One of my favorite aspects of the Common Core State Standards are the Elementary Math Practice Standards. The Math Practice Standards focus on a combination of mathematical understanding and process. While many teachers have been doing this for years, I love that the thinking behind the problem solving process is finally being articulated and emphasized for students! A while back, I created some Elementary Math Practice Standard posters for my classroom; my students and I used them to build anchor charts and focus our learning. While the posters were a wonderful learning tool, they were not all that great to look at :-) Today I redid the posters - and added "think marks," student cards, and math journal "cheat sheets." I believe so strongly in the EMPS and their power to build not only proficient, but passionate mathematicians, that they are FREE to download.

click here to download

click here to download

Check out this site to find the Elementary Math Practice Standards, with pictures, in Spanish.

There are some terrific videos on the Teaching Channel that illustrate ways to implement the eight standards in the elementary classroom. Below are two short videos that I really like!

Exploring Math Practice Standards: Precision (5 min)

Owning the Math Practice Standards (2 min)

If you've read this far, (or know me personally), you can probably tell that I am slightly obsessed with the eight practice standards :-) I can not over emphasize what a hugely positive impact that explicitly identifying, practicing, and reflecting on these skills has had on my students' performance. In the next post (PART TWO), I will tell you more about some my favorite resources, materials, and tools I use in the classroom to help me implement the standards in fun and meaningful ways.

Thanks for checking in!