From the desk of Mrs. Eleczko, Instructional Math Coach at Douglas Elementary
Dear Families,
Welcome to the Math Family Resources Page. Whether you already have a child in elementary school or yours is just beginning his/her journey, you have realized (or quickly will) that this is not the same math we learned in school. Much of the content is the same, but the ways in which we think about, talk about and do math is very different. Growing up, math was either right or wrong. 2 plus 2 is 4 and getting the correct answer was all that mattered. I sailed through math right until I got to college. Then, for the first time in my life, I failed a course! My professor actually wanted me to understand and explain the math not just use a formula. It turns out that I was not so great at math after all. I could do it, but I had no idea why it worked or didn't work. Math is no longer about merely memorizing facts. We strive for conceptual understanding of mathematical practices and instruction. As a parent, this is pretty daunting. We may not understand that ways in which our children are talking about math and definitely have no clue about how to help them. The intention of this website is to help you figure that out. I will provide articles, websites and resources for you to navigate your way through the Common Core and research based practices. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Have a great school year!