Math
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Specific
Information About Math Courses
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Philosophy
The K12 Math program approaches math as a discipline with its own vocabulary,
conventions, and patterns of thinking. The emphasis is on giving students
the practice they need to do fundamental mathematical operations with
speed and fluency, as well as the knowledge they need to understand and
apply mathematical concepts.
Our teaching strategies balance hands-on work such as paper-and-pencil
problem solving with “mental math.” The goal is to ensure that students
understand the concrete realities behind mathematical concepts and operations,
and that they comprehend the abstract representation of those realities,
over time preparing them to calculate and solve problems with the correct
mathematical models “in their heads.”
Mathematical competencies and ways of thinking are best taught directly,
explicitly, and sequentially, with plenty of repetition. Children need
to practice, practice, practice—not rote repetition but thoughtful practice
that offers opportunities to approach problems and reason with numbers
in varied ways. Regular practice in the early years will give children
the automatic skills they need in basic operations, which are a prerequisite
to dealing with more complex concepts and problems, as well as to the
development of the next stages of quantitative reasoning.
Intermediate Grades
As your student progresses through the K12 mathematics curriculum, you
may find that your student will be able to work more independently. Skills
Updates and other forms of practice are good opportunities for your student
to work independently, but you still need to be sure to review his or
her work. Lesson and unit assessments should also be done independently.
Some lessons will include links to online resources. These resources
can help enrich your student’s learning experience by providing more practice
and interesting activities. None of the sites is essential to every student’s
learning experience, but some students might find them useful. K12 does
not control these sites and is not responsible for their availability
or content. These links are provided as a service and are meant to enrich
your teaching resources.
An Important Message for Windows Users
about Printing PDFs for Math Lessons
Some
versions of Adobe Acrobat and/or Adobe Acrobat Reader may, by default,
resize a document during printing by as much as ˝ centimeter. When you
print practice sheets that include drawings of rulers or other standard
units of measure, you should first de-select the “Fit to page” or “Shrink
to fit” box that appears in the Print window (see example below). This
feature should remain de-selected after the initial change and will remain
the default until you reactivate it or reinstall or update the application.
If this should occur, simply follow the procedure above when you first
print using the newly installed application.

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