Elementary Parent Math Resources

Elementary Mathematics

The Sweet Home Elementary mathematics program uses Investigations in Number, Data, and Space (3rd Edition) as an anchor to its core mathematics program while utilizing other resources to supplement unit of study and lessons (i.e. EngageNY mathematics modules) maintaining the alignment to the NYS Next Generation Standards with an emphasis on the eight mathematical practices. In developing Investigations in Number, Data, and Space, the authors undertook a comprehensive study of mathematics teaching and learning and did extensive fieldwork to glean best practices that would support students’ development of deep conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and proficiency with problem-solving - goals that pre-date but are consistent with the CCSS-M. A look at the program goals highlights the close connection of the Investigations program to the CCSS-M:

Support students to make sense of mathematics and learn that they can be mathematical thinkers
Focus on computational fluency with whole numbers as a major goal
Provide substantive work in important areas of mathematics—rational numbers, geometry, measurement, data, and early algebra
Emphasize reasoning about mathematical ideas
Communicate mathematics content and pedagogy to teachers
Engage the range of learners in understanding mathematics

The Investigations program is also designed around a coherent organization of content with explicit and embedded connections both from grade to grade and within the different mathematical domains in each grade. The units across grades represent a strong, logical vertical progression of concepts and skills. Within a grade level, students encounter and apply key concepts from unit to unit in different areas of mathematics (e.g., measurement, geometry), highlighting the interrelatedness of these concepts, the powerful connections among concepts in different domains, perhaps most important, the wholeness of mathematics.

Standards for Mathematical Practice

The Standards for Mathematical Practice describe varieties of expertise that mathematics educators at all levels should seek to develop in their students. The math practices are integrated into each unit and at all grade levels from Kindergarten through Grade 12.