At Corvian Community School, students are taught math concepts through the Common Core Standards for Mathematics Practice.
The standards for mathematical practice include:
- Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
- Reason abstractly and quantitatively
- Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
- Model with mathematics
- Use appropriate tools strategically
- Attend to precision
- Look for and make use of structure
- Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning
Corvian teachers introduce and teach these standards using a combination of research- based mathematical programs; the guiding principles of Kathy Richardson, the Investigations curriculum, and Engage New York. Students are first taught each concept through a mini lesson format before engaging in differentiated small group lessons specifically designed for each student’s instructional level.
In the primary grades (K-2), Corvian teacher’s instructional time focuses on:
- representing and comparing whole numbers, initially with sets of objects (K)
- describing shapes and space (K)
- developing an understanding of addition, subtraction, and strategies for addition and subtraction within 20 (1st)
- developing an understanding of whole number relationships and place value, including tens and ones (1st)
- developing an understanding of linear measurement and measuring lengths (1st)
- reasoning about attributes and composing/decomposing geometric shapes (1st)
- extending understanding of base-ten notation (2nd)
- building fluency with addition and subtraction (2nd)
- using standard units of measure (2nd)
- describing and analyzing shapes (2nd)
In the upper grades (3-5), Corvian teacher’s instructional time focuses on:
- developing understanding of multiplication and division and strategies for multiplication and division within 100 (3rd)
- developing understanding of fractions, especially unit fractions (fractions with numerator 1) (3rd)
- developing understanding of the structure of rectangular arrays and of area (3rd)
- describing and analyzing two-dimensional shapes (3rd)
- developing understanding and fluency with multi-digit multiplication and developing understanding of dividing to find quotients involving multi-digit dividends (4th)
- developing an understanding of fraction equivalence, addition and subtraction of fractions with like denominators, and multiplication of fractions by whole numbers (4th)
- understanding that geometric figures can be analyzed and classified based on their properties, such as having parallel sides, perpendicular sides, particular angle measures, and symmetry (4th)
- developing fluency with addition and subtraction of fractions, and developing understanding of the multiplication of fractions and of division of fractions in limited cases (unit fractions divided by whole numbers and whole numbers divided by unit fractions) (5th)
- extending division to 2-digit divisors, integrating decimal fractions into the place value system and developing understanding of operations with decimals to hundredths, and developing fluency with whole number and decimal operations (5th)
- developing understanding of volume (5th)