Recently in class we were able to view all the classroom resources provided to teachers for mathematics in the K-6 classrooms in the Newfoundland and Labrador school system. While we have had some exposure to these materials before it was useful to see all the material for each grade together as a collection, to really be able to gauge what we have in each grade to help us along the way. I think, as with the curriculum resources for all grades, it is important to realize that these are not the only math resources we can use in a classroom but the main guide as to where our math should be at each grade level. I think it is important to review all the materials for the grade level we are about to teach, and then to reflect on that material, to consider what we do and do not like about it, and how we would go about teaching the specific materials and lessons. As our textbook states "To make decisions about the use of a textbook, it is good to have an objective view of textbooks and the role they can serve in instruction" (P.61). While the textbook and curriculum materials provide a base, they do not need to be seen as the be all and end all of teaching mathematics.
From looking through the materials provided to all the grades I did find it surprising how for kindergarten to second grade there was a large selection of materials to help give a visual to the material being covered. By third grade students were only provided with a workbook/textbook, that was not colorful like those of the earlier grades and was now just a black and white dull looking workbook. I can understand a gradual change from the more colorful childlike presentation, but it was an instant drop from a collection of colorful pictures books and a full color workbook, to nothing but a black and white work book with no additional resources provided. I believe that leaves it even more so up to the teacher to find appropriate resources for making math fun and interesting for these students.
Something else that stood out to me while browsing the curriculum materials was some of the actual material itself. For example I found it odd that in the sixth grade in one unit they would be learning how to shade a circle to show a fraction such as 1/3, and in the following unit they would be doing division with two and three digit numbers. I find these two lessons to be very different levels of difficulty, so different that it was hard for me to grasp how they could be for the same grade level. While they are different aspects of mathematics the level of difficulty still seemed to be extremely different.
I believe that as teachers we are provided with a large selection of resources to use to guide us in our teaching, but they are just that, a guide. We have to use our own knowledge and experience to create lessons around the provided learning objectives that truly engage the students in learning. From experience in this and other courses we have taken, I know that there are countless other resources out there for us to turn to when we want some additional information on a specific lesson or concept. I have also heard many parents state that they sometimes have trouble helping their students with math homework because many ways of doing math have changed since they were children. I think it is important for us as teachers to also take that into consideration, if the parents are able to help students with their math homework more efficiently students may grasps concepts more quickly and have more positive attitudes towards math. The teachers personal webpage they use for their class to keep students and parents informed on whats going on would be a great way to share websites and resources with parents that can help them at home. YouCubed is an excellent example of such a resource. We need to always be trying new things and finding what works and how to reach each new class of students we meet, each student is different but there is always a way to reach them and help them enjoy learning.
Text sourced: Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally by: Van de Walle, Folk, Karp, and Bay-Williams (2011).
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