Early Childhood - Connecticut State Department of Education

Mathematics Chapter 6
• Collect, describe and record information.
• Collect, organize and display information.
Connecticut Mathematics Curriculum Framework
• algebraic reasoning: patterns and functions
• numerical and proportional reasoning
• geometry and measurement
• working with data: probability and statistics
The National Association for the Education of
Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Council of
Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) suggest that 3-to-6
year-olds should be introduced to the key content areas of
number sense, operations, geometry and measurement.
This guide illustrates how the above content areas and
other topics: patterns, estimation and data analysis,
and probability and statistics, can be integrated
within the daily curriculum. In order to help teachers
to be purposeful and intentional in their planning,
two guidance sections – one on process standards, the
second on content standards – are presented. Strategies
to assist teachers in planning instruction around the
mathematical processes are included.
PROCESS STANDARDS
Learning happens over time. Children must move
through the stages of learning from awareness to
exploration to inquiry to utilization. Teachers must
plan multiple experiences that help children become
comfortable with all five mathematical processes:
problem solving, reasoning, communicating, connecting
and representing.
Problem Solving
Problem solving is the ability to get involved in a task
in pursuit of a solution. In problem solving, children
develop dispositions for persisting, testing, focusing
and risk taking. They develop flexibility, confidence
and motivation to look at life’s experiences and wonder.
To encourage these characteristics teachers should use
the following strategies:
• provide uninterrupted time for investigation
and exploration;
• use questioning strategies with children
that encourage open-ended, creative thinking;
and
• guide children to make connections between
prior learning and new experiences.
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Reasoning
Reasoning is the ability to explain and analyze
possibilities for problem solving. It includes recognizing
patterns and guessing what comes next, asking why and
creating individual hypotheses. To promote reasoning
skills teachers should use the following strategies:
• encourage children to think about hypotheses
and talk about process as well as information;
• promote the habit of guessing, hypothesizing
and evaluating work; and
• create a classroom where abundant questioning,
investigation and discovery are
norms.
Communicating
Explaining hypotheses helps to organize and connect
learning. Encouraging children to explain why or how
to teachers and peers deepens their learning. Conflicting
opinions, approval and encouragement from others
promote further understanding and consolidation of
concepts. Teachers play important roles as observers,
questioners, clarifiers and supporters. To help children
develop communication skills in this area, teachers
should use the following strategies:
Connecting
• relate mathematical ideas to pictures and
diagrams;
• take the time to model and encourage reflection
on ideas and experiences; and
• relate activities and experiences to mathematical
terms and symbols.
Children are engaged in exploring mathematical concepts
throughout their preschool years. Classroom
experiences enable the child to connect life experiences
with formal mathematical concepts. A key role for
teachers is guiding children to see connections between
their life experiences and the other content areas. To
help children make such connections, teachers should
use the following strategies:
• find relationships among classroom activities
and mathematical reasoning;
• use math vocabulary and processes in all
areas of the curriculum; and
• discuss connections to science, literature,
family and cultural background.