Monthly Archives: October 2011

Parent Math Meetings have been scheduled for Monday, October 10th. When it comes to our children’s education, discussion can become quite heated when differing pedagogical methods and content are being discussed. We here at BlaineParents.org encourage everybody able to attend Monday’s meetings, to do so in the spirit of gleaning information, professional discussion, and cooperatively seeking solutions.  We plan to attend with the following objectives in mind:   Continue reading →

FROM: INDEPENDENT STUDY OF WASHINGTON STATE: K-8 CURRICULUM  REVIEW FINAL REPORT,  NOVEMBER 5, 2008

Summary, by blaineparents.org, Full text quote follows this summary

• Development of multiplication strategies for single-digit multiplication leading to fluency.
• Good representation of fractions and their addition and subtraction through clock and rectangular depictions.
• Students have the opportunity to maintain and practice learned skills and numerical fluency.
• Learn through exploration: discovery learning.
• Foundational concepts for area are well-developed in the main program. Supplemental activities provide practice with formulas for the areas of rectangles.
• Addition and subtraction of fractions has a good start with strong models.
• Students develop strong visual models for challenging concepts such as fractions, multi-digit multiplication, and area.   Continue reading →

Parents need to invest some time in understanding the math curriculum being taught to their children. A parent must not feel intimidated into not contacting the school district office to get more information. A parent should be able to contact such a person and have the curriculum benefits explained to them to their satisfaction. Their child’s future is at stake and no question should be too stupid to ask.

1. Is long hand division and multiplication taught and practiced?

Discussion: Most parents assume that their child is being taught these basic because they were taught it. A parent should make a decision on whether it is okay to replace this skill with the use of a calculator. Continue reading →

The following embedded video is an inquiry into Investigations, First Edition, which only contained reform math problem solving methods and contained no standard algorithms for solving math problems.

The edition that BCSD has purchased is Investigations, Second Edition © 2012.  The second edition introduces the standard algorithm as a stand alone activity that is not mathematically incorporated into the program. The main program continues to develop multiple strategies for solving math problems as shown in this video.