Table Of ContentEveryday
Mathematics
for Parents
Everyday
Mathematics
for Parents
What You Need to Know
to Help Your Child Succeed
The UniversiTy of ChiCago
sChool MaTheMaTiCs ProjeCT
The
University of
Chicago Press
Chicago and
London
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2017 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used
or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written
permission, except in the case of brief quotations in critical
articles and reviews. For more information, contact the
University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637.
Published 2017
Printed in the United States of America
26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN- 13: 978- 0- 226- 49375- 6 (cloth)
ISBN- 13: 978- 0- 226- 26548- 3 (paper)
ISBN- 13: 978- 0- 226- 26551- 3 (e- book)
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226265513.001.0001
Illustrations created by Bill Dickson,
represented by jupiterartists .com.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: University of Chicago. School Mathematics Project.
Title: Everyday mathematics for parents : what you need to know to help
your child succeed / The University of Chicago School Mathematics
Project.
Description: Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2017. |
Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016058314 | ISBN 9780226493756 (cloth : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9780226265483 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780226265513 (e- book)
Subjects: LCSH: University of Chicago. School Mathematics Project.
Everyday mathematics. | Mathematics—Study and teaching
(Primary)—United States. | Mathematics—Study and teaching
(Elementary)—United States. | Mathematics—Study and teaching—
Parent participation.
Classification: LCC QA16.E84 2017 | DDC 372.70973—dc23 LC record
available at https:// lccn .loc .gov / 2016058314
♾ This paper meets the requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.48- 1992 (Permanence of Paper).
Contents
seCTion 1: Why Everyday Mathematics? 1
Because It Is Based on Proven Principles 1
Go Online 5
Because Spiraling Builds a Firm Mathematical Foundation 5
Further Reading 8
Because of What We Know about How Children Learn 9
Because of How Key Content Is Taught 16
Because It Works 17
Further Reading 22
Go Online 22
seCTion 2: Exploring Everyday Mathematics Content 23
Number Stories: The Foundation for Success with Computation 23
Further Reading 30
There’s Nothing “Basic” about Mastering Basic Facts 30
Further Reading 42
Moving On Up . . . Operations with Bigger Numbers 43
Further Reading 53
Algebra in Kindergarten? 53
Further Reading 65
The Trouble with Fractions 65
Further Reading 74
What Happened to Rulers? 75
Further Reading 81
seCTion 3: What to Expect from Everyday Mathematics 83
Linking Math in School to Math at Home 83
Using a Calculator Is NOT Cheating 88
Further Reading 92
Fun and Games: Math Is So Much More than (S)Kill and Drill 93
Go Online 98
What to Expect at Each Grade Level of Everyday Mathematics 99
Kindergarten 100
First Grade 111
Second Grade 124
Third Grade 138
Fourth Grade 153
Fifth Grade 165
Sixth Grade 180
Problem Solving in Everyday Mathematics:
How Children Think about Mathematics 196
seCTion 4: How Do I Find Out More about
Everyday Mathematics? 205
Index 211
seCTion 1
Why Everyday Mathematics?
• Where are my child’s math worksheets?
• Why does my child keep talking about math games?
• When will my child memorize the basic facts? Where are the
timed tests and flash cards?
• Why does my child’s homework jump from topic to topic
every day? How is my child supposed to learn if the math
keeps changing?
• Why isn’t my child learning to add and subtract (or multiply
and divide) the way that I did?
• How can I help my child with homework if it is so different
from what I know how to do?
Does any of this sound familiar? If you are new to Everyday
Mathematics, or just trying to understand it better, you are not
alone. Many parents recognize that Everyday Mathematics is not
how they learned math. They wonder whether their kids will learn
this “new math.” Or they worry that their kids will fall behind stu-
dents at other schools. Knowing something about the background
and philosophy of Everyday Mathematics will help you under-
stand how it works and why it looks different from the way you
may remember learning mathematics in school. In this section
you will learn the many reasons why so many schools around the
world have chosen to adopt Everyday Mathematics as their math
curriculum.
Because It Is Based on Proven Principles
One reason why so many schools select Everyday Mathematics
is because it is a pioneering program that has been developed,
tested, and refined for over thirty years by teachers and researchers
at the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP)
to improve mathematics education across the United States. Since
1
its launch in the mid- 1980s, the program has established itself as
the leading research-b ased elementary mathematics curriculum
in the country.
Before embarking on the first edition of their new math curric-
ulum, researchers at UCSMP undertook a worldwide study of how
mathematics was being taught in schools. They translated and an-
alyzed textbooks from top- performing countries and compared
them to textbooks from the United States. In addition, the re-
searchers wanted to understand exactly how children learn math-
ematics. They reviewed scholarly literature that was emerging, and
they carried out their own research with teachers and children in
classrooms.
In one early study, UCSMP authors surveyed incoming kinder-
gartners to learn what they knew about mathematics at the start
of the school year. They found that children come to school with
far more mathematical knowledge than math curricula used at the
time seemed to assume. For example, most textbooks at that time
expected children to count and know numbers up to 20 by the end
of kindergarten. UCSMP researchers found that 46% of children
entering kindergarten could already count to 30. It was a startling
finding. In fact, many children coming into kindergarten already
knew much of the mathematics they were expected to learn during
their first year of school.
Here are some other UCSMP findings:
• U.S. mathematics textbooks at that time focused almost
exclusively on paper- and- pencil calculation. The idea of
children learning how to use mathematical tools such as
calculators was frowned upon.
• Most U.S. mathematics textbooks were organized to teach
math skills in isolation, without linking the skills to each
other or to the underlying mathematical concepts in a way
that could make them interesting to children.
• Children actually learn mathematics better when they are
given the opportunity to connect their everyday experiences
to what they are learning. Learning to use mathematics, to
apply it to everyday problems they understand, is particularly
2 why everyday mathematics?
important— and was largely neglected in textbooks of
the time.
• And, contrary to widespread expectations at that time, all
children can learn mathematics. Girls and underrepresented
minorities can learn mathematics as well as anyone if they
are given the chance.
This research shaped the first edition of Everyday Mathematics
by helping the authors establish the following principles to guide
them as they wrote a new curriculum:
Recognize that children begin school with a great deal of
knowledge and intuition on which to build. Research
has shown that children begin school with an intuitive
knowledge of mathematics and abundant common sense.
To be effective, a mathematics curriculum must meet
children at their level and build on what they already know.
Connect children’s learning of mathematics to their own
experiences. A mathematics curriculum must begin
with children’s experiences and work to connect those
experiences to mathematics. Fortunately, this is easy to do
because basic mathematics is such a big part of daily life.
Making connections to their everyday experiences gives
children another reason for learning mathematics.
Emphasize excellent instruction. As with any subject, excellent
instruction plays a critical role in children’s success. A good
textbook must include features that help teachers provide
high- quality instruction and reflect on how they can
improve the way they teach.
Work with children’s problem- rich environment. Research
shows that the school mathematics curriculum should
incorporate challenging, interesting, real- world problems
from children’s environments in order to nurture higher-
order thinking skills.
Use distributed practice to build skills. A well- designed
program of routine practice spaced out over time helps
children build mathematical skills. With solid mathematical
beCaUse iT is based on Proven PrinCiPles 3
