TEACHING MATH IN PRIMARY GRADES

What is the IMPORTANCE of math IN the EARLY YEARS?

1. Kids need Math to be able to count. Counting is something they will need every single day of their
lives. From the little things to the big things in life, counting is in every aspect of our lives.

2. Math will help your child get their numerals right. One of the most important things a child will be
working on figuring out for a huge chunk of their adult life is money. Not to mention shopping and
dealing with change which requires basic Math skills such as adding, subtraction, multiplication, and
division.

3. Many essential life skills fall under Math. Skills like being able to read a clock to tell the time,
calculating time in terms of hours, days, weeks or months, reading temperature and so much more. A lot
of flights could be missed if one is unable to calculate military time.

4. Math is the basis for a whole array of other subjects, ranging from Accounting to Statistics to
Economics and even certain Sciences such as Physics and Chemistry. Without knowing Math, a child's
options of higher studies narrow down.

5. Math helps develop critical thinking skills, a skill which is a huge requirement once kids enter the real
world. With the ongoing competition in the job market, developing and excelling in Math is becoming
more and more of a requirement to get ahead.

Learning Trajectories

• Math learning trajectories have three parts: a mathematical goal, a developmental path along which
children's math knowledge grows to reach that goal, and a set of instructional tasks, or activities, for each
level of children's understanding along that path to help them become proficient in that level before
moving on to the next level. Let's examine each of these three parts.

 Goal. The first part of a learning trajectory is the goal. Goals should include the big ideas of
math, such as "numbers can be used to tell us how many, describe order, and measure"
and"geometry can be used to understand and to represent the objects, directions, and locations in
our world, and the relationship between them of knowing how to solve a variety of addition and
subtraction problems

 Developmental path. The second part of a learning trajectory consists of levels of thinking, each
more sophisticated than the last, leading to achieving the mathematical goal. That is, the
developmental path describes a typical learning route child follow in developing understanding of
and skill in a particular mathematics topic.

 Learning trajectories are important because young children's ideas and their interpretations of
situations are different from those of adults. Teachers must interpret what the child is doing and
thinking and attempt to see the situation from the child's viewpoint. Knowledge of developmental
paths enhances teachers' understanding of children's thinking, helping teachers assess children's
level of understanding and offer instructional activities at that level. Similarly, effective teachers
consider the instructional tasks from the child's perspective.
  Instructional tasks. The third part of a learning trajectory consists of sets of instructional tasks
or activities matched to each level of thinking in a developmental progression. The tasks are
designed to help children learn the ideas and practice the skills needed to master that level.
Teachers use instructional tasks to promote children's growth from one level to the next.

Role of a Teacher

 is to create an engaging encouraging environment for young learners to thrive in.

 Math Classroom

 Peer teaching in math

 Conducive to learning environment

 Be creative in giving some activities

 Have a resourceful and creative Learning Materials

 Give appropriate activity according to their level of learning and understanding (not so difficult
and so easy)

 Have groupings in some activities

Who are the primary grades?

In the Philippines refers to kindergarten until Grade 3. Generally, primary grades completers are expected
to have a good sense of number, perform simple operations like addition and subtraction, have the
capacity progress from using physical examples and written calculations to carrying out operations
mentally, and have the ability to identify proper strategies and techniques needed to come to conclusions
and carrying out calculations when solving mathematical problems.

Why do we teach Mathematics?

Three Major Reasons

1. Necessary Mathematics - mathematics for school, employment and economy.

2. Social and Personal Mathematics - mathematics for personal and social relevance.

3. Appreciation of Mathematics as an Element of Culture - the importance not only of appreciating

mathematics itself, but also its role in history, culture and society in general.

Necessary Mathematics in School

  Science Music

 Social Studies

 Home Economics

 Language - on how many syllables, words, phrase, sentence etc.

K to 12 Curriculum Guide MATHEMATICS (Grade 1 to Grade 10)

Conceptual Framework of Mathematics Education

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Mathematics is one subject that pervades life at any age and in any circumstance. Thus, its value
goes beyond the classroom and the school. Mathematics as a school subject, therefore, must be
learned comprehensively and with much depth.

The twin goals of mathematics in the basic education levels, K-10, are Critical Thinking and
Problem Solving.

Critical thinking, according to Scriven and Paul (1987) is the intellectually disciplined process of
actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating
information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or
communication, as a guide to belief and action.

On the other hand, according to Polya (1945 & 1962), mathematical problem solving is finding a
way around a difficulty, around an obstacle, and finding a solution to a problem that is unknown.

These two goals are to be achieved with an organized and rigorous curriculum content, a well-
defined set of high-level skills and processes, desirable values and attitudes, and appropriate
tools, taking into account the different contexts of Filipino learners.

There are five content areas in the curriculum, as adopted from the framework prepared by
MATHTED & SEI (2010): Numbers and Number Sense, Measurement, Geometry, Patterns and
Algebra, and Probability and Statistics.

The specific skills and processes to be developed are: knowing and understanding: estimating,
computing and solving; visualizing and modelling; representing and communicating;
conjecturing, reasoning, proving and decision-making; and applying and connecting.

The following values and attitudes are to be honed as well: accuracy, creativity, objectivity,
perseverance, and productivity.
 We recognize that the use of appropriate tools is necessary in teaching mathematics. These
include: manipulative objects, measuring devices, calculators and computers, smart phones and
tablet PCs, and the internet.

We define context as a locale, situation, or set of conditions of Filipino learners that may
influence their study and use of mathematics to develop critical thinking and problem-solving
skills, Contexts refer to beliefs, environment, language and culture that include traditions and
practices, as well as the learner's prior knowledge and experiences.

The framework is supported by the following underlying learning principles and theories:
Experiential and Situated Learning, Reflective Learning, Constructivism, Cooperative Learning
and Discovery and Inquiry-based Learning. The mathematics curriculum is grounded in these
theories.

Experiential Learning as advocated by David Kolb is learning that occurs by making sense of
direct everyday experiences. Experiential Learning theory defines learning as "the process
whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from
the combination of grasping and transforming experience" (Kolb, 1984, p. 41). Situated Learning,
theorized by Lave and Wenger, is learning in the same context in which concepts and theories are
applied.

Reflective Learning refers to learning that is facilitated by reflective thinking. It is not enough
that learners encounter real-life situations. Deeper learning occurs when learners are able to think
about their experiences and process these, allowing them the opportunity to make sense of and
derive meaning from their experiences.

Constructivism is the theory that argues that knowledge is constructed when the learner is able to
draw ideas from his/her own experiences and connect them to new ideas Cooperative Learning
puts premium on active learning achieved by working with fellow learners as they all engage in a
shared task.

The mathematics curriculum allows for students to learn by asking relevant questions and
discovering new ideas. Discovery Learning and inquiry-based Learning (Bruner, 1961) support
the idea that students learn when they make use of personal experiences to discover facts,
relationships, and concepts.

BRIEF COURSE DESCRIPTION

 Mathematics from K-10 is a skills subject. By itself, it is all about quantities, shapes and figures,
functions, logic, and reasoning. Mathematics is also a tool of science and a language complete
with its own notations and symbols and "grammar" rules, with which concepts ideas are
effectively expressed.

 The contents of mathematics include Numbers and Number Sense, Measurement, Geometry,
Patterns & Algebra and Statistics and Probability.
  Numbers and Number Sense as a strand include concepts of numbers, properties, operations,
estimation, and their applications.

 Measurement as a strand includes the use of numbers and measures to describe, understand, and
compare mathematical and concrete objects. It focuses on attributes such as length, mass and
weight, capacity, time, money, and temperature, as well as applications involving perimeter, area,
surface area, volume, and angle measure.

 Geometry as a strand includes properties of two- and three-dimensional figures and their
relationships, spatial visualization, reasoning, and geometric modelling and proofs.

 Patterns and Algebra as a strand studies patterns, relationships, and changes among shapes and
quantities. It includes the use of algebraic notations and symbols, equations, and most
Importantly, functions, to represent and analyze relationships.

 Statistics and Probability as a strand is all about developing skills in collecting and organizing
data using charts, tables, and graphs; understanding, analyzing and interpreting data; dealing with
uncertainty, and making predictions about outcomes.

 The K to 10 Mathematics Curriculum provides a solid foundation for Mathematics at Grades 11

to 12. More importantly, it provides necessary concepts and life skills needed by Filipino learners
as they proceed to the next stage in their life as learners and as citizens of the Philippines.

 K to 12 BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULUMS LEARNING AREA STANDARD: The learner

demonstrates understanding and appreciation of key concepts and principles of mathematics as
applied - using appropriate technology-in problem solving, critical thinking, communicating,
reasoning, making connections, representations, and decisions in real life.

KEY STAGE STANDARDS

Kinder-Grade 3

• At the end of Grade 3, the learner demonstrates understanding and appreciation of key concepts and
skills involving numbers and number sense (whole numbers up to 10,000 and the four fundamental
operations including money, ordinal numbers up to 100th, basic concepts of fractions); measurement
(time, length, mass, capacity, area of square and rectangle); geometry (2-dimensional and 3-dimensional
objects, lines, symmetry, and tessellation); patterns and algebra (continuous and repeating patterns and
number sentences); statistics and probability (data collection and representation in tables, pictographs and
bar graphs and outcomes)as applied -using appropriate technology - in critical thinking, problem solving,
reasoning, communicating, making connections, representations, and decisions in real life.

Grade 4-Grade 6
 At the end of Grade 6, the learner demonstrates understanding and appreciation of key concepts and
skills involving numbers and number sense (whole numbers, number theory, fractions, decimals, ratio and
proportion, percent, and integers); measurement (time, speed, perimeter, circumference and area of plane
figures, volume and surface area of solid/space figures, temperature and meter reading); geometry
(parallel and perpendicular lines, angles, triangles, quadrilaterals, polygons, circles, and solid figures);
patterns and algebra (continuous and repeating patterns, number sentences, sequences, and simple
equations); statistics and probability (bar graphs, line graphs and pie graphs, simple experiment, and
experimental probability) as applied -using appropriate technology-in critical thinking, problem solving,
reasoning, communicating, making connections, representations, and decisions in real life.

Grade 7-Grade 10

At the end of grade 10, the learner demonstrates understanding and appreciation of key concepts and
skills involving numbers and number sense (sets and real numbers); measurement (conversion of units);
patterns and algebra (linear equations and inequalities in one and two variables, linear functions, systems
of linear equations, and inequalities in two variables, exponents and radicals, quadratic equations,
inequalities, functions, polynomials, and polynomial equations and functions); geometry (polygons,
axiomatic structure of geometry, triangle congruence, inequality and similarity, and basic
trigonometry);statistics and probability (measures of central tendency, variability and position;
combinatorics and probability) as applied - using appropriate technology - in critical thinking, problem
solving, communicating, reasoning, making connections, representations, and decisions in real life.

Ano ang gamit ng "Learning Code" sa Curriculum Guide?

o Dahil nakageneralize ang objective of learning competencies kaya naglagay ng learning code ang
deped upang ma-decongest ang nasabing objective or maging specific ang nasabing objective of
learning competency. Nasa code kung ilang araw mo ituturo ang nasabing learning competency o
learning objective. Hahatin mo ngayon ang mga content o topic sa isang learning competency.
Narito ang tamang paghahati-hati:

o Halimbawa sa curriculum guide ng Science grade 3 nakabilog ang learning competency atcode sa
bandang kanan ng CG.

o $3MT-la-b-1

o 53-Science 31

o MT-Matter 1- First Grading

o a-First week b-second week

o o 1-competency no. 1
 o Marami po ang nalilito dito kung paano ituturo ng guro sa loob ng 2 weeks ang learning
competency no. 1. Ide-decongest po ang isang learning competency sa 2 weeks may
sample naman po sa CG. kaya need na irevise ang competency no. 1 para kasya sa 2
weeks hindi po ang parts ng lesson plan ang puputol-putulin,

o Since hanggang 2 weeks ang pagtuturo isang objective lamang ang gagamitin para very
specific to achieve mastery, ang ika-10 days summative assessment which is graded na
siya ang formative assessment tulad ng daily quiz ay recorded lamang di pa siya graded.
May remediation muna bago yung summative assessment para yung mahihina matuto rin.
Kapag nagagawa mo ang tamang pagtuturo maliwasan ang di makakapasang bata sa
klase.

Five Contents Areas in K-12 Mathematics Curriculum

1. Numbers and Number Sense

• concepts of numbers, properties, operations, estimations and their application

2. Measurement

• the use of numbers and measures to describe, understand and compare mathematical and
concrete objects; attributes such as length, mass and weight, capacity, time, money and
temperature, as well as applications involving perimeter, area, surface area, volume and
anger measure.

3. Geometry

• properties of two and three-dimensional figures and their relationships, special

visualization, reasoning and geometric modeling and proofs,

4. Patterns and Algebra

• as a strand studies patterns, relationships and changes among shapes and quantities; use
of algebraic notations and symbols, equations, and most importantly, functions, to
represent and analyze relationships.

5. Statistics and Probability

• as a strand it all about developing skills and collecting and organizing data using charts,
tables and graphs; understanding, analyzing and interpreting data; dealing with
uncertainty and making predictions about outcomes.

Mathematics Curriculum in the Primary Grades

 • Is not simply a list of competencies. It is logically arranged and organized. For the
teachers' reference, content standards, performance standards and learning competencies.

The Content Standards

• are broad descriptions of what the students should learn.

Performance Standards

• what the student should be able to do once the concepts and skills are taught.

The Learning Competencies

• are logically arranged objectives that must be aimed in classroom instruction for the

students to achieve the required content and performance standards.

The Philippines mathematics curriculum framework put critical thinking and problem-solving skills as
the goals in learning and teaching mathematics.

The Important Principles in teaching/learning Mathematics

 Reflective learning

 is a way of allowing students to step back from their learning experience to help them
develop critical thinking skills and improve on future performance by analyzing their
experience? This type of learning, which helps move the student from surface to deep
learning, can include a range of activities, including self-review, peer review.

 Active and student-centered teaching/learning

 focuses on the needs, abilities, interests, and learning styles of the students and has many
implications for the design of curriculum, course content, and interactivity of courses.
Accordingly, a prominent pedagogy will be teacher-as-coach, to provoke students to
learn how to learn and thus to teach themselves, rather than the more traditional teacher-
centered learning with teacher-as-deliverer-of-instructional-services, which places the
teacher at its center in an active role and students in a passive, receptive role.

 Communications allowing the learners to articulate or express their thoughts.

 The classroom talk register is well designed to help students articulate ideas and thoughts,
particularly when used in the context of discussion. In addition to the conversational
probes, like the ones we described in the previous section, there are other ways to support
students in expressing their ideas fully and clearly. One way is for the teacher to check
repeatedly on her own understanding of students' contributions as a discussion unfolds.

 Making connections is so important that prior learning/prerequisite skills are always

considered.
  Prerequisite skills are defined as skills that are necessary as a prior condition for
something else to happen or exist. Therefore, prerequisite skills describe the skills or
background, knowledge a student needs (prior condition) before working on a specified
concept.

5. Mathematics in the context of real-life situation should be the main considerations in designing
mathematics activities.

Constructivist Theory in Teaching

Constructivist Learning Theory

 States that the learning is an active process of creating meaning from different experiences. In
other words, students learn best by trying to make sense of something on their own with a teacher
as a guide.

 According to DepEd, knowledge is constructed when the learner is able to draw ideas from
his/her own experiences and connect them to new ideas.

Constructivism

 Was conceptualized by educational theorist Jean Piaget. He believed that young children learn by
doing, constructing knowledge from experiences rather than from adults telling them about their
world. • According to Jean Piaget, and others who practice what is known as constructivist
education, the method most likely to truly educate the students is the one in which they
experience their world.

Characteristics of constructivist teaching: (Brooks and Brooks, 1993)

Constructivist teachers invite students' questions and ideas.

Constructivist teachers accept and encourage students' invented ideas.

Constructivist teachers encourage student's leadership, cooperation, seeking information and the
presentation of ideas.

Constructivist teachers modify their instructional strategies in the process of teaching based upon
students; thought, experience and interest.

Constructivist teachers use printed materials as well as experts to get more information.

Constructivist teachers encourage free discussions by way of new ideas inviting student questions
and answers.

Constructivist teachers encourage or invite student predictions of the causes and effects in
relation to particular cases and events.

Constructivist teachers helps the student to test their own ideas.

 Constructivist teachers invite students' ideas before the student is presented with the ideas and
instructional materials.

Constructivist teachers encourage student to challenge the concept and ideas of others.

Constructivist teacher use cooperative teaching strategies through student interactions and
respect, sharing ideas and learning tasks.

Constructivist teachers encourage student to respect, sharing ideas and learning task.

Constructivist teachers encourage student to request.

How the constructivist classroom different from a traditional classroom?

In the constructivist classroom, the focus shifts from the teacher to the students. The classroom
is no longer a place where the students are seen as empty vessels to be filled by the teacher. In the
constructivist classroom, the students are actively involved in their own learning. The teacher functions as
facilitator who guides, prompts and helps student to develop and assess their own understanding.

Traditional Classroom

Curriculum

Curriculum begins with the parts of the whole, emphasizing basic skills

Teacher's role

Teachers disseminate information to students; students are

recipients of knowledge.

Student's role

Students work primarily alone

Constructivist Classroom

Curriculum emphasizes big concepts, beginning with the whole and expanding to include the parts.

Teachers have dialogue with students, helping students construct their own knowledge.

Students work primarily in groups

The Teaching Cycles

The work of a teacher does not start and end in teaching. The teaching process is not a linear
activity that starts with planning and end in testing. Instead, it is a cycle of repeating stages until a
student acquire an understanding of the targeted concept and skills. You may think of a teaching
cycle as a spring-you go through the same process over and over again, but each time with a more
informed objective and better understanding of what it means to learn and teach mathematics.

There are many models in teaching cycle and it boils down in to 6 common stages:

1. Identify objectives

What knowledge and/or skills do the students need to learn? You must be guided with the content
standards, performance standards and the learning competencies that are found in the curriculum
guide.

2. Plan instruction

What strategies must be implemented for the student to achieve the objectives targeted in the
previous stage? In planning instruction, it is important that you have mastered the content of the
lesson that you are about to teach. It is also beneficial to be familiar with your students-what they
know, how they learn etc.

3. Implement plan

This is the stage where you conduct the learning activities that you have prepared during
the planning stage. A word of advice even though have carefully and delicately plan for
the lesson, you must be flexible with the possible changes that you need to accommodate.
How will you know whether change is needed?

4. Checking for understanding

 Teaching is all about helping student learn. During the implementation of the lesson plan,
you must every now and then check whether the students have understood what you have
covered so far. Facial reactions and verbal cues help in assessing whether or not the
students can move on to another concept or skill. If not, you might need to give a more
elaborate explanation, more examples, or whatever you

5. Reflecting on teaching

think is needed based on the students' reactions. You must evaluate every teaching period
that you finished. Where the objectives achieved? Where the implemented strategies
effective? How can instruction be improved? Your answers to the last question will give
you an insight on how to improve instruction the next time you teach the same lesson.
However, if you answer on the first question is no, the objectives were not met, then you
need to plan again. What do you need to do differently in order to achieve the objectives?

6. Assess learning and reflect on the results

This stage gives you a concrete measure of what the students have learned. In math, this
is usually through a paper and pen examination. However, some authentic assessments
may also be implemented. Take note that this stage does not end in assessing learning.
You need to reflect on the results. What can you learn about the student learning and
teaching practice based on the results?

Things to Consider in Planning Instruction in Mathematics in the Primary Grades

The 5 Important Elements in Lesson Planning

1. Content

Research the subject matter that you will be teaching. You should consult the curriculum
and teaching guides published by DepEd. Aside from books, you can also visit websites
which will give you information relevant to your subject area, You should master the
contents of your lesson before you teach it. • Remember, you cannot give what you do
not have. Moreover, you would not want to teach wrong contents to the student. It is
easier to learn than to unlearn; it is difficult to take back wrong contents that already have
been taught. You have a big responsibility as a teacher-master your content.

2. Objectives

Before you begin planning, you need to know what specific knowledge and skills you
want your students to develop during the lesson or unit. Teachers often focus too much
on knowledge, forgetting about developing skills which is the long term are more
important than knowing mere facts. So, in planning your instruction, always consider
both knowledge and skills.
 3. Students

Get to know your students where they came from, what their interest are, what they
already know, their learning style, attention span and special needs. These will all help
you determine your students' needs.

Remember that you need to prepare your lessons with all your students in mind and your
main goal should be to meet their needs

And offer them enabling environments to learn their preferred way.

Knowing your students will also help you build rapport with them which is important If
you want your students to be freely sharing their ideas with you and their classmates.

Another important consideration that needs attention in teaching, especially mathematics, is the students'
mindset.

You may have all things considered:

a. Lesson mastery

b. Focused objectives

c. Comprehensive understanding of students and yet still find that the lesson is not coming through the
students. This may be because the students have closed their doors toward math.

Many school children have come to believe that math is difficult and never be good at it. This is called
fixed mindset.

Students with fixed mindsets believe that their math skill cannot be improved, which result in
underperformance in the subject: Reasons for fixed mindset include influence from adults who dislike
math, previous unpleasant experience in math class and others

Your goal as a teacher is to develop students with growth mindset.

Students with growth mindset believe that they can be better at math. They know that their efforts are not
wasted and that they can learn even in their failures.

4. Learning Environment

Aside from physical environment where the learner takes place, it also important
toconsider the social and emotional leaning

Environment of the class. You need to make sure that you promote a positive
environment where students are motivated and are supportive of each other's growth. The
students must feel safe to express their thinking, without fear of being embarrassed
because of mistakes and different views.

Most importantly, you must create an atmosphere where students are open to learning
through the activities you prepared and interactions with their classmates.
5. Availability of resources

Take into consideration the instructional materials that you will be needing before you write your
lesson plan. o is the blackboard available? if not, can you improvise? Are there specific
manipulatives that you need? Where can you get them? Can you make them instead? Do you
need technology resources? Have you check whether your devices are compatible with what are
available in school? • These are some questions than you can reflect on.