Let's Connect

I’m starting off with 𝟯.𝗢𝗔.𝗖.𝟳, a standard that I believe is often misunderstood. While it’s easy to focus on the fluency piece, there’s so much more to uncover about how this standard supports student learning. Let’s shift our thinking beyond quick recall and explore the deeper connections this standard offers—not just for 3rd grade but for what comes next.

Kate Nowak requested that I unpack 𝟮.𝗠𝗗.𝗕 for Math Standard Monday—relate addition and subtraction to length. While 2.MD.B.5 is definitely o𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑓𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒, I believe it’s important to take a step back first. Unpacking 𝟮.𝗠𝗗.𝗔 will help us fully understand the 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑔𝑜𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 in 2nd grade. Check out today's 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 to explore the tools students need to support these goals.

This week’s spotlight is on 𝟮.𝗠𝗗.𝗕.𝟲 and why second grade is such a pivotal year for introducing number lines. Number lines aren’t just tools—they’re a 𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠. 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 “𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆” 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, setting the foundation for more advanced math concepts down the line.

Last week, I worked with a 2nd-grade teacher finishing a chapter on 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟬𝟬. The chapter explored multiple strategies but ended with a focus on the 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗺. This got us thinking: — What message does that send to students, parents, and teachers? — How can we shift the focus back to 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴? 𝐴 𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑘: Rewrite subtraction problems 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 instead of stacked vertically. This encourages students to use any strategy they’ve learned, not just one. In today’s video, I’ll explain 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 and how it connects to the bigger picture of the 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘’𝑠 𝑀𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑦 dives into 𝟯.𝗡𝗕𝗧.𝗔.𝟮, where students are expected to fluently (or here in NJ - accurately and efficiently) add and subtract within 1,000 using 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗺𝘀. But wait—does that mean the 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗺? Not yet! Watch this week's video to explore what "algorithm" means for Grade 3 addition and subtraction.

This 11-word standard might seem simple, but it’s packed with so much mathematical richness that it earned 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑙𝑦 more than a minute for the final hashtag#MathStandardMonday of 2024! 🤔 What does it 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 mean to be fluent? It’s more than speed and accuracy. 🎥 As you’ll see in the video, fluency is grounded in: ⦿ 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: Recognizing the value of digits in every position. ⦿ 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴: Knowing when to apply the standard algorithm. ⦿ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Connecting strategies to deepen understanding.

As we kick off 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲, I’m dedicating #MathStandardMonday this month to the 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻, helping Kinder educators gain a 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 of what this domain truly 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞). 📋 The CC domain isn’t something you can assess on paper, so I’ll also be 🎥 sharing 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗽𝘀 wherever possible to bring these concepts to life.

Once students master counting from 1, they move to the next big step: 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿! This foundational skill is an essential first step in developing the ability to 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗻, a crucial addition strategy.