Common Core's epic fail: Special Education

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll start at the beginning:

It is not useful or practical--or workable--for all schools to have the same standards. The idea was ambitious, but not well thought out. People meant well--but the deciders were not experts.

I'm so glad that I'm not an Alpha. They work so hard!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

"it's too much to expect young kids to think critically" - in other words, let's not expect too much thinking from our kids. The CC standards for K-2 for critical thinking is designed for kids in that age group. My 6 yr old DC can meet the standards designed for a 1st grader. Some of it is hard for DC, so we are working on it. But I think it's great that DC is learning to think critically earlier on than later.

I have seen no complaints about expecting young kids to think critically. I have seen complaints about expecting young kids to understand some math functions for which they are not ready. There is a big difference there.

It's also about thinking concretely as opposed to abstractly. Common Core push the demands for abstract thought down to ages where it's developmentally inappropriate. Young kids are concrete thinkers.

As a teacher, I hear people say this a lot, and I just don't see it when I look at the Kindergarten standards. If anything, I think the standards do a better job of keeping things concrete before moving to the abstract, at least relative to standards I've taught before. Here are some ways I see the Kindergarten standards as more concrete relative to what came before. As a disclaimer, I've taught with the old DCPS and NCTM Kindergarten standards, and the MA based DC standards that replaced the old DCPS standards, and I've read the old MD standards, but have not taught them. Here's what I see in the CC.

1) They instruct that more than half of the time in a K class should be spent on concepts of number. They talk a lot about the use of concrete objects in set, and on applying counting skills to various contexts and arrangements of objects, rather than pictures on a worksheet. They specify that kids should be taught to match sets of objects as a comparison strategy.

2) They emphasize the use of small quantities that kids can master and wrap their minds around. For example, they only ask for fluency with adding and subtracting within 5. 5 is a natural stopping place for little ones, as it's both about the upper limit of what a child can subitize (recognize without counting) and the number of fingers on one hand. Any reference to numbers above 5, other than one standard related to rote counting, is clear that kids should be using objects or other concrete representations.

3) They stop the teaching of place value at 20, again allowing lots of very concrete work with just one set of 10.

4) They've taken out lots of what I'd consider rote learning, that kids struggled to make meaning of. Counting by 2's and 5's, recognizing coins, working with clocks, less common shapes like trapezoids, all of these have disappeared from the Kindergarten standards.

I've spent a great deal of time with the K standards, they are the standards that I know best. First grade is what I know second best. So, I'm open the idea that there might be some kind of unacceptable abstract leap in the 2nd grade standards.

[Anonymous]

You must never have taught Kindergarteners who started school without being able to count. I have. There are K's that require teaching one to one correspondence. That standards are not one size fits all. People think they are. That's the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You must never have taught Kindergarteners who started school without being able to count. I have. There are K's that require teaching one to one correspondence. That standards are not one size fits all. People think they are. That's the problem.

Yes, I have, which is why I think it's good that the CCSS have way more emphasis on 1:1 correspondence than what came before, and less emphasis on unrelated rote things like trapezoids, coin names, and counting by 5's. CC specifies that the majority of the year should be spent on 1:1 correspondence and related skills.

Did you teach K under both CC and a previous set of standards, and if so which one?

[Anonymous]

Looking at the following standards, which explicitly break down counting with 1:1 correspondence, how would you say they are not appropriate for kids who start the year without 1:1 correspondence?

Count to tell the number of objects.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4
Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4.A
When counting objects, say the number names in the standard order, pairing each object with one and only one number name and each number name with one and only one object.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4.B
Understand that the last number name said tells the number of objects counted. The number of objects is the same regardless of their arrangement or the order in which they were counted.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4.C
Understand that each successive number name refers to a quantity that is one larger.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.5
Count to answer "how many?" questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1-20, count out that
many objects.

[Anonymous]

There is a huge leap to the next set of math standards which require algebraic thinking. For kids who start school without being able to count, that is a pretty big leap. Sure, some could do it, but most could not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking at the following standards, which explicitly break down counting with 1:1 correspondence, how would you say they are not appropriate for kids who start the year without 1:1 correspondence?

Count to tell the number of objects.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4
Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4.A
When counting objects, say the number names in the standard order, pairing each object with one and only one number name and each number name with one and only one object.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4.B
Understand that the last number name said tells the number of objects counted. The number of objects is the same regardless of their arrangement or the order in which they were counted.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4.C
Understand that each successive number name refers to a quantity that is one larger.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.5
Count to answer "how many?" questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1-20, count out that
many objects.

Agree, can't get much more CONCRETE than exercises like math manipulatives, where you are seeing, touching, manipulating physical objects corresponding with the math concepts, like "Billy has 10 apples and he gives 3 to Jane, how many does he have left?" and taking a pile of 10 cubes and moving 3 out of it to illustrate subtraction. And, there are indeed a lot of concrete examples similar to this that carry over to algebraic concepts, like associative and commutative properties that can be done with clear, concrete visuals. Show a kid something like the dragonbox app, which just uses visual icons, and he'll quickly be mastering algebraic concepts without even realizing it. http://www.dragonboxapp.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge leap to the next set of math standards which require algebraic thinking. For kids who start school without being able to count, that is a pretty big leap. Sure, some could do it, but most could not.

Do you mean the standards that come next in Kindergarten?

Either these (The rest of the Kindergarten Counting and Cardinality standards)

Compare numbers.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.C.6
Identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the number of objects in another group, e.g., by using matching and counting strategies.1

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.C.7
Compare two numbers between 1 and 10 presented as written numerals.

Or these (The Operations and Algebraic Thinking Standards for K)

Understand addition, and understand subtraction.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.OA.A.1
Represent addition and subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, drawings1, sounds (e.g., claps), acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions, or equations.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.OA.A.2
Solve addition and subtraction word problems, and add and subtract within 10, e.g., by using objects or drawings to represent the problem.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.OA.A.3
Decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record each decomposition by a drawing or equation (e.g., 5 = 2 + 3 and 5 = 4 + 1).

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.OA.A.4
For any number from 1 to 9, find the number that makes 10 when added to the given number, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record the answer with a drawing or equation.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.OA.A.5
Fluently add and subtract within 5.

Or do you mean what comes after them in first grade?

I've bolded the most "Algebraic" standard above. Here's what a related lesson might look like in my class:

This is probably closest to Algebraic Thinking of the K standards. Here's how I'd teach this lesson in a mixed group with some kids who had already mastered the counting and cardinality standards, and some who were still working on this.

Step 1: Give each kid in the group a 10's frame. Kids who are at grade level (e.g. still working on counting) or below (don't get counting even though it's February) get an egg carton with 2 sections cut off. Higher kids might get an egg carton too, or they might get a piece of paper with a rectangle sectioned into 2 rows of 5.

Step 2: Show the kids a number less than 10, let's say 4.

Step 3: Have each kid count out 4 of the same color counters (could have a different color than their neighbor, but all 4 in a set should be the same), and put 1 counter in 1 hole/space on their 10's frame. Help kids below grade level.

Step 4: Have a quick conversation about how we know that's 4. Lower level kids might give, or be prompted to give an answer like "because I can see it's 4" (subitizing) or "I can count it again to check". Kids above grade level might come up with "I only have 1 space left in the top 5, so I know it's 4" or "I counted them before I put them in, and I didn't change the set".

Step 5: Ask the kids how many spaces are empty. Kids on grade level will solve by counting. Kids above grade level may notice that you have a whole row of 5 and 1 more. Either way, they should come to the idea that there are six left.

Step 6: Pick new colors, make sets of 6, drop them in one hole at a time. Count to confirm. Help kids below grade level.

Step 7: Look at what you've made! You've shown that 4 and 6 make 10. Good for you! Let's write this down so we can remember it.

Step 8: Give kids a paper 10's frame (a piece of paper with a black rectangle divided into 10 boxes) have them choose a crayon or dot marker the same color as their first set, and draw 4. Switch colors draw six more. Let kids above grade level work independently, give support to kids on grade level and below, and then let them color the last 2 or 3 independently, while they're doing that help the above grade level kids write an equation (not a K standard, but nice to introduce for kids who are ready) under their 10's frame.

Step 9: Repeat one more time with a different starting number.


On a different day, we might cook fruit salad. Each kid can choose 10 pieces of fruit to add (e.g. 3 blueberries, 4 grapes, and 3 cutie orange sections), and then draw a picture recipe to show what they cooked.

[Anonymous]

On a different day, we might cook fruit salad. Each kid can choose 10 pieces of fruit to add (e.g. 3 blueberries, 4 grapes, and 3 cutie orange sections), and then draw a picture recipe to show what they cooked.

Great. Good for you and your kids. So, how long did it take you to teach the kids to count to ten when they came in not being able to count at all?

[Anonymous]

On a different day, we might cook fruit salad. Each kid can choose 10 pieces of fruit to add (e.g. 3 blueberries, 4 grapes, and 3 cutie orange sections), and then draw a picture recipe to show what they cooked.

And, to draw and record a picture recipe? Wow. You are an amazing teacher. Congratulations. YOu are almost halfway through the math standards for K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

On a different day, we might cook fruit salad. Each kid can choose 10 pieces of fruit to add (e.g. 3 blueberries, 4 grapes, and 3 cutie orange sections), and then draw a picture recipe to show what they cooked.

Great. Good for you and your kids. So, how long did it take you to teach the kids to count to ten when they came in not being able to count at all?

Not surprisingly it varied from kid to kid. I'm a special ed teacher, so some of my kids spent the entire year working on counting to 10. Generally, most of the class (thinking of an inclusion setting where the majority of kids don't have disabilities) had basic control of counting to 10 by around November, with some stragglers still needing work throughout the year. The activities I described would likely come in the second half of the year, and would be appropriate, with scaffolded support, for kids who aren't solid on counting. There are lots of places where counting, making sets, matching sets to numbers, and using 1:1 correspondence is embedded in them. Beginning counters need lots of practice counting, including lots of practice counting that's embedded in other activities like the ones I described.

You still haven't answered my question about what the standards you used when you taught. Have you taught K using the CCSS? Have you taught using other standards? Which ones?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

On a different day, we might cook fruit salad. Each kid can choose 10 pieces of fruit to add (e.g. 3 blueberries, 4 grapes, and 3 cutie orange sections), and then draw a picture recipe to show what they cooked.

And, to draw and record a picture recipe? Wow. You are an amazing teacher. Congratulations. YOu are almost halfway through the math standards for K.

Yeah, it's January, so not really surprising that I have mid year activities on my mind, is it?

Are you saying that you don't think that, given a sheet of paper with 10 boxes, and 10 lines next to them with labels, most K kids couldn't represent 10 fruits with 10 blobs of color and an initial consonant in mid K?

[Anonymous]

Are you saying that you don't think that, given a sheet of paper with 10 boxes, and 10 lines next to them with labels, most K kids couldn't represent 10 fruits with 10 blobs of color and an initial consonant in mid K?

If a child starts K without an understanding of counting and one to one correspondence, I think that is quite a stretch. Especially if it is in a normal class size.

[Anonymous]

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.OA.A.4
For any number from 1 to 9, find the number that makes 10 when added to the given number, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record the answer with a drawing or equation.

This is a very difficult concept for K kids. Yes, it can be taught with lots of practice and effort, but time would be better spent on other topics.

[Anonymous]

Not surprisingly it varied from kid to kid. I'm a special ed teacher, so some of my kids spent the entire year working on counting to 10.

So, you are not a K teacher. Figures.