About Everyday Math

San Francisco Schools adopted a new math curriculum for the 2008-09 school year - Everyday Mathematics.  Here's some background information on this new approach to learning math.

Background Information

Everyday Mathematics, a Grades K-6 mathematics program from Wright Group/McGraw-Hill, helps students measure up to the demand for greater mathematical competence and problem-solving agility. The research-based curriculum coincides with standards set by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and is used by more than 3 million students in 185,000 classrooms across the United States.

Developed by the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP), Everyday Mathematics is the result of collaborative efforts by researchers, mathematics educators, administrators and classroom teachers. UCSMP was established in 1983 with a grant from the Amoco Foundation and has received additional funding from a number of corporate, foundation and government sources, including the National Science Foundation.

The instructional design is carefully crafted to capitalize on student interest and maximize student learning. Everyday Mathematics is organized into six mathematical content strands that cover a number of skills and concepts. This provides a rich yet balanced curriculum. Every strand is addressed throughout all grade levels of the program. Each grade level builds on and extends concept understanding, so children approach each new challenge from a firmly established foundation.

In 2006, the Third Edition of Everyday Mathematics was released. The Third Edition remains true to the defining principles in the first two editions and is a continuation of the efforts of the UCSMP authors. It builds on the strong foundation of the previous editions and adds major areas of improvement. The materials have been refined and enhanced based on research and user feedback. The changes provide teachers with stronger lesson and content support to help their students develop a stronger understanding of mathematics.

General changes include:

• More teacher-friendly design and support

• Clearly defined program and grade-level goals

• More ongoing assessment opportunities

• More support for differentiation

• Enhanced Kindergarten program

• New technology components

• New Spanish Edition components

• Expanded support and for parental involvement

Before Everyday Mathematics was published, each grade was field tested for an entire year by classroom teachers in diverse schools around the country. This research led UCSMP to develop the following key principles as a basis for Everyday Mathematics:

• Mathematics means more when it is rooted in real-life problems and situations. Children’s mathematical knowledge should grow from their experiences.

• Children can learn more than is usually expected because they know more than they are given credit for knowing. Experience gives children a rich store from which they can develop mathematical insight, reasoning and creativity.

• Instructors should take advantage of the teaching tools technology presents.

• Teachers are the single most important source for advancing and sustaining reform in mathematics education.

Key Facts

• Everyday Mathematics teaches higher order thinking and critical problem solving.

• Everyday Mathematics integrates mathematics into other subject areas.

• Everyday Mathematics places a high priority on children developing automatic recall of the basic number facts. For example, students can quickly recall simple multiplication such as 2 x 2 = 4.

• Everyday Mathematics goes beyond basic facts and computation skills so students know when, how and why to use them.

• Everyday Mathematics recognizes that computation is an important and practical part of mathematics and has been designed to ensure all students can compute accurately in a variety of ways.

• In Everyday Mathematics, both the answer and the steps taken to reach the answer are important.

• Everyday Mathematics uses calculators as a tool for learning mathematics, not simply for computation.

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