Since the introduction of Common Core State Standards, many elementary teachers struggled with unpacking these processes and figuring out how to implement them in the classroom. Author Christine Moynihan introduces Common Core Sense: Tapping the Power of Mathematical Practices with the goal of making the eight Standards for Mathematical Practice more accessible and explicit.
The Standards for Mathematical Practice provide a solid foundation for encouraging students to think, reason, and persevere like mathematicians. In her book, Moynihan demonstrates what each practice might look, sound, and feel like in the classroom by using the four-part GOLD framework:
G - Go for the Goals: What are the major purposes of this practice?
O - Open Your Eyes & Observe: What should you see the students doing as they utilize the practice? What should you see yourself doing as the teacher?
L - Listen: What should you hear students saying as they use the practice? What should you hear yourself saying?
D - Decide What to Do: What actions as a teacher must you put in to place to "mine" the gold of the practice?
Each chapter is dedicated to one practice and includes student work samples, classroom vignettes, and teacher thoughts. The consistent framework of the book outlines an easy way to learn and deepen the understanding of each practice. It provides teachers the planning and support they need to mine the GOLD.
Moynihan, Christine: -
Christine Moynihan has been a classroom teacher in K-6 classrooms, a mathematics curriculum specialist, and an elementary school principal in Newton, Massachusetts. She is currently a consultant who works with schools and districts to assist them in improving their quality of education.
When Christine was in fifth grade, her family moved to Florida from the Boston area. "We did a lot together, and my family bond grew even stronger," she remembers. She had always been a good student in all areas because she was great at memorizing. In seventh grade she was chosen for a "select new math" program of studies, where students learned about set theory; she did well because she was facile at memorizing rules, theorems, and procedures. "But even then I wanted to know more -- I wanted to know why things worked mathematically and how ideas and concepts were connected to each other and to the procedures. My father was an engineer and he loved my 'why' questions and helped me gain a conceptual understanding that has stood me in good stead, both as a student and as a teacher."
Christine says that she inherited her voracious appetite for reading from her mother. "My favorite genre has been mysteries. I have always loved trying to 'put things together' -- to make connections, to figure out answers to puzzles and dilemmas.
The first of nine siblings, Christine was "in a position of responsibility" and took it very seriously. "I loved to play school with my siblings, and it was fairly well accepted that I would be a teacher. As 'schmaltzy' as it sounds, I wanted to work with children and do something that makes a difference.... I love the idea that I, as a teacher, get to be a companion on the journey of learning. I have always seen it as a challenge to assess where each and every child is in his learning, determine his strengths, and then help set the stage for the next steps in his learning."
