Comprehensive Guide for Early Mathematics Instruction
During the 2020-2021 school year, I teamed up with a diverse group of educators from across the city to produce the School District of Philadelphia's Comprehensive Guide for Early Math Instruction. We realized that, while much has been written about the connection between early literacy and later academic success, less emphasis has been placed on the importance of a strong mathematical foundation. The resulting document is a series of best practices, from lesson plans to specific teaching methods, intended to support early elementary educators in the School District of Philadelphia.
Why focus on early math?
What are the key early mathematical skills?
Check out our full guide here.
Why focus on early math?
- What children know about math when they enter kindergarten predicts their math achievement for years to come. (Claessens, Duncan, & Engel, 2009; Claessens & Engel, 2013; Duncan et al., 2007)
- Knowledge of math in the early years is a strong predictor of graduating high school (McCoy et al., 2017; Watts et al., 2014).
What are the key early mathematical skills?
- Sense-making (more/less, same/different)
- Numeracy (counting, cardinality, subatizing, quantity)
- Representing thinking (graphing, discussion)
Check out our full guide here.