How do I get started?

Implementing a new curriculum represents a challenge for teachers. Each teacher brings to the implementation stage unique and varied needs. To facilitate the implementation of the new elementary mathematics curriculum, a variety of approaches are suggested. These suggestions take into account teachers' experience, their background, the needs and interests of their students, and the availability of resources.

The following suggestions are proposed in order to facilitate long term planning and short term planning.

Long Term Planning (yearly)

• familiarize themselves with the curriculum guide, specifically:
  • the foundational objectives,
  • the learning objectives, (Scope and Sequence) for all grade levels up to and including their own,
  • the strand overviews for their grade levels, containing examples, resources and instructional notes,
  • the components of Core Curriculum and the supporting initiatives, such as:
    • the Common Essential Learnings,
    • the Adaptive Dimension,
    • Student Evaluation,
    • Instructional Approaches,
    • Gender Equity,
    • Indian and Métis Content and Perspectives, and
    • Resource-Based Learning;

• determine what resources are available in the classroom, the school, and the school division:
  • manipulatives,
  • textbooks,
  • guides,
  • journals,
  • videos,
  • people, etc.;

• consider the scope and sequence and the strand overviews in greater detail:
  • teachers may wish to photocopy the scope and sequence and highlight the objectives for their level, then use this as a checklist and tally sheet during the year,
  • teachers may also wish to highlight the objectives met in previous years which are no longer noted but should be part of continuous learning;

• familiarize themselves with the curriculum guides of other Required Areas of Study to determine areas, topics, themes, objectives and times suitable for integration; and,

• prepare an overview for the year using one of the following formats:
  • record what will be taught every month, or other suitable time frame (see Mathematics Overview - requires Acrobat Reader),
  • record all the learning objectives or mathematics topics and note during which months these will be taught (see Mathematics Overview - School Year - requires Acrobat Reader),
  • record all themes or common learning objectives used in other Required Areas of Study (see Themes - requires Acrobat Reader ).

Short Term Planning (1 week to 8 weeks)

• identify what they are already doing that involves instruction in the areas of increased emphasis, such as problem solving, mental calculation, estimation, active learning, manipulatives, integration, calculators and computers;

• after identification, concentrate on one of these areas and incorporate with what is being taught;

• focus on integrating one of the C.E.L.s (other than numeracy) with the study of mathematics, such as communication;

• focus on the use of one set of manipulatives and plan lessons and activities incorporating the use of these manipulatives in all the strands;

• plan activity centres to complement what is being taught in the classroom (these centres may be related to a theme, or may simply be a variety of mathematical activities);

• use a unit previously taught and adapt according to the learning objectives of the new mathematics curriculum;

• incorporate an instructional strategy or method which you have not tried before;

• plan a project, possibly using or adapting one offered in the curriculum guide, or one of the many projects presented in The Arithmetic Teacher (NCTM) or other publications; and,

• plan a unit to integrate with a theme already developed in a model unit of the mathematics curriculum or from another area of study by planning mathematics lessons and activities related to that theme.

Teachers should begin by planning something which they are confident would be successful.

In order to promote a sharing of expertise and experience and to facilitate the development of new teaching strategies, teachers may wish to team with one or more teachers in their school to plan their mathematics program. Teachers may also wish to make use of parent helpers at different stages of their planning.

What is Integration?

Teaching in an integrated manner has many advantages:

• integration helps learners make connections because bridges between various concepts, skills and attitudes are explicit;

• transfer of learning to new situations is more likely to occur because of learners making connections;

• integration fosters deeper understanding of concepts because connecting ideas allows learners to review, test their hypotheses, assimilate concepts more efficiently;

• integration also helps learners to see the "big picture" since learning situations seem to fit into a larger context;

• learners can relate learning situations to daily life experiences and, thus, learning becomes more relevant and more motivating;

• since unnecessary overlaps can be avoided, integration saves time (an important consideration in classes combining 2 or more grades); and,

• teachers planning integrated units in collaboration with other teachers benefit from their colleagues' expertise and knowledge.

All these benefits seem to ultimately outweigh any initial problems experienced by teachers new to the planning of integrated units.

Many ways of integrating have been identified for teaching the new mathematics program:

• make simple connections between two or more topics in mathematics: for example, a teacher may make connections between the base ten number system and our monetary system;

• make connections between a topic or strand and a life skill: an example of this would be a connection between the Problem Solving strand in Mathematics and working effectively in a group;

• integrate within the mathematics program: Problem Solving, Data Management and Analysis, Numbers and Operations, Geometry, and Measurement are the five strands of the Mathematics Curriculum. It is intended that the strands be taught in an integrated fashion; teachers would teach a lesson or a series of lessons to meet objectives from more than one strand;

• plan similar themes, topics or objectives in two or more areas of study but teach them in separate periods. During both the mathematics period and the art period, the teacher might teach symmetry;

• combine the mathematics period and the art period during which symmetry is being taught;

• connect all areas of study under one theme; this form of integration often uses a web to show the connections between the various areas of study. The theme chosen is usually one which can easily be used in all subjects. It may come from the themes used in curriculum guides of other study areas. The mathematics model units are examples of this manner of integrating and of integration within the same area of study (mathematics); and,

• use one of the Common Essential Learnings as the overriding concept or theme to integrate into all Required Areas of Study. An example would be to use technology (Technological Literacy) as a theme in all subject areas.

There are many ways of integrating and many levels of integration. Teachers should attempt various methods of integrating.

Integration need not be an individual project, but can be done in collaboration with another teacher or teachers. Some elementary schools work on integration as a school level project and set the theme to be used in the entire school. Collaboration and school spirit can be enhanced using this approach.

How Do I Plan an Integrated Unit?

• Choose the theme.
  The themes for the Model Units which follow this section were chosen as media for teaching certain concepts and abilities in mathematics, and for ease of integrating with other Required Areas of Study. For example, the Grade One model unit entitled "Me", can be taught in conjunction with families in Social Studies, "All About Me" in Language Arts, senses in Science, safety and nutrition in Health, body awareness in Physical Education, and feelings in Arts Education. At the Grade Four level, the Model Unit "Harvest" can be integrated with Arts Education - dances and storytelling, Science - plants and weather, Health - nutrition, Language Arts - cultures and celebrations, Social Studies - inventions and adaptations, Physical Education - dance and movement.

  Each of the other Model Units have similar integration possibilities.

  Teachers may wish to consider the following topics of interest to students in their planning:

  • seasons
  • holidays
  • recreation
  • homes
  • pets
  • friends
  • transportation
  • the neighbourhood
  • fantasy and fairy tales
  • the environment
  • field trips
  • board games
  • sports
  • raising funds
  • travel
  • mathematics history
  • at the restaurant
  • comic strips
  • architecture
  • quiz shows
  • a school census
  • building a scale model
  • stamp collecting and other hobbies
  • newspapers
  • kites

• Brainstorm for ideas using a web, such as the Elementary Mathematics Integrated Unit Web to note ideas, activities and resources.

• Organize the brainstormed ideas using the Elementary Mathematics Integrated Planning Instrument - requires Acrobat Reader, or the Instruction Plan (from Student Evaluation: A Teacher Handbook, December 1991). These instruments may be of help:

• to plan groups of lessons or sub-units;

• to record the foundational and learning objectives which will be covered in this unit;

• to decide and record which instructional strategies or methods the teacher wishes to use for lessons in this unit. The strategies and methods selected should take into account the learning objectives and the teacher's beliefs in the teaching-learning process. Examples of instructional methods are:
  • cooperative learning
  • concept attainment
  • problem solving
  • learning centres
  • drill and practice
  • compare and contrast
  • games
  • projects
  • computer assisted instruction
  • reflective discussion
  • guided inquiry

Teachers should make use of Instructional Approaches: A Framework for Professional Practice (1991) to help at this stage of the planning;

• to determine the organizational structure which supports the instructional methods and activities to be used. Students may be grouped individually, in pairs, in small groups or as a whole class. Other aspects to be noted may be table and desk arrangements, storage of resources and procedures for use of these resources, arrangements of stations, centres or extension activities, and schedule of activities;

• to designate resources:
  • print (teacher and student)
  • manipulatives (collected, constructed, purchased)
  • audio-visual (videos, filmstrips)
  • displays (pictures, models)
  • human (speakers, survey)
  • community (businesses, governments)

• to select student evaluation strategies.
  Evaluation plans should be communicated in advance. Students should have opportunities for input to the evaluation process as their abilities develop. It is necessary to collect student data for purposes of evaluation (diagnostic, formative or summative). Students should know what is being evaluated, how it is being evaluated, and how it is being reported;

• to adapt for individual differences (from Instructional Approaches: A Framework for Professional Practice, 1991) by:
  • adapting the curriculum content through resource-based learning, theme or context-based teaching, monitoring the use of vocabulary
  • adapting the instructional practices through cooperative teaching, cooperative learning, peer tutoring
  • adapting the environment: the physical setting, the materials, the personnel
  • adapting the instructional time: as simple as allowing a few extra minutes or as complex as adjusting curriculum learning (not foundational) objectives
  • providing alternative access to and expression of knowledge: tape recordings, videos, filmstrips, study buddy
  • adapting evaluation: as simple as charting progress on part(s) of a task or, as complex as devising parallel tasks at the student's developmental level.

  These planning instruments basically allow the teacher to make a plan of the unit with all pertinent information, but without the detail. These instruments give the teacher an overview of the unit and allow the teacher to reflect and make adjustments before continuing with the planning. (See also The Adaptive Dimension In Core Curriculum. 1992.)

• Expand on the ideas using the Integrated Lesson Plan - requires Acrobat Reader. The Integrated Lesson Plan allows the teacher to make decisions about what will actually happen in the classroom and in what sequence.

• Plan activities to be used in activity centres or plan special activities for individual students or groups of students, with the help of the Activity Centre Ideas instrument- requires Acrobat Reader to help record ideas about activities and the Activity Cards - requires Acrobat Reader to record details about each activity.

• Plan projects and assignments, if needed, to support the classroom lessons and activities.

The teacher will always be focusing on incorporating the Common Essential Learnings, as well as the other initiatives (Gender Equity, Indian and Métis Content and Perspectives, Resource-Based Learning) into lessons, activities, projects and assignments.