A first-grade teacher has students use their hands and fingers to engage in and develop understanding of counting, to combine groups to facilitate counting by fives and tens, and to describe their findings using words and equations.

Effective use of mathematical representation is key to supporting student learning. In "Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All" (NCTM 2014), "use and connect mathematical representations" is one of the effective Mathematics Teaching Practices. By using different representations, students examine concepts…

Teachers are on the front line in any educational controversy. Increasingly, some bloggers, newspaper articles, and other media have criticized the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) (CCSSI 2010) as being inappropriate for children in kindergarten and first grade. However, both research and expert practice reveal that children are…

Teachers face many challenges helping students meet the expectations set forth in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) (CCSSI 2010). CCSSM content standards not only introduce new concepts at each grade level but also require teachers to learn new terminology for old concepts and consider how students' understanding of concepts…

A "repeating pattern" is a cyclical repetition of an identifiable core. Children in the primary grades usually begin pattern work with fairly simple patterns, such as AB, ABC, or ABB patterns. The unique letters represent unique elements, whereas the sequence of letters represents the core that is repeated. Based on color, shape,…