Students in Kindergarten will focus on two critical areas: representing, relating, and operating on whole numbers describing shapes and spatial relationships.

Students will develop an understanding of counting: * one to one matching * the last number said tells the quantity * there is a sequence to our numbers * there is a pattern to the underlying structure to our number system. Students will describe their physical world using geometric ideas * Students will name and describe 2D and 3D shapes * Students will explore and compare the attributes of the shapes through hands on activities

Students will develop an understanding of early number concepts and place value. Students will understand the meaning of whole numbers Students will recognize and write numbers Students will compare sets of objects Students will combine and take numbers apart and will think of numbers as being part of other numbers (part-part-whole) Students will build an understanding of addition and subtraction. Students will write simple number sentences to match situations.

Our Mathematical Practices have created a shift from: Teacher has the “answer” (and therefore often does the thinking for the student) TO The proof for the answer is in the mathematics. (and therefore the student does the thinking )

Children come to school with a wealth of mathematical knowledge When we receive children in preschool and kindergarten, children already use patterns and relationships as they develop their mathematical understanding of the world around them. We build on this by strategically selecting problems and numbers that develop big ideas in mathematics throughout the grade level continuum. We begin by understanding number.

It is important for young children to not only count in the counting sequence, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,…, but also comprehend that a number (symbol) represents a quantity. This is a huge developmental milestone that takes time to develop.

It is also a big developmental idea for children to understand that numbers also contain other numbers. Meaning, a “5” contains the quantity “4” and that five is actually composed of a 4 and a 1 or a 3 and a 2… It is important to push students beyond counting strategies to recognize numbers as being composed of other numbers and that numbers can be decomposed into other numbers.

I will flash dots on the screen. Your task is to figure out how many there are. How many did you see?

-seeing three in relation to five

You will see dots in the ten- frame for 2 seconds. Can you tell how many there are?

How did you see it? (5 + 3)(10 – 2)

Composing and decomposing numbers is related but different than adding and subtracting.

but there is always the quantity “five.” 2 & 3 1 & 4 3 & 2 4 & 1 5 & 0

4 + 1 = 5

5 - 1 = 4

We are looking forward to working with your children to build a foundation for life long learning. For further information and ideas for activities, websites, and apps please visit our wikispace at: