learning by Subject and Grade page to learn the highlights of what your elementary school child will be learning in mathematics this year. Please "stay tuned" to this web page as we update the page with the Language Arts Literacy and other subject-area learning highlights. For the full grade-level curriculums by subject area, please see the link on the menu to the left. Also, on the right side of this page there are links for parents from the Everyday Mathematics program to help inform you about the goals of the program and to provide resources for families.
How will my child learn basic math facts?
The district has implemented an effort to help all students gain greater proficiency with basic math facts. Computational fluency is the term used to indicate that a student can calculate basic facts accurately and with satisfactory speed. Teachers in grades 1 to 5 have been providing daily practice with basic facts with the goal of every student reaching a mastery-level of computational fluency. Some resources for at home practice are on the right column on this page. For more resources and more information about computational fluency, follow the link to the page about that topic.
Where can I find more information about learning math?
One great resource for knowing more about mathematics education is the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics website. For many years, NCTM has led the way in improving the expectations for achievement of students in math. The NCTM standards in math were established at the beginning of the standards movement. Their standards and focal points provide a guide to the most important topics in learning math throughout our grades. Online access is provided free of charge to the standards and a number of other resources.
The Math Forum at Drexel University is another resource for information about effective math education. The site provides a wide variety of excellent information for parents, teachers, and mathematicians.
