This year our school has started a new Common Core. While I have been listening to parents say how much they hate it and how hard it is, I didn’t think much of it.
I have parents in my daughters 3rd grade class opt out of the testing, because it’s to hard and other reasons.
I went to meet the teacher night last night and the teacher said that they have never jumped right into division and multiplication at the beginning of the school year. The new Common Core they had too. They have seen a few struggling with it.
The first couple days of school my daughter seemed fine, she was happy getting 100% on review tests etc. Now that she is having math homework, she is struggling with understanding the wording and exactly what needs to be done.
For me I get most of it, but the way I learn may not be best for her. EX: My division I always do backwards as multiplication.
It makes me feel stupid at times that I don’t really get it.
Here are some examples of her Math.
Luckily we have great teachers who are helping the students as much as they can. They are trying to take the Common Core and break i down in their own terms, and I think that has helped a bit.
Is your child struggling with the new Common Core?
I am finding it a “struggle”, but only in the sense that it requires my child to use critical thinking and/or a greater understanding of the problem.
I would explain the first image as…
There are 4 sports trophies:
xxxx
There are 2 rows (of 4 sports trophies):
xxxx
xxxx
There are 3 shelves (of the 2 rows of 4 sports trophies):
1 2 3
xxxx xxxx xxxx
xxxx xxxx xxxx
I would explain the second image as…
The difference between what a row and a column are, (I always used the “Columns are like the columns that hold up a building;up and down) and grouping concepts.