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| Didax "Class Ideas" Newsletter Archive |
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With the presidential election finally behind us, it's time to take a deep breath and get back to the everyday business of teaching and learning! This month Class Ideas is focusing on the foundational topic of pre-kindergarten mathematics. Why is it so important to get children started early in math? Surprisingly, research shows that preschool math learning predicts not only later learning in mathematics but also literacy and reading skills.
To speak on this important subject, we?re pleased to bring you an exclusive interview with noted math educator and author Kathy Richardson. Also in this issue: a terrific subscribers-only special on Kathy?s new book, DEVELOPING MATH CONCEPTS IN PRE-KINDERGARTEN, sample downloadable activities from the book, and a handful of Internet-based resources to feed your preschooler?s natural curiosity about math. Just scroll down to the next section to get started!
Cindy O'Neill, Editor |
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| An Interview with Kathy Richardson |
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 Kathy Richardson has been guiding teachers in the thoughtful teaching of mathematics to young children for more than 30 years. In her latest book, Developing Number Concepts in Pre-Kindergarten, published by Didax this month, Kathy brings her knowledge and enthusiasm for how young children learn math to the preschool level. Class Ideas caught up with Kathy recently at her offices in Bellingham, WA, where she talked about her teaching philosophy and why she wrote her new book.
You?ve written a number of successful math teaching series, including Assessing Math Concepts and Developing Number Concepts for grades K?3. What was your goal in writing this new book?
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) included pre-kindergarten standards in their Principals and Standards for School Mathematics for the first time in 2000. My intention in writing the book was to provide pre-K teachers with the research framework and practical applications they need to implement these standards in a thoughtful way. As I explained in the book, it?s important that curriculum practices and assessment techniques reflect what we know about how young children learn?and the way their development affects their learning.
What is the most important thing for pre-K teachers to grasp when introducing math concepts to preschoolers?
Young children are naturally very curious about the mathematics in their world. They naturally ask questions like, ?How many are there??, ?How many do we need??, ?How are these two shapes alike??, ?Which one is bigger?? In their play and exploration, the children themselves provide many wonderful opportunities for the teaching of mathematics. If teachers can follow their lead and work with that natural curiosity, they can go a long way to establishing the necessary foundation for children?s later growth in mathematics understanding.
It?s also important for teachers to recognize that it?s not always obvious which experiences help build understanding in young children and which do not. We often make assumptions that children think what we are thinking when they perform correctly. However, children can give the right answer and not know what they?re saying. Conversely, they can also give the ?wrong? answer and still be pondering an important idea. If we?re willing to learn from the children?s honest responses, we?ll be able to present ideas to them in all their complexity rather than oversimplifying them with the object of ensuring ?success.?
How does your approach help young children develop the background they need to be ready for Kindergarten, first grade, and beyond?
The NCTM Standards give us a vision of mathematics for young children. In the standards summary, the NCTM Standards tell us that developing a solid mathematical foundation from pre-kindergarten through second grade is essential for every child. In these grades, students are building beliefs about mathematics that will influence their thinking about, performance in, and attitudes toward mathematics in later years.
We don?t need to give children experiences that ?look like? what they?ll need to know later. For example, children don?t need to know about rulers to be learning about measurement. They need to line things up, to cover spaces with blocks, and to pour sand and water from one container to another. By the same token, learning the names of shapes is not the best preparation for understanding the geometry ideas they?ll need to know later. Rather, it's putting blocks together to make new shapes and, in that hands-on way, recognizing the difference between a triangle and a rectangle. When we try to teach children our way of getting answers before they are ready, we interfere with their sense-making process. However, when teachers understand the learning phases a child goes through in developing an understanding of math concepts, their teaching will give children the experiences that truly prepare them for future learning.
If children don?t learn these fundamental math concepts at an early age, can they catch up later?
I would like to think that it is never too late to learn. However, providing a good beginning for a young child ensures that they can get more out of whatever experiences they encounter in the future. It is not so much a matter of catching up or not catching up but of being in a position to get the most out of the mathematical experiences they are provided. Giving children opportunities to see and experience the mathematics in their world will impact their future in profound ways. |
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| Free Downloadable Pre-K Math Activity Pages |
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 The activities in Developing Math Concepts in Pre-Kindergarten are designed to be experienced repeatedly by young children so that they can really focus on the mathematics inherent in the activities. Download these sample activity pages and try this bottom-up approach for yourself. |
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| Pre-Kindergarten Math Internet Links |
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 "Is it really important for all children at pre-kindergarten and kindergarten levels to have core knowledge?" asks an NCTM article explaining the pre-K focal points for math. Experts say yes. With that in mind, here are some additional resources to use with your preschooler(s) as well as a link to this informative NCTM article. |
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| December Newsletter Theme: Speech Development |
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 Coming soon to an inbox near you, our December issue focuses on a topic close to every parent's heart ? speech development. We'll have an informative article, downloadable resources, Internet links, and a great subscriber-only special just in time for the holidays! |
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