Is this math problem 3rd grade appropriate?

[jodifla]

You cannot be banned from schools unless you assault someone. Give me a break that they are being warned from speaking to other parents. That is ridiculous. You are telling me you don't have freedom of speech in your area? If that nonsense is really going on then talk to other parents and when the principal calls you in to warn you, record them with your cell phone. Not illegal if you advise them of it. Then they will either refuse to warn you or do it. Then you can go to local papers and news stations.

If what you really care about is the education your children are getting and not CC than stop focusing on that and focus on the real issue at hand. Stop bringing up the standards that are not really the issue and your districts implementation. Start researching the standards your child is having issues with and better ways to teach it. Research districts doing it well and what they are doing. Speak in a positive way at the board meetings. Ask your district to write a curriculum that reflects the needs of your students.

This is on a conservative blog (I am a liberal) but it's reader input. Other commenters also have disturbing stories:

"When I began seeing the ill affects of Common Core in my second grader’s classroom, I reached out to other parents and asked if it was just me. Other parents echoed how they did not like the Common Core Math and what it was doing to their children. We asked for a meeting with the teacher and the principal. The principal denied us access to meet with her as a group, and outright told me to stop communicating with other parents about the Common Core because I was generating "unrest."

http://truthinamericaneducation.com...tells-parent-you-cant-talk-about-common-core/

 

[sam_gordon]

This is on a conservative blog (I am a liberal) but it's reader input. Other commenters also have disturbing stories:

"When I began seeing the ill affects of Common Core in my second graders classroom, I reached out to other parents and asked if it was just me. Other parents echoed how they did not like the Common Core Math and what it was doing to their children. We asked for a meeting with the teacher and the principal. The principal denied us access to meet with her as a group, and outright told me to stop communicating with other parents about the Common Core because I was generating "unrest."

http://truthinamericaneducation.com...tells-parent-you-cant-talk-about-common-core/

But don't you see, the principal has no power to enforce that "demand". What that parent and the others should do then is go to the school board. If that doesn't get anywhere, go to the DOE. Again, that's a failure of the principal.

ETA: If the principal wouldn't be willing to meet with entire group, why not "elect" 2-3 representatives to bring the concerns to the principal?

 

[jodifla]

Exactly!!! Our school district went about implementing CC very well and as a result the kids are truly getting it. They had CC testing in Sept and will have it again in May but overall, the kids (mine included) did well on the tests in Sept.

Our district has not bought new curriculum yet. The are sampling different curricula and the teachers are free to develop their own or use bits and pieces of whatever that like and what is working for their students.

I'm curious how you would know already that they did well on the tests they did in Sept.? In Kentucky and N.Y, the results took months.

Results are supposed to be out soon in N.C., and the state is bracing parents for very bad results.

 

[MSLRAC]

I'm curious how you would know already that they did well on the tests they did in Sept.? In Kentucky and N.Y, the results took months.

Results are supposed to be out soon in N.C., and the state is bracing parents for very bad results.

The results are back and we had conferences with the teachers last week to go over the results, what they meant and what growth is expected for the end of the year testing.

 

[castleview]

What does this have to do with my post you quoted?

You posted that parents are upset and complain that the test is wrong. I was telling you that mistakes have been found.

 

[sam_gordon]

You posted that parents are upset and complain that the test is wrong. I was telling you that mistakes have been found.

Ah. OK, I'll readily admit I'm sure there are mistakes on tests. What I was pointing out was parents claiming the test must be wrong because their kids didn't score well.

 

[jodifla]

The results are back and we had conferences with the teachers last week to go over the results, what they meant and what growth is expected for the end of the year testing.

This story indicates that Common Core testing doesn't start in South Carolina until 2014.

 

[sam_gordon]

This story indicates that Common Core testing doesn't start in South Carolina until 2014.

So wait, are you saying a parent posting on the internet could be wrong about their experiences with Common Core?

 

[jodifla]

So wait, are you saying a parent posting on the internet could be wrong about their experiences with Common Core?

No, I'm curious to know what the difference is.

What kind of test was it? The national test that the bulk of kids are failing? The quick result turnaround suggests its something else, and that her children will be in for a whole different type of testing next year.

 

[MSLRAC]

No, I'm curious to know what the difference is.

What kind of test was it? The national test that the bulk of kids are failing? The quick result turnaround suggests its something else, and that her children will be in for a whole different type of testing next year.

It was a CC test that was implemented along with their yearly MAP testing.

 

[pioneer89]

Will CC solve all our problems? Of course not. But the more I read on here, it just showcases problems with various teachers and administrators. Until you fix THOSE problems, kids will continue to have issues regardless of what standards you bring in.

I think this is an excellent point.

With Virginia's SOL (similar to CC) there was a lot of resistance, and some of it came from teachers and administrators. Some issues had to be "fixed" before moving forward. The key is stay focused on the standards, not all the noise about how hard change is.

In the end, the standards are achievable and measurable, and sadly a few professionals who were hiding behind a lack of standards were brought out into the open.

 

[castleview]

I think this is an excellent point.

With Virginia's SOL (similar to CC) there was a lot of resistance, and some of it came from teachers and administrators. Some issues had to be "fixed" before moving forward. The key is stay focused on the standards, not all the noise about how hard change is.

In the end, the standards are achievable and measurable, and sadly a few professionals who were hiding behind a lack of standards were brought out into the open.

Where were these lack of standards? Most states had them already, but they were constantly being changed to meet whatever "goal" was set at the federal level.

 

[nugov2]

This is on a conservative blog (I am a liberal) but it's reader input. Other commenters also have disturbing stories:

"When I began seeing the ill affects of Common Core in my second grader’s classroom, I reached out to other parents and asked if it was just me. Other parents echoed how they did not like the Common Core Math and what it was doing to their children. We asked for a meeting with the teacher and the principal. The principal denied us access to meet with her as a group, and outright told me to stop communicating with other parents about the Common Core because I was generating "unrest."

http://truthinamericaneducation.com...tells-parent-you-cant-talk-about-common-core/

I would guess that comments on a blog are more emotion based rather than fact based. The way it really happened is the Principal said I cannot meet with 15 angry parents or something similar to that. If a principal said that to me I would be at District Office asking to speak with the superintendent.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

No, I'm curious to know what the difference is.

What kind of test was it? The national test that the bulk of kids are failing? The quick result turnaround suggests its something else, and that her children will be in for a whole different type of testing next year.

The national tests (PARCC and SBAC) won't be available until the 2014-15 school year.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Children who barely know how to write the alphabet or add 2 and 2 are expected to write topic sentences and use diagrams to illustrate math equations

Again, I'll offer an example from a lesson I taught the other day. I happened to teach this to a group of slightly older students with disabilities, but it's aligned with the Kindergarten Common Core standards.

We started by singing the song, 5 Green and Speckled Frogs, a few times through. The song was already familiar from music class. For those of you who don't know it's one of those class "count backwards from 5" songs that goes like this:

Five green and speckled frogs
Sitting on a speckled log
Eating some most delicious bugs
yum yum yum
One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Now there are four green speckled frogs

After we sang it a couple of times to refresh our memories, I took out a piece of paper on which I had made a workmat with a picture of a log, and a picture of a pool of water. On top of the log was a 5 frame. That is, a strip of 5 boxes. I showed the kids how to put little paper frogs inside the boxes, and then sing the song, while moving the frogs into the pool one at a time.

Then I said to them, you know we could sing it a little differently. We could sing it like this:

Five green and speckled frogs
. . .

Two jumped into the pool

. . .

I sang it through and then paused at the last line, and had the kids help me figure out how many frogs were left.

Then we sang it through with different numbers of jumping frogs, figuring out the answer.

We practiced covering up the pool with another sheet of paper and figuring out the verse, just looking at the frogs on the log. If you have 5 boxes, and only 2 frogs, you can figure out how many jumped, by looking at the empty boxes.

Finally, I showed them how they could write out an equation (note: I wouldn't do this step with most K kids at this point in the year, as we introduce the + and - symbols later, but since these kids weren't actually in K they had already been introduced), to describe the boxes on the log. I'd write an equation and they'd move the paper frogs and then we'd sing the verse together. Later, I moved the frogs and they wrote the equation.

Totally age appropriate. Plenty concrete for a 5 year old, and fun too boot!

 

[nugov2]

Again, I'll offer an example from a lesson I taught the other day. I happened to teach this to a group of slightly older students with disabilities, but it's aligned with the Kindergarten Common Core standards.

We started by singing the song, 5 Green and Speckled Frogs, a few times through. The song was already familiar from music class. For those of you who don't know it's one of those class "count backwards from 5" songs that goes like this:

Five green and speckled frogs
Sitting on a speckled log
Eating some most delicious bugs
yum yum yum
One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Now there are four green speckled frogs

After we sang it a couple of times to refresh our memories, I took out a piece of paper on which I had made a workmat with a picture of a log, and a picture of a pool of water. On top of the log was a 5 frame. That is, a strip of 5 boxes. I showed the kids how to put little paper frogs inside the boxes, and then sing the song, while moving the frogs into the pool one at a time.

Then I said to them, you know we could sing it a little differently. We could sing it like this:

Five green and speckled frogs
. . .

Two jumped into the pool

. . .

I sang it through and then paused at the last line, and had the kids help me figure out how many frogs were left.

Then we sang it through with different numbers of jumping frogs, figuring out the answer.

We practiced covering up the pool with another sheet of paper and figuring out the verse, just looking at the frogs on the log. If you have 5 boxes, and only 2 frogs, you can figure out how many jumped, by looking at the empty boxes.

Finally, I showed them how they could write out an equation (note: I wouldn't do this step with most K kids at this point in the year, as we introduce the + and - symbols later, but since these kids weren't actually in K they had already been introduced), to describe the boxes on the log. I'd write an equation and they'd move the paper frogs and then we'd sing the verse together. Later, I moved the frogs and they wrote the equation.

Totally age appropriate. Plenty concrete for a 5 year old, and fun too boot!

Since you are the 2nd person to quote me: I wasn't the original poster of this comment:

Children who barely know how to write the alphabet or add 2 and 2 are expected to write topic sentences and use diagrams to illustrate math equations

I was quoting the OP of that comment saying there is no reason a K student couldn't do that and that the expectations were not a dissertation but a few words using inventive spelling. I just don't want people thinking that I stated that

 

[luv2sleep]

Ran into a mom last night who feels the curriculum isn't hard enough in first grade and wants her kid in private school so she can be further ahead. Go figure. We are JUST keeping up