This student language has been created with the help of Dr. Sandy Atkins, a math consultant for HKIS.
In Lower Primary, the Mathematical Practices articulated in the Common Core State Standards guide our teaching and learning. These practices describe habits of mind of productive mathematical thinkers. We help children be mathematicians by engaging in each of these practices. In class, we promote reasoning and explaining, modeling and using tools, and seeing structure and generalizing. We support our children in communicating how they explore, investigate, see, do and think math.
Standards for Mathematical Practice
- Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
- Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
- Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
- Model with mathematics.
- Use appropriate tools strategically.
- Attend to precision.
- Look for and make use of structure.
- Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
Lower Primary Student Language
- I try to understand and solve a math problem. If my first try does not work, I keep on trying until I solve it.
- I understand the meaning of math symbols. I look for patterns, and can understand and explain with pictures, numbers and words how numbers are used.
- I defend my thinking. I try to understand if the thinking of others makes sense. I ask questions to help others rethink and to grow our thinking.
- I can use math to show and solve problems.
- I choose and use appropriate math tools and objects to solve problems.
- I use precise language, objects, pictures and symbols to solve problems.
- I use strategies and models I already know to solve problems.
- I look for patterns and try to create and identify rules that always work to help me solve problems.
Four Ways to Make Thinking Visible
Concrete (Build it) → Pictorial (Draw it) → Verbal (Say it) → Symbols (Represent it)
This progression from concrete to the abstract guides students’ understanding of mathematical concepts.
