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STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. 1

INTRODUCTION
MODULE OVERVIEW

Mathematics, or math, is the study of numbers and how they are related to each other and to the real
world. Math is as important as language. In fact, people sometimes describe math as a kind of language.
Everyone uses math every day—to tell time, to play games, to cook, to build things, and to do almost any kind
of work.

Math is important and it’s important to help young children develop their mathematical thinking. A child’s
math knowledge at the start of kindergarten predicts later academic achievement better than early reading or
attention skills.

Math is part of children’s everyday lives. Taking advantage of each of these math moments develops math
learning. Each math moment is like a charging station that helps children become ready for more math
learning.

Math is measuring, sorting, building, noticing patterns, making comparisons, and describing the
environment, as well as counting and knowing the names of shapes. There are many ways to incorporate
math learning into everyday moments.

Talking about math is also important and every bit of math talk helps. Research shows a small increase in
math talk, such as asking about how many objects there will be if we add one or take one away, brings big
results.

It’s important to believe your child can get better at math and develop mathematical skills. Growth
mindset, the belief that we can keep learning and getting better at math, is very important in supporting
children to become mathematicians.

When children focus on problem solving rather than on getting the right answer they learn more.

Parents’ mindsets about math influence children. Children notice when adults feel anxious about math or
say things like “some people are just not good at math.” Girls in particular pick up on attitudes held by female
adults. Instead of saying “I’m not good at math,” try saying, “Let me try to figure that out.” Focus on problem
solving. Your words and attitude matter!

You can foster a positive attitude toward math: Find ways to incorporate enjoyable math activities and
math talk into regular activities like cooking, setting the table, and going for a neighborhood walk. Find
math activities that you enjoy and feel confident doing.

Change can be hard. If math makes you anxious, accept your feelings and thoughts. Keep working
towards your goals. Think about who might have influenced your own math attitude.

It’s okay to make mistakes. Mistakes help us learn! Focus on problem solving and using mistakes as an
opportunity to promote growth mindset, “Let’s try again.”

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module, you should have:

1. cited the implications of the philosophical considerations in teaching Mathematics; and
2. elaborated on the influences of philosophical considerations on the School Mathematics Curriculum.

PHILOSOPHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Mathematics introduces children to concepts, skills and thinking strategies that are essential in
everyday life and support learning across the curriculum. It helps children make sense of the numbers,

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patterns and shapes they see in the world around them, offers ways of handling data in an increasingly
digital world and makes a crucial contribution to their development as successful learners. Children
delight in using mathematics to solve a problem, especially when it leads them to an unexpected discovery or
new connections. As their confidence grows, they look for patterns, use logical reasoning, suggest solutions
and try out different approaches to problems. Mathematics offers children a powerful way of
communicating. They learn to explore and explain their ideas using symbols, diagrams and spoken and
written language. They start to discover how mathematics has developed over time and contributes to our
economy, society and culture. Studying mathematics stimulates curiosity, fosters creativity and equips
children with the skills they need in life beyond school.

How Does Mathematics Contribute to Everyday Life and Society?

This relates to what are often referred to as utilitarian aims. We teach mathematics because it is useful
for everyone in meeting the demands of everyday living. Many everyday transactions and real-life problems,
and most forms of employment, require confidence and competence in a range of basic mathematical skills
and knowledge – such as measurement, manipulating shapes, organizing space, handling money,
recording and interpreting numerical and graphical data, and using information and communications
technology (ICT).

Teachers themselves, for example, need a large range of such skills in their everyday professional life –
for example, in handling school finances and budgets, in organizing their timetables, in planning the
spatial arrangement of the classroom, in processing assessment data, in interpreting inspection
reports and in using ICT in their teaching.

How Does Mathematics Contribute to Other Areas of the Curriculum?

This relates to the application of mathematics. We teach mathematics because it has applications in a
range of contexts, including other areas of the curriculum. Much of mathematics as we know it today has
developed in response to practical challenges in science and technology, in the social sciences and in
economics. So, as well as being a subject in its own right, with its own patterns, principles and procedures,
mathematics is a subject that can be applied. The primary-school teacher who is responsible for teaching
nearly all the areas of the curriculum is uniquely placed to take advantage of opportunities that arise, for
example, in the context of science and technology, in the arts, in history, geography and society, to apply
mathematical skills and concepts purposefully in meaningful contexts – and to make explicit to the children
what mathematics is being applied.

How Does Mathematics Contribute to the Child’s Intellectual Development?

This includes what are sometimes referred to as thinking skills. We teach mathematics because it
provides opportunities for developing important intellectual skills in problem solving, deductive and
inductive reasoning, creative thinking and communication.

Sometimes to solve a mathematical problem we have to reason logically and systematically, using
what is called deductive reasoning. Other times, an insight that leads to a solution may require thinking
creatively, divergently and imaginatively. But also in learning mathematics, children have many
opportunities to ‘look for patterns’. This involves inductive reasoning leading to the articulation of
generalizations, statements of what is always the case. The process of using a number of specific instances
to formulate a general rule or principle, which can then be applied in other instances, is at the heart of
mathematical thinking.

Mathematics is effectively a language, containing technical terminology, distinctive patterns of spoken

and written language, a range of diagrammatic devices and a distinctive way of using symbols to represent
and manipulate concepts. Children use this language to articulate their observations and to explain and later
to justify or prove their conclusions in mathematics.

How Does Mathematics Contribute to the Child’s Enjoyment of Learning?

This relates to what is sometimes referred to as the aesthetic aim in teaching mathematics. We teach
mathematics because it has an inherent beauty that can provide the learner with delight and enjoyment.
There may be some whose experience of learning mathematics in school may not resonate with this

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statement but there really is potential for genuine enjoyment and pleasure for children in primary schools in
exploring and learning mathematics. It is emotionally satisfying for children to be able to make coherent
‘sense of the numbers, patterns and shapes they see in the world around them’, for example, through
the processes of classification and conceptualization. ‘Children delight in using mathematics to solve a
problem’ – indeed they will often be seen to smile with pleasure when they get an insight that leads to a
solution; when they spot a pattern, discover something for themselves or make connections; when
they find a mathematical rule that always works – or even identify an exception that challenges a rule.
The extensive patterns that underlie mathematics can be fascinating, and recognizing and exploiting these
can be genuinely satisfying. Mathematics can be appreciated as a creative experience, in which flexibility
and imaginative thinking can lead to interesting outcomes or fresh avenues to explore for the curious
mind.

What Do Children Learn in Using and Applying Mathematics in the Primary School?

Much of this attainment target is about using and applying mathematics in real-life contexts: ‘children
use mathematics as an integral part of classroom activities’. This leads on to the development of problem-
solving strategies. These are used and developed not just in realistic problems set in real-life contexts, but
also through what we might regard as essentially problems within mathematics itself: ‘children develop their
own strategies for solving problems and use these strategies both in working within mathematics and in
applying mathematics to practical contexts’. In practice, it makes little sense to categorize problems as either
‘within mathematics’ or in ‘practical contexts’. There is really a continuum of contexts for using and
applying mathematics. At one end are problems that are purely mathematical, just about numbers and
shapes, in which the outcome is of no particular practical significance. An example would be: how many
different shapes can you make by joining five identical squares together edge to edge? At the other
end of the continuum would be problems that are genuine, real-life situations that need to be solved. An
example might be: how much orange squash should we buy to be able to provide three drinks for each
player in the interschool football tournament? But many other problems or investigations are set in real-
life contexts, but are perhaps less genuine. An example might be: find out as many interesting things
as you can about the way the page numbers are arranged on the sheets of a newspaper. The using and
applying mathematics attainment target also includes the development of mathematical reasoning:
‘children show that they understand a general statement by finding particular examples that match it – they
look for patterns and relationships.’ The key processes in mathematical reasoning include those associated
with recognizing patterns and relationships, making conjectures, formulating hypotheses, articulating
and using generalizations. Then, another is about the development of skills in communicating with
mathematics: ‘they explain why an answer is correct – presenting information and results in a clear and
organized way – draw simple conclusions of their own and explain their reasoning.’ It is in using and
applying mathematics that children get the most powerful experience of communicating with mathematical
language, symbols and diagrams. This will involve explaining insights, describing the outcomes of an
investigation, providing convincing reasons for a conclusion they have drawn, or offering evidence to
support a point of view.

How Does Numeracy relate to Mathematical Understanding?

There was a time when ‘numeracy’ was understood to refer to no more than competence with numbers
and calculations within the demands of everyday life – a small subset of the mathematics curriculum. The
word was often preceded by the word ‘basic’. So, it would amount to not much more than knowing your
multiplication tables and being able to work out simple everyday calculations with money – most of which in
reality would be done with calculators anyway. Then – apparently without any justification – in the early
twenty-first century the National Numeracy Strategy in England chose to use the word synonymously with
‘mathematics’. So everything in the primary mathematics curriculum suddenly became numeracy, and
mathematics lessons in primary schools became ‘the numeracy hour’. The 2010 revision of the primary
curriculum in England (DCSF/QCDA, 2010b) has sensibly brought back ‘mathematics’, in the section of the
curriculum entitled ‘Mathematical Understanding’ – and given a new lease of life to the word ‘numeracy’.

Significantly, numeracy now appears as one of the Essential for Learning and Life, which are aspects of
learning to be embedded and developed across the curriculum. In this new understanding of the term,
numeracy is clearly and specifically about the using and applying aspects of mathematics: ‘Children
use and apply mathematics confidently and competently in their learning and in everyday contexts. They
recognize where mathematics can be used to solve problems and are able to interpret a wide range of
mathematical data’ (DCSF/QCDA, 2010b, Essentials for Learning and Life). So, numeracy takes on a much

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more substantial meaning, including aspects like problem solving, using mathematical models of real-
life situations and communicating with mathematics. Encouragingly, the requirement to develop
numeracy, understood in this way, across the curriculum has the potential to make the using and applying
aspect of mathematics appropriately prominent in primary learning and teaching – and not just in mathematics
lessons.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1

Enumerate at least 5 Famous Philosophers with their Philosophy about Mathematics.

INFLUENCES ON THE SCHOOL MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM

 Professional Organizations

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the National Association for the
Education of Young Children (NAEYC) affirm that high-quality, challenging, and accessible mathematics
education for 3- to 6-year-old children is a vital foundation for future mathematics learning. In every early
childhood setting, children should experience effective, research-based curriculum and teaching practices.
Such high-quality classroom practice requires policies, organizational supports, and adequate resources that
enable teachers to do this challenging and important work.

NCTM Principles for School Mathematics

Equity: Excellence in mathematics education requires equally high expectations and strong support for all
students.

Curriculum: A curriculum is more than a collection of activities; it must be coherent, focused on important
mathematics, and well-articulated across the grades.

Teaching: Effective mathematics teaching requires understanding of what students know and need to learn
and then challenging and supporting them to learn it well.

Learning: Students must learn mathematics with understanding, actively building new knowledge from
experience and prior knowledge.

Assessment: Assessment should support the learning of important mathematics and furnish useful
information to both teachers and students.

Technology: Technology is essential to teaching and learning mathematics; it influences the mathematics
that is taught and enhances students’ learning.

In high-quality mathematics education for 3- to 6-year-old children, teachers and other key
professionals should:

 enhance children’s natural interest in mathematics and their disposition to use it to make sense of
their physical and social worlds;
 build on children’s experience and knowledge, including their family, linguistic, cultural, and
community backgrounds; their individual approaches to learning; and their informal knowledge;
 base mathematics curriculum and teaching practices on knowledge of young children’s cognitive,
linguistic, physical, and social emotional development;
 use curriculum and teaching practices that strengthen children’s problem-solving and reasoning
processes as well as representing, communicating, and connecting mathematical ideas;
 ensure that the curriculum is coherent and compatible with known relationships and sequences of
important mathematical ideas;
 provide for children’s deep and sustained interaction with key mathematical ideas;
 integrate mathematics with other activities and other activities with mathematics;
 provide ample time, materials, and teacher support for children to engage in play, a context in which
they explore and manipulate mathematical ideas with keen interest;
 actively introduce mathematical concepts, methods, and language through a range of appropriate
experiences and teaching strategies; and

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 support children’s learning by thoughtfully and continually assessing all children’s mathematical
knowledge, skills, and strategies.

To support high quality mathematics education, institutions, program developers, and policy makers
should:

 create more effective early childhood teacher preparation and continuing professional development;
 use collaborative processes to develop well aligned systems of appropriate high-quality standards,
curriculum, and assessment;
 design institutional structures and policies that support teachers’ ongoing learning, teamwork, and
planning; and
 provide resources necessary to overcome the barriers to young children’s mathematical proficiency at
the classroom, community, institutional, and system-wide levels.

 Mathematical Textbooks

Why Use Mathematics Books in the Classroom?

There are many benefits to using math books in the classroom which include:

 the combination of math and books together creates a wonderful partnership where children’s
numeracy skills are being developed at the same time as their literacy skills;
 different mathematical concepts can be developed, depending on what the book is focusing on;
 math books can help children to better visualize and understand mathematical concepts;
 math books can help teachers explain mathematical concepts to children in child-friendly terminology
and present the concept from a different perspective;
 math books capture children’s attention and ‘draw them in’, and this engagement allows for maximum
learning to take place;
 math books show children that math is all around us and that we use it everyday;
 math books encourage children to use their problem solving skills; and
 these types of books can expand children’s mathematical language and vocabulary.

 Mathematics and Numeracy Assessment

Assessment in mathematics and numeracy is more than forming judgments about a learner’s ability. It
monitors the learner’s understanding of the mathematical language, concepts and skills and what they need
to do to succeed.

This requires:

 an understanding of how learning develops;

 what skills and knowledge learners need to progress;
 the common misunderstandings that can delay learning; and
 Scaffolding student learning in mathematics is the primary task of teachers.

Teachers need accurate information about what each student already knows and with support, what might
be within the student’s grasp.

Assessment Tools

Using assessment tools and techniques that show student thinking requires:

 an understanding what different student responses might mean; and

 practical ideas to address the learning needs identified.

School based assessment may also contribute to building a clear picture of the learner. Examples of
assessment in mathematics and numeracy include:

 feedback and reflection;

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 student self-assessments;
 student portfolios;
 validated tools;
 anecdotal evidence;
 teacher moderated student assessment tasks; and
 student self-reflections, interests and surveys.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 2

Create a beautifully illustrated math book for young learners (choose only one topic; size: 8.5”x13”).

MATH PROGRAMS

 Singapore Math

The Method

The Singapore math method is focused on mastery, which is achieved through intentional sequencing of
concepts. Some of the key features of the approach include the CPA (Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract)
progression, number bonds, bar modeling, and mental math. Instead of pushing through rote memorization,
students learn to think mathematically and rely on the depth of knowledge gained in previous lessons.

So how is this different from the way math is widely taught in the U.S.?

In typical U.S. math programs, students get a worked example, then solve problems that very closely
follow that example, repeating all the same steps with different numbers. In Singapore math, students must
think through concepts and apply them in new ways from the very start. Since they can’t rely on simple
replication, students are pushed to greater engagement and broader thinking. In U.S. math programs,
concepts and skills are more compartmentalized within and across grade levels than in Singapore math,
where a strong sense of connectivity to past learning is woven throughout.

Singapore math not only helps students become more successful problem solvers, it helps them gain a
sense of confidence and resourcefulness because it insists on conceptual depth. This naturally prepares
students to excel in more advanced math.

The Components

Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract (CPA) Approach

The Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract (CPA) approach develops a deep understanding of math through
building on existing knowledge. This highly effective framework introduces concepts in a tangible way and
progresses to increasing levels of abstraction. In the concrete phase, students interact with physical objects to
model problems. In the pictorial phase, they make a mental connection between the objects they just handled
and visual representations of those objects. For example, real oranges (or counters standing in for oranges)
are now represented as drawings of oranges. In the abstract phase, students use symbolic modeling of
problems using numbers and math symbols (+, −, ×, ÷).

By varying the methods and phases of CPA fluidly, educators help reinforce important connections.
Students work towards math mastery when they view concepts with increasing levels of abstraction over time.
Not all lessons include all three CPA stages as application of this approach varies by topic. Instead, CPA
principles are woven throughout the curriculum, and support other important strategies such as number
bonds, bar modeling, and mental math.

Number Bonds

Number bonds are a pictorial technique that show the part-whole relationship between numbers. Initially,
the whole number is written in one circle, and the parts of the number are written in adjoining circles
connected by lines to the first circle. This method helps early elementary students work towards addition and
subtraction, and illustrates strategies to solve expressions mentally. Using number bonds fosters a solid
number sense that serves students throughout their math education.

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Ex. Students represent birds. Have 5 students go to the front of the class and ask the rest of the class how
many students there are. Send 2 more students up to the front and ask, “How many students are there now?”
Ask students to explain what happened. The interaction introduces students to the problem in a tangible way.

Bar Modeling

Bar models are a versatile and transferable tool that students can use to visualize a range of math
concepts, such as fractions, ratios, percentages, and more. Drawing bar models for word problems allows
students to determine the knowns and unknowns in a given situation. It extends the CPA approach, especially
the pictorial phase, as it allows students to illustrate the mathematical information given in problems. It
prepares them to understand more complex math on a conceptual level. This method is most effective when
used frequently throughout the program.

Mental Math

The Singapore Math approach teaches techniques and skills to easily and accurately perform mental
math. These strategies help students develop number sense and flexibility in thinking about numbers. Many
mental math strategies involve factoring numbers into parts, then performing operations on them in a different
order from the original expression. The thought processes involved in mental math are often illustrated by
number bonds.

Some mental math strategies are taught as early as grade 1. As students’ progress, they learn to apply
new mental math strategies to specific types of problems and adapt ones they already know. Students are
encouraged to develop their own strategies, and to use their discernment in deciding when and where to use
them.

 Kumon

The Basics
Kumon is the world’s largest after-school math and reading program. Kumon Students progress
independently through a carefully crafted, worksheet-based math and reading curriculum. Regardless of their
age, students move at their own pace, which means many children end up studying far beyond their school
grade level. While Kumon Instructors are there to lesson plan, evaluate, and guide your child, students
ultimately develop self-learning skills, learning primarily on their own.

How Does it Work?

The first step in any child’s Kumon journey is to take a placement test, which determines their starting
point in the program. Your child’s starting point might seem a bit easy—don’t worry, it’s supposed to be!
Students start at a comfortable level, which helps them learn how Kumon works, while building skills like focus
and speed. It also ensures that there are no gaps in your child’s learning, as every skill builds on the one
before. In order to master long division, for example, your child first needs to have strong subtraction and
multiplication skills. Students then progress step-by-step through the program.

What Does a Typical Week at Kumon Look Like?

Kumon was designed as a home-based program, and most of your child’s work will be completed at
home. That’s because consistent daily study is the key to building skills and habits that stick. Just 15 to 30
minutes of work a day can go a long way! We recommend that students set a “Kumon Time” to do their work
every day. After a few weeks, worksheets will just be another normal part of your child’s daily routine.
Students typically visit their center twice a week. Center visits allow the Instructor to observe their
students, which helps them lesson plan and determine if the students are ready to move onto new concepts. It
also allows the Instructor to provide guidance when necessary. One key to learning in the Kumon Program
is making mistakes. Every worksheet is graded, and students must correct their mistakes until they achieve
100%. Evaluating how well a student can correct their mistakes is a major component of an Instructor’s lesson
planning.

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What Else?

That’s pretty much it! Kumon is a simple program that has big results. The worksheets were designed
specifically to allow your child to learn on their own, and have been refined constantly over the last 60 years to
ensure that students can learn as smoothly as possible. Kumon Students improve not only their math and
reading skills, but build confidence, focus, and determination. Perhaps more importantly, they learn how to
learn, a skill that will last a lifetime!

 Montessori

Much of the Montessori curriculum is based on giving children exposure to concrete materials
first, then giving them incremental opportunities to work to more abstract concepts. This is no
different when it comes to math.

What do we mean by concrete? The children are able to hold a material in their hands. The
materials are symbolic or representative of something else (a number, perhaps), and that symbolism
changes over time until children are ready to let go of the materials and find solutions on paper or
even in their heads. This idea of mastering a skill without the assistance of materials is what we
refer to as abstraction.

At the primary level math starts out simple, but you may be surprised at how much preschoolers
are capable of.

Even before a child is able to count, they experience the skill using materials like the number
rods, a series of blue and red colored wooden rods that are arranged in a stair -like pattern. Children
learn how to count using a variety of materials. The spindle box is an early material with which
children place the correct amount of wooden spindles in compartments labeled 1 -9. Sandpaper
numbers (just like their letter counterparts!) teach children how to correctly form each number to
develop readiness for writing them on paper.

When a child is ready to learn about basic operations, there are plenty of materials to support
them. Montessori math uses the golden bead material; first to build numbers into the
thousands. For example a single golden bead represents 1, a group of 10 beads are strung together
in a straight line for 10, and 100 beads are affixed into a flat square. The thousand cube is as large
as 1,000 of the original single ‘1’ bead. Once a child is able to build a visual representation of a
number, the beads are used to teach basic operations. Young children are able to add, subtract,
multiply, and divide numbers into the thousands using this material. They first learn with static
problems - that is, with no exchanges - and then move on to more complex, dynamic problems. They
quickly learn that ten 1s is equal to one 10, and they do this by holding those numbers in their
hands.

Montessori recognizes the importance of memorizing basic facts. While when we were young we
may have used flashcards to drill these facts into our heads, the Mo ntessori approach begins by
showing children why we manipulate numbers in different ways. Young children appreciate the
repetitive nature of the materials, which gives them plenty of opportunities to practice (and
memorize!) these facts. The addition and subtraction strip boards show a child visually what is
happening when we add numbers. The same goes for the multiplication and division bead boards
(which use small beads placed in divots on a wooden board to create an array).

A Period of Overlap

Somewhere between kindergarten and the first year of lower elementary, children are taught to
use new math materials depending upon their individual readiness. The stamp game is a classic
example.

The stamp game material is a sectioned box with small colored tiles sorted inside. There are
labeled green, ‘one’ tiles, blue ‘ten’ tiles, red ‘hundred’ tiles, and green ‘thousand’ tiles. Instead of

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holding a large cube that actually shows the relative size of one thousand as they did with the gol den
beads, they are now representing series of tiles that are all the same size, but are differentiated only
by their color and number label. Like the golden beads, the stamp game material is used to teach all
four operations, with children adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing into the
thousands. Some children begin this work in their primary classroom and continue when they reach
elementary, while others begin once they enter their lower elementary classroom.

It may be interesting to note that there are some Montessori materials that children spiral back
to, over and over again, from ages 3 to 12! The bead chains are a colorful, quintessential
Montessori material. In the primary classroom, children use them to learn how to count, and pe rhaps
how to skip count. In a lower elementary classroom they are used for skip counting and to help
memorize multiplication facts. In upper elementary children use them to solidify concepts like
squaring and cubing, although they were indirectly prepari ng for that work for years previously.

What Does Elementary Math Look Like?

Remember the green, blue, and red tiles of the stamp game? Montessori refers to those as the
hierarchical colors, and they are used to teach children about number series. They first appear in
the stamp game, but they continue to follow the child through lower elementary and into upper
elementary until they have a firm grasp on the idea of the simple family of numbers (ones, tens,
hundreds), the thousand family (thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands), and so on.

After a child masters operations with the stamp game, they move on to use a material called the
bead frame, which can teach addition, subtraction, and multiplication. It looks a bit like an abacus,
but with ten beads on each rod in the hierarchical colors. After a child masters the bead frame, they
are typically ready to add and subtract into the thousands (and beyond!) using just pencil and paper.

To learn larger multiplication problems, children use a material called the checkerboard. They
begin small, but eventually work their way up to problems that have three or four digit
multipliers. For long division, children use a material that goes by different names at different
schools: the racks and tubes, aka the test tube material. Once children master the checkerboard
and racks and tubes, they are able to multiply and divide large numbers without materials.

During the elementary years fact memorization continues. In early lower elementary, many
children continue to use the strip boards and bead boards of their primary years, but eventually move
on to using finger boards and tables in which they place numbered tiles. Children notice the patterns
numbers make, giving them more tools to memorize their facts.

There’s More!

Of course, math isn’t just about operations. Montessori students learn about geometry and
fractions from an early age.

Did you know that primary children learn the names of geometric solids? They can easily
identify not just cubes and spheres, but square based pyramids, rectangular prisms, ellipsoids, and
more. As they move into elementary they learn about range of concepts, including studies of angles,
triangles, polygons, and so much more. A third grader can easily identify a right-angled, isosceles
triangle.

When it comes to fractions, first graders start out simple with an impressionist lesson involving
an apple and a definition of fractions that includes how they must always be fairly divided (th e
connections between fractions and division are impressed early on). They next move on to using
fraction insets, which look a lot like the metal insets they used for handwriting preparation in their
primary classrooms. Before you know it, many third graders are learning to multiply and divide
fractions.

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LEARNING ACTIVITY 3

Math Program Pros Cons

Singapore Math

Kumon

Montessori

SUMMARY

Math knowledge is useful for all of us—from children to adults—in all aspects of our lives. When
parents and teachers get excited about math, then children get excited about math. When we emphasize
learning, and embrace mistakes, then children get excited about learning.

REFERENCES

https://www.livescience.com/38936-mathematics.html
https://illustrativemathematics.blog/2021/01/04/what-does-it-mean-to-know-mathematics/
https://www.verywellfamily.com/singapore-math-pros-and-cons-620953
https://hollismontessori.org/blog/2018/3/19/montessori-basics-how-math-progresses-through-the-
levels#:~:text=Montessori%20math%20uses%20the%20golden,affixed%20into%20a%20flat%20square.
https://www.kumon.com/resources/what-is-kumon/
https://uk.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/34247_Haylock_chapter_2.pdf
https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-
statements/psmath.pdf
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/maths/Pages/maths-and-
numeracy-assessment.aspx

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 10