Major Focus of Kindergarten Mathematics

Students focus on a variety of topics in kindergarten.  Here are the big ideas we hope all kindergarten students will understand:

• Count to 100 by 1s and by 10s

• Write numbers from 0 to 20

• Count objects to tell how many there are

• Compare two groups of objects to tell which group, if either, has more.

• Act out addition and subtraction word problems and drawing pictures to represent them 

• Add with a sum of 10 or less; subtract from a number 10 or less; and solve addition and subtraction word problems

• Name shapes regardless of orientation or size (e.g., a square oriented as a “diamond” is still a square)

General Resources for Supporting Math at Home

Good Games using simple materials from around the house - click on the link for a document containing 40+ games for fluency practice using simple materials - pencils, paper, paper clips, a deck of cards, and dice.

Pre-made games

Blokus (cooperative version) - ages 5 and up

Guess Who - ages 5 and up

Mancala - ages 5 and up

Rush Hour Jr - ages 5 and up

Tangoes - ages 5 and up (Tangoes Jr has magnetic pieces that can be placed on the designs)

Equilibrio - ages 5 and up

Quirkle - ages 5 and up

Yahtzee - ages 5 and up

Kingdomino - ages 6 and up

Latice - ages 6 and up

Mobi - ages 6 and up

Monopoly - ages 6 and up

Patchwork - ages 6 and up

Rummikub - ages 6 and up

Set - ages 6 and up (can be played with a simpler deck by choosing only 1 shading)

Sorry - ages 6 and up

Uno - ages 6 and up

Read

If you’re reading a picture books together talk about the math you see.  Mathical Books - has lists of books with math related themes for kids aged 2 to 18..

Other Good Activities

Cook together - A great way to work on counting and a good way to introduce fractions!

Talk with your kids about mathematics - Christopher Danielson, a mathematics professor and parent, has a great website with ideas for talking with kids ages 1-9 about mathematics Talking Math  

Family Support Materials for Illustrative Mathematics 

Mathematics program used in the classroom

Illustrative Mathematics' Family Support website has materials to support families of kindergarten to Grade 6 students.  Families can watch overview videos explaining each unit (with subtitles in English and Spanish) and read Family Letters for each unit, translated into 14 different languages.

Major Focus of 1st Grade Mathematics

Students focus on a variety of topics in 1st grade.  Here are the big ideas we want all 1st grade students to understand:

• Students add and subtract within 20 and use their understanding of addition and subtraction to solve problems.  These problems should include situations where the result is unknown (e.g. “How many socks would I have altogether if I had two socks and added three more socks?”), the change is unknown (e.g.. “I had two socks, and now I have five.  How many did I add?) and start unknown (e.g. “I added two socks to the pile and now I have five.  How many socks did I start with?”)   Students should also see the connection between addition and subtraction.

• Think of whole numbers between 10 and 100 as being made up of groups of tens and ones.  Use their understanding of place value to compare numbers and add within 100.

• Measure the length of objects by using multiples of a smaller object (Measuring the length of a piece of paper with paper clips).  Use measurements to compare the lengths of objects.

• Know the features of two-and three dimensional shapes, and use shapes to make other shapes

General Resources for Supporting Math at Home

Good Games using simple materials from around the house - click on the link for a document containing 40+ games for fluency practice using simple materials - pencils, paper, paper clips, a deck of cards, and dice.

Pre-made games

Rush Hour Jr - ages 5 and up

Tangoes - ages 5 and up (Tangoes Jr has magnetic pieces that can be placed on the designs)

Equilibrio - ages 5 and up

Quirkle - ages 5 and up

Yahtzee - ages 5 and up

Kingdomino - ages 6 and up

Latice - ages 6 and up

Mobi - ages 6 and up

Monopoly - ages 6 and up

Patchwork - ages 6 and up

Rummikub - ages 6 and up

Set - ages 6 and up (can be played with a simpler deck by choosing only 1 shading)

Sorry - ages 6 and up

Uno - ages 6 and up

Battleship - ages 7 and up

Blokus - ages 7 and up

Othello - ages 7 and up

Ticket to Ride - ages 7 and up

Read

If you’re reading a picture books together talk about the math you see.  mathical books - has lists of books with math related themes for kids aged 2 to 18..

Other Good Activities

Cook together - A great way to work on counting and a good way to introduce fractions!

Family Support Materials for Illustrative Mathematics 

Mathematics program used in the classroom

Illustrative Mathematics' Family Support website has materials to support families of kindergarten to Grade 6 students.  Families can watch overview videos explaining each unit (with subtitles in English and Spanish) and read Family Letters for each unit, translated into 14 different languages.

Major Focus of 2nd grade Mathematics:

Students focus on a variety of topics in 2nd grade.  Here are the big ideas we want all 2nd grade students to understand:

• Solve challenging addition and subtraction word problems with one or two steps.

• Know all sums of one-digit numbers from memory by the end of the year.

• Understand what the digits mean in three-digit numbers (place value)

• Use understanding of place value to add and subtract two- and three-digit numbers (e.g., 78 + 26 and 811 – 367).

• Solve addition and subtraction word problems involving length.

•  Recognize and draw shapes such as triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes.

General Resources for Supporting Math at Home

Good Games using simple materials from around the house - click on the link for a document containing 40+ games for fluency practice using simple materials - pencils, paper, paper clips, a deck of cards, and dice.

Pre-made Games

Dominoes - Play so that touching dominoes must make a total of 10. 

Sorry

Yahtzee

Trouble

Qwirkle

Spot It

Blokus

Set Jr

Uno

Rush Hour Jr

7 Ate 9

Tangoes

Read

If you’re reading a picture books together talk about the math you see.  mathical books - has lists of books with math related themes for kids aged 2 to 18..

Other Good Activities

Cook together - A great way to work on counting and a good way to introduce fractions!

Talk with your kids about mathematics - Christopher Danielson, a mathematics professor and parent, has a great website with ideas for talking with kids ages 1-9 about mathematicstalking mathwith kids 

Family Support Materials for Illustrative Mathematics 

Mathematics program used in the classroom

Illustrative Mathematics' Family Support website has materials to support families of kindergarten to Grade 6 students.  Families can watch overview videos explaining each unit (with subtitles in English and Spanish) and read Family Letters for each unit, translated into 14 different languages.

Major Focus of 3rd grade Mathematics:

Students focus on a variety of topics in 3rd grade.  Here are the big ideas we want all 3rd grade students to understand:

• Multiply and divide within 100

• Solve word problems using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division

• Extend understanding of multiplication to include multiplying a single-digit number by a power of 10 (e.g. 9 x 80)

• Understand fractions, relate them to the familiar system of whole numbers (e.g., recognizing that 3⁄1 and 3 are the same number), as well as know that fractions represent parts of a whole.

• Measure and estimate weights and liquid volumes, and solve word problems involving these quantities

• Reason about shapes (e.g., all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares) and understand area and perimeter.

General Resources for Supporting Math at Home

Good Games using simple materials from around the house - click on the link for a document containing 40+ games for fluency practice using simple materials - pencils, paper, paper clips, a deck of cards, and dice.

Pre-made Games

Set Jr

Qwirkle

Blokus

Sumoku

Muggins Math games – Muggins Math 

King of Tokyo - ages 8 and up

Mastermind - ages 8 and up

Prime Climb - ages 8 and up

Rack-O - ages 8 and up

Rush Hour - ages 8 and up (Rush Hour Jr - ages 5 and up)

QBitz - ages 8 and up (There is a QBitz Jr - ages 3 and up)

Rack-O - ages 8 and up

Sumoku - ages 8 and up

Yahtzee - ages 8 and up

Zeus on the Loose - ages 8 and up

Read

If you’re reading a book together talk about the math you see.  Mathical Books - has lists of books with math related themes for kids aged 2 to 18.

Other Good Activities

Cook together - A great way to work on fractions!  Especially if the required cup needs to be washed and your child needs to figure out how to use the ones available to measure the required amount.

Talk with your kids about mathematics - Christopher Danielson, a mathematics professor and parent, has a great website with ideas for talking with kids ages 1-9 about mathematics Talking Math With Kids 

Fold Origami - Recent research by a professor at Tufts University shows that folding origami increases students spatial reasoning skills. 

Family Support Materials for Illustrative Mathematics 

Mathematics program used in the classroom

Illustrative Mathematics' Family Support website has materials to support families of kindergarten to Grade 6 students.  Families can watch overview videos explaining each unit (with subtitles in English and Spanish) and read Family Letters for each unit, translated into 14 different languages.

Major Focus of 4th grade Mathematics:

Students focus on a variety of topics in 4th grade.  Here are the big ideas we want all 4th grade students to understand:

• Use addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with whole-number to solve word problems, including problems with remainders and problems with measurements. 

• Add and subtract whole numbers using the standard US algorithm.

• Multiply and divide multi-digit numbers with strategies based on place value and understanding of the relationship between multiplication and division (e.g., multiply 1,638 × 7 or 24 × 17, and dividing 6,966 by 6)

• Understand and apply equivalent fractions (e.g., recognizing that 1⁄4 is less than 3⁄8 because 2⁄8 is less than 3⁄8), add and subtract fractions in simple cases (e.g. 2 3⁄4 − 1 1⁄4) or multiply fractions by whole numbers (3 × 5⁄8), and solve related word problems.

• Classify shapes by properties of their lines and angles.

General Resources for Supporting Math at Home

Good Games using simple materials from around the house - click on the link for a document containing 40+ games for fluency practice using simple materials - pencils, paper, paper clips, a deck of cards, and dice.

Pre-made Games

Set

Rush Hour

Sumoku

Tangoes

24

Muggins Math – Muggins Math has some great number sense games

Read

If you’re reading a book together talk about the math you see.  mathical books - has lists of books with math related themes for kids aged 2 to 18.

Other Good Activities

Cook together - A great way to work on fractions!  Especially if the required cup needs to be washed and your child needs to figure out how to use the ones available to measure the required amount.

Talk with your kids about mathematics - Christopher Danielson, a mathematics professor and parent, has a great website with ideas for talking with kids ages 1-9 about mathematics Talking Math With Kids 

Fold Origami - Recent research by a professor at Tufts University shows that folding origami increases students spatial reasoning skills. 

Family Support Materials for Illustrative Mathematics 

Mathematics program used in the classroom

Illustrative Mathematics' Family Support website has materials to support families of kindergarten to Grade 6 students.  Families can watch overview videos explaining each unit (with subtitles in English and Spanish) and read Family Letters for each unit, translated into 14 different languages.

Major Focus of 5th grade Mathematics:

Students focus on a variety of topics in 5th grade.  Here are the big ideas we want all 5th grade students to understand:

• Add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators (e.g., 21⁄4 – 11⁄3), and solve word problems with fractions.

• Multiply fractions; divide fractions in simple cases; and solve related word problems (e.g., find the area of a rectangle with fractional side lengths; determine how many 1⁄3-cup servings are in 2 cups of raisins; determine the size of a share if 9 people share a 50-pound sack of rice equally or if 3 people share 1⁄2 pound of chocolate equally)

• Generalize the place-value system to include decimals, and calculating with decimals to the hundredths place (two places after the decimal)

• Multiply whole numbers quickly and accurately using the standard US algorithm, for example 1,638 × 753, and dividing whole numbers in simple cases, such as dividing 6,971 by 63

• Understand the concept of volume, and solve word problems that involve volume

• Graph points in the coordinate plane (two dimensions) to solve problems

• Analyze mathematical patterns and relationships

• Classify two-dimensional figures into categories based on their properties.

General Resources for Supporting Math at Home

Good Games using simple materials from around the house - click on the link for a document containing 40+ games for fluency practice using simple materials - pencils, paper, paper clips, a deck or cards and dice.

Pre-made Games

Set

Five Crowns

Quiddler

Blokus

Iota

Math Twister

Krypto

24 Game

Tangoes

Muggins Math games -  Muggins Math 

Read

If you’re reading a book together talk about the math you see.  mathical books - has lists of books with math-related themes for kids aged 2 to 18.

Puzzle Books – listed from easiest to most challenging

The Amazing Mathematical Amusement Arcade by Brian Bolt

Mathematical Cavalcade by Brian Bolt

A Pandora’s Mathematical Box by Brian Bolt

A Mathematical Jamboree by Brian Bolt

This: Math Activities for Students and Clubs by James Tanton

What’s Your Game?  By Michael Cornelius and Alan Parr

The Mathematician and Pied Puzzler: A collection in tribute to Martin Gardner.  By Elwyn Berlekamp and Tom Rodgers

Riddles of the Sphinx: And other mathematical puzzle tales. By Martin Gardner

Mathematical puzzle tales. By Martin Gardner

The Colossal Book of Mathematics. By Martin Gardner

Family Support Materials for Illustrative Mathematics 

Mathematics program used in the classroom

Illustrative Mathematics' Family Support website has materials to support families of kindergarten to Grade 6 students.  Families can watch overview videos explaining each unit (with subtitles in English and Spanish) and read Family Letters for each unit, translated into 14 different languages.

Major Focus of 6th-grade Mathematics

Students focus on a variety of topics in 6th grade.  Here are the big ideas we want all 6th-grade students to understand:

• Understand ratios and rates, and solve problems involving proportional relationships (e.g., if it took 7 hours to mow 4 lawns, then at that rate, how many lawns could be mowed in 35 hours?)

• Divide fractions and solve related word problems (e.g., how wide is a rectangular strip of land with length 3⁄4 mile and area 1⁄2 square mile?)

• Use positive and negative numbers together to describe quantities; understanding the ordering and absolute values of positive and negative numbers

• Work with variables and expressions by generalizing the way numbers work (e.g., when adding numbers, the order doesn’t matter, so x + y = y + x; likewise, properties of addition and multiplication can be used to rewrite 24x + 18y as 6(4x + 3y), or y + y + y as 3y)

• Write equations to solve word problems and describe relationships between quantities (e.g., the distance D traveled by a train in time T might be expressed by an equation D = 85T, where D is in miles and T is in hours)

• Reason about relationships between shapes to determine area, surface area, and volume and solve problems

General Resources for Supporting Math at Home

Good Games using simple materials from around the house - click on the link for a document containing 40+ games for fluency practice using simple materials - pencils, paper, paper clips, a deck or cards and dice.

Pre-made Games

Chess

Tangoes

Set

Muggins Math games (Muggins Math) including Muggins, Fudge, Opps, Over and Under, Down and Around, Pirate and Plunder, and Sink the Ship

Five Crowns

Quiddler

Blokus

Iota

Math Twister

7 Ate 9

Krypto

24 Game

On the Dot game

Websites to Visit

NRich Math - Cambridge University’s puzzle website

Wild Math - new website from Cambridge University to explore math

Solve Me  - Waltham’s Educational Development Center’s mobile puzzles

Math Munchwww.mathmunch.org - fabulous website to explore the “mathematical internet”

Gaming About Square - fabulous, simple, logic game

mathical books - has lists of books with mathematics related themes for kids aged 2 to 18.

Arbitrarily Close - This challenge was started March 16, 2020, and has some wonderful activities that connect math and art.  

Puzzle Books – listed from easiest to most challenging

The Amazing Mathematical Amusement Arcade by Brian Bolt

Mathematical Cavalcade by Brian Bolt

A Pandora’s Mathematical Box by Brian Bolt

A Mathematical Jamboree by Brian Bolt

This: Math Activities for Students and Clubs by James Tanton

What’s Your Game?  By Michael Cornelius and Alan Parr

The Mathematician and Pied Puzzler: A collection in tribute to Martin Gardner.  By Elwyn Berlekamp and Tom Rodgers

Riddles of the Sphinx: And other mathematical puzzle tales. By Martin Gardner

Mathematical puzzle tales. By Martin Gardner

The Colossal Book of Mathematics. By Martin Gardner

Family Support Materials for Illustrative Mathematics 

Mathematics program used in the classroom

Illustrative Mathematics' Family Support website has materials to support families of kindergarten to Grade 6 students.  Families can watch overview videos explaining each unit (with subtitles in English and Spanish) and read Family Letters for each unit, translated into 14 different languages.