Curriculum Night

The 5th-8th grades use the Connected Math Project (CMP) Curriculum in their math classes.

Below are some important elements of the CMP curriculum.

• CMP is problem-centered. This means that important mathematical ideas are embedded in engaging problems. Students develop understanding and skill as they explore a coherent set of problems, individually, in a group, or with the class. “Effective instruction models good thinking, provides hints, and prompts students who can not get it on their own.” (2) Inquiry, reflection, meaningful problems in a variety of contexts, and sense making, are all elements of the CMP program.

• Students’ perceptions about a discipline come from the tasks or problems in which they are asked to engage. For example, if students in a geometry course are asked to memorize definitions, they think geometry is about memorizing definitions. If students spend a majority of their mathematics time practicing paper-and-pencil computations, they come to believe that mathematics is about calculating answers to arithmetic problems as quickly as possible. They may become adept at quickly performing specific types of computations, but they may not be able to apply these skills to other situations or to recognize problems that call for these skills. If the purpose of studying mathematics is to be able to solve a variety of problems, then students need to spend significant time solving problems that require thinking, planning, reasoning, computing and evaluating.

• CMP places important mathematics in problems in context. Research evidence from the cognitive sciences supports the theory that students can make sense of mathematics if the concepts are embedded within a context or problem. If time is spent exploring interesting mathematical situations, reflecting on solution methods, comparing methods, and examining why methods work, then students are likely to build more robust understanding of mathematical concepts and procedures.

There are four major units of study in fifth grade:

1) All That Counts – Patterns and algebraic thinking.

Tables, graphs and functions.  Linear and non-linear patterns of growth; problem-solving

2) Prime Time – Factors and Multiples
number theory, including factors, multiples, primes, composites, prime factorization

3) Shapes and Designs – Two-Dimensional Geometry
regular and non-regular polygons, special properties of triangles and quadrilaterals, angle measure, angle sums, tiling, the triangle inequality

4) Bits and Pieces I – Understanding Rational Numbers
move among fractions, decimals, and percents; compare and order rational numbers; equivalence