• Teaching the foundations of mathematical literacy to young children at a time when scientific knowledge and technological advances are developing at such a rapid pace is critically important. As teachers of young children, we are responsible for creating the building blocks for future learning in every field. We have a special responsibility to teach children to use technological tools and problem solving strategies that will enable them to navigate the explosion of knowledge that will continue to be an inevitable be part of their future. By preparing children well, we will equip them to be productive citizens in a world that may well be very different from anything that we have imagined for them.

    All of us understand the need for children at this age to develop the literacy skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Children also need to develop mathematical literacy so that they become effective at using basic computational and estimation strategies to pose as well as to solve complex problems. A good primary math program is well-balanced. It presents mathematical ideas in such a way that children retain their curiosity about and enjoyment of mathematical ideas. It incorporates real-world experiences that encourage children to construct meaning for themselves and it gives children time to develop sound understandings of mathematical principles from numerous concrete experiences. Its focus is much broader than arithmetic computations. It involves children in working cooperatively to solve everyday problems, to share solutions, and to evaluate their own responses. A good program provides children with daily opportunities to read, write, and discuss mathematical ideas. It also provides young children with the opportunity to use concrete objects on a daily basis to explore how numbers work and to build understanding of basic operations. By helping children develop deep concepts of how numbers work, a good primary math program helps children more easily understand basic numerical operations and how they are used to manipulate whole numbers. Later in their elementary careers, a good program helps children learn to apply these basic numerical operations to the manipulation of fractions and decimals as well and also ensures that they memorize the essential facts that make these manipulations more automatic.

    The study of mathematics in the early grades involves children in every aspect of the discipline. Not only must children have concrete and practical experiences to develop their understanding of numerical operations, they must also have similar experiences with the full spectrum of mathematical study: geometry and spatial relationships, number sense, measurement, estimation, patterns and functions, algebra, probability and statistics, discrete mathematics, and the building blocks of calculus. Children certainly need to memorize facts once they understand numerical operations clearly and have a sound foundation in concrete experiences. Children also need to understand when and how to use paper and pencil calculations. However, as information becomes more complex, children must also understand when and how to use estimation, mental math, calculators, and/or computers. They need to be able to examine and predict patterns in numbers, shapes and in the world around them. They need to have concrete experiences with two and three dimensional objects and be able to answer such questions as ‘How much longer is it around a circle than across it?’. They need to understand how numbers are used to describe things like length, weight, height, and temperature. They need to be able to predict outcomes and determine the reasonableness of their estimations. They need to recognize that, in the real world, it is not always possible to establish exact results but it is still possible to arrive at a possible solution. Children need experiences in describing mathematical relationships and in thinking about quantities that are changing. They need to be able to use variables and equations to represent their thinking. Children need many experiences in analyzing and collecting data and using graphs and charts to represent their data collections. They need to see the relevance of mathematics to the real world and be able to talk about how mathematics is related to what they do on a daily basis. The full array of mathematical study even in the primary grades involves the children in deeper thinking and understanding and it qualitatively different from classroom experiences of twenty or thirty years ago. We are no longer a nation of shop keepers but rather a nation of individuals who must be able to analyze information and solve complex problems quickly using the most efficient tools at our disposal. Preparing children to be confident, thoughtful mathematical thinkers is our goal and our primary mathematics program is designed to support this goal.

    In 1989, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, in consultation with teachers and mathematicians from around the country, developed and published the standards for school mathematics. In the spring of this year, NCTM will publish these standards again, revised to reflect ten years of work by mathematics educators around the country. The purpose of the standards was and is to focus mathematics instruction on creating mathematically literate students who can not only compute accurately, but who can also read, write, and discuss mathematical concepts with confidence and in depth. A good, standards-based program will develop skills that prepare students well to pose and solve complex mathematical problems. In 1993, Readington Township revised its mathematics curriculum and aligned it with the national standards. Following the lead of NCTM, New Jersey, along with most other states, develop core content standards in mathematics in 1996. These standards serve as a guide for mathematics instruction and are the foundation upon which our new mathematics curriculum, which is undergoing review this year and will be revised this summer, will be built.

    Our current program is rooted in the national standards and provides children with a variety of experiences designed to develop in them a sense of the structure and the purpose of mathematics. As you read about the children’s mathematical experiences at each grade level, you will recognize in the teachers’ descriptions the components of a well-balanced program that develops mathematical literacy across the spectrum of mathematical content. Mathematics instruction today is different from what it has been in the past because it must be. Our goal is to graduate mathematically literate students who can work as members of a team to analyze data quickly and pose and solve complex problems that require a deep understanding of mathematical concepts. Our primary program builds the foundation for this goal and we are proud of the success that our students experience each day as they read, write, think, and talk about mathematics.