The Equity Principle of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics states that “Excellence in mathematics education requires equity- high expectations and strong support for all students.” All CES students should receive solid support as they build conceptual bridges to extend their previous mathematical understanding to the understanding of new concepts and procedures. Explicit instruction is responsive to their prior knowledge, intellectual strengths, and authentic thinking.
Mathematical literacy can be defined as “an individual’s capacity to identify and understand the role that mathematics plays in the world, to make well founded judgments, and to use and engage with mathematics in ways that meet the needs of that individual’s life as a constructive, concerned, and reflective citizen.“ (OECD 2010)
In other words, students should be able to put mathematics to a functional use. They should have the ability to analyze, reason, and communicate ideas effectively as they pose, formulate, solve, and interpret solutions to mathematical problems in a variety of situations or contexts. (OECD 2006)
Explicit instruction can be broken down into six specific steps:
1. Teacher explains what the strategy is.
2. Teacher explains why the strategy is important period
3. Teacher explains when to use the strategy.
4. Teacher models how to perform the strategy in an actual context while students observe.
5. Teacher guides students as they practice using this strategy.
6. Students independently use the strategy.
Below are links to the grade level information in Bridges.
Free Math apps through The Math Learning Center. These free apps are based on the visual models featured in Bridges Mathematics.