How much do you think? Looks like he has the ten frame so $10.  Then it appears he stops using a ten base system, but I am not sure.  I have thought $10.04, $14.00 or something else.  This is a good example on making sure parents know what is going on in the classroom.  If they are confused maybe some kids are too.

This check went viral a few years ago.  First I will have to agree with the dad, instructions would be nice to accommodate the homework or let the kids do it at school. Several textbook companies actually make reteaching worksheets.  When I taught high school math I would send those home for two reasons.  They did not have to carry a big heavy book home and both the student and the parent would have examples showing them how to do the math homework. I remember years ago (around 1970) that my dad told me that he could no longer help me with my math, even though by 5th grade I was several years ahead of my classmates and had to sit in the corner with my own math book and struggle to figure things out. My father had taught me most of my math up until then and I had run a cash register in our family business. In the 1990's I have several straight A students except, several even gifted in math that I would tutor that were struggling in Everyday Math in school.  Apparently they were not the only ones according to Forbes Article.  I think one of the problems with Everyday Math is no instructions for the parent.  I know one of my kids came home in 2nd grade and I could not figure out what they wanted them to do.  Since then I have since found putting the right number in a 100's board to see if they know their tens from ones is one activity that can confuse parents because they only would show part of the number board.

Not sure what to do?  Look below? Makes better sense there.

From Math Worksheets

 Now the attack seems to be on Common Core Math.  I personally only see the Common Core as a set of standards to use in the United States that can be taught however a teacher sees fit to teach.  Many textbook companies have labeled their textbooks as Common Core and many schools have purchased these books to use in their schools.  The label of Common Core on the textbooks I really see as a textbook companies marketing strategy to make schools think they are on the cutting age of educations and their textbooks have been updated.  It would be hard to believe that any school only "allowed" teachers to teach out of these textbook and not supplement with additional educational material.

The check above shows ten frame, and claims it is Common Core.  Yes it does fit into the standard taken from Core Standards  shown below:

Work with numbers 11-19 to gain foundations for place value.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.NBT.A.1
Compose and decompose numbers from 11 to 19 into ten ones and some further ones, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record each composition or decomposition by a drawing or equation (such as 18 = 10 + 8); understand that these numbers are composed of ten ones and one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine ones.

I look at this a bit different.  I see the US finally getting caught up in math.  Years ago I used a website from the Netherlands called Speedy Pictures.  We now have a few of these websites in the U.S.

Fuel the Brain   education.com    Greg Tang   arcademics.com    ictgames.com

amblesideprimary.com   different ictgame

I do think that 10 frames is also a way to replace fingers.  I know that I have had many middle school students that can not quickly add or subtract from 10.  There are eleven ways to make ten or six if you want to include the commutative property sets as they are the identical numbers.

 0 + 10, 1 + 9, 2+8, 3+7, 4+6, 5+5 if you know these you should know 6 +4, 7+3, 8+2, 9+ 1 and 10 + 0

Yet I still see students counting on their fingers in middle school to do the problem 10 - 7.  I think this is the basis for the 10 frame practice, so students can "see" the problem and not have to count.

On another note this is not 10 frame but rather subitizing  numbers I find kids having trouble with.  Some of this is from we do not play board games like Yahtzee very much anymore.  Many of my students have never heard of it.  I played it for hours when I was a kids.

Here is an example of a common problem that I have and how I have solved it (or how I do it in my head).

Put up seven fingers.

Can you show me another way?

I am not sure. There is not another way.

Try this....move a finger from one hand to the other hand.  In other words, put a finger down on your left hand then put a finger up on your right hand.

Yes, you did it!

Definition from Teach Math 

"Subitizing is the ability to 'see' a small amount of objects and know how many there are without counting. Subitizing is what tells you what number you roll on a six sided dice – most adults no longer have to count the pips after playing board games for a while."

Resources for Numeracy:

K-5 Math Teaching Resources      Math Recovery     mathlearningcenter.org  You Tube

Common Core Makes It Okay To Get The Wrong Answer???

3 x 4 = 11

Okay, I am still seeing this Fox article circulating the Internet. Here is the quote that caught my eye that prompted this post:

 From Fox News Glyn Wright, executive director of Eagle Forum, told FoxNews.com. “With the new math standard in the Common Core, there are no longer absolute truths. So 3 times 4 can now equal 11 so long as a student can effectively explain how they reached that answer.”  

First off there is one pretty important word in this quote that is being overlooked by Fox News and that is effectively.

Let us take two scenarios on this particular situation.

Scene 1 :

                 Student:  I know the answer, it is 11.

                 Teacher: No, that is incorrect.  The answer is 12.

My evaluation of this teaching situation: 

Those of you that have read my previous blogs know that I have a very strong believe in growing dendrites and having a growth mindset not a fixed mind set. When the student does not figure out the answer correctly him or herself and is just told they are incorrect, they have been denied the opportunity to process information and grow dendrites.  Why are dendrites important?  They are the part of your brain that helps you do things, in this case problems solving skills would be improved. 

Being told that he is wrong and then being given the correct answer will not teach him how he should derived the answer himself if there is not a teacher around to help him. He probably will not even bother to memorize the answer and  be able to use rote memory in the future as how was he motivation to learn by being told that he was wrong and given the answer?  Who wants to volunteer again in front of their peers only to be shot down with a no, you are wrong. Again, self-motivation is an important quality, and actually indirectly one of the  standards in common core as if you are not motivated how can you have tenacity. The first common core standard is:

CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

Scene 2:  

                    Student:  I know, the answer is 11.

                    Teacher:  How did you figure that out?

                    Student:  Because, 3 times 4 is 12.

                    Teacher:  What does times mean?

                    Student:  I am not sure.

                    Teacher:  Will you draw me a picture of how you figured out the answer.

                     Student: Okay

                     Student:  Oh, I think I miscounted, it is 12.

                     Teacher:  I like how you were able to check your answer and figure out  the correct answer.  

                       Another Student:  I figured it out a different way.

                       Teacher:  Please show us.

                       Another Student:  I already knew that two 3's make 6 so this is what I did in my brain.

                        A Third Student: Wait, I figured it out a 3rd way.

                        Teacher: Okay, let us see your way.

                        A Third Student: I have memorized that 3 x 3 is 9 so I only needed one more three, so this is how I did it in my brain.

                       Teacher:  So you already knew what three times three was so you just had to add another 3.  Anyone else want to show us another way?

                       Last Student:  Yes, I do.  I know my five's times tables so I already knew that  5 x 3 is 15, so I only had to take 1 group of three away to get 12.

                        

So now the first student will feel he or she has the skills to do math, rather than the first scenario where he or she will eventually give up.  All the students now how more than one strategy to figure out a multiplication problem if they were actively participating in the classroom discussion.

So the student now also used another common core standard.

CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP4 Model with mathematics.

Quote from Ed Glossary "In education, student engagement refers to the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught, which extends to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education."

So which classroom scene would you like your child to be taught?  Which classroom has the most learning going on?  The most engaged students? Mr. Perry Chiaramonte what do you think? Fox news?

Please comment below.

Further suggested reading:

YouCubed           Cabrillo Edu        Common Core Math

The SSH Rule- Shut up, Stupid and Hate

S  S  H    Words...........   

  Since I started teaching over 25 years ago I have had very few rules in the classroom.  My main rule is I never want to hear either S word or the H word.  Baffled students take a while to figure it out. Many think I am nuts out of all the "bad" words these are the ones I focus on eliminating from my classroom.  Some students think that they can call themselves stupid....no the rule applies to everyone in the classroom....basically no put downs.  I mean lets face it ...If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all has been around since 1965..... and was first quoted by Alice Roosevelt Longworth according to quoteinvestigator.com/.  
    It is amazing the attitude and motivation that start to increase once these words are eliminated.  I also follow authors Faber and Mazlish book "How to Talk so Kids Will Listen..... "who strongly support describing behavior that you want to reinforce.  First I will tell you that I have never lent this book to anyone who didn't love it and benefit from it.  It talks about if your child runs up with a drawing and you say beautiful, where do they go from there?  If you criticize it, how do they feel? They are sharing it with you.  Plus those words really don't say much, do they?  If you tell your child, I really like the vibrant colors you used to create the sunset.  You may be thinking what if what they are showing me isn't that great?  When I taught 1st grade years ago and a student would be practicing their printing, they often would bring me up what was pretty sloppy.  You might think what do you tell that child?  I would look at their paper and find the best letter on the page and point that one out to them.  I would say I really like how straight and neat your wrote the letter m.  What do you think they would do?  Go back and try to make more of the straight and neat m's.  
     Children need to be told what they are doing correct or what is expected of them.  Many don't know.  Seriously.  What we assume kids know without making sure can cause misunderstandings.  You can ask someone to repeat what you said, describe it in their own words, or even practice.  You will be surprised if you walk into a room and ask kids to do something and no one is paying attention.  You raise your voice or wait quietly. Sometimes neither of these things work and raising your voice will only add to the noise.  You can quietly say raise your hand if you can hear me...suddenly the one or two students still talking will look around and ask what is going on.  You can also quietly thank students who have quickly and quietly done what you have asked....other children like to hear thank you too and will quickly comply.  I always thank students for doing what I have asked of them.  If I find a student running in the hall....I ask them to please walk and them thank them when they do.  Respect them just as you would want to be respected.
     So today if you hear the s, s or h word.....explain those are unacceptable words.  Practice describing what you see....what bright colors....I like how you are taking your time...thank you for cleaning up without being asked....describe the behavior that you want.  Remember kids hear and remember what you say.....don't run....they may just hear run.