Early Elementary Program
Our students explore math concepts and demonstrate their understanding of mathematical operations and concepts through the daily Math Vitamin. Through the Math Vitamin, children experience math in a very real way by solving problems that are meaningful to them. Teachers create Math Vitamin story-problems that connect to the literature, science, and curricular projects of that level. Teachers also carefully design problems to challenge students at multiple levels of understanding and encourage skill development in the areas identified in the UCDS Math Continuum.
Students have multiple entry points when solving a mathematical problem: build, draw, record. Teachers encourage students to approach a problem using their area of strength. They can develop and express their understanding by building with manipulatives, through drawings, charts or graphs, or recording their ideas numerically. Trying a variety of methods to solve a problem and exchanging ideas through collaboration with peers supports students to be flexible mathematical thinkers. In addition to Math Vitamin, math concepts are explored daily through literature, music, art, science, games and calendars.
1-2 Program
Our students explore math concepts and demonstrate their understanding of mathematical strands through Math Vitamins. Children experience math in a very real way by solving problems that are meaningful to them. Math Vitamins are story-problems that connect to literature, science, and curricular projects of that level. Teachers also carefully design problems to challenge students at multiple levels of understanding and to encourage skill development in the areas identified in the UCDS Math Continuum.
Children practice math skills and make their thinking visible using a variety of tools, including manipulative materials, drawings, charts, graphs and equations. Students have the opportunity to approach a Math Vitamin from an area of strength while developing several strategies to arrive at a solution and prove their work.
3-4-5 Program
Our students explore math concepts and demonstrate their understanding of mathematical operations and patterns through Math Vitamins. Through Math Vitamins, children experience math in a very real way by solving problems that are meaningful to them. Teachers create Math Vitamin story problems that connect to the literature, science, and curricular projects of that level. Teachers also carefully design problems to challenge students at multiple levels of understanding and to encourage skill development in the areas identified in the UCDS Math Continuum.
Students apply math skills using a variety of tools, including manipulative materials, drawings, charts, graphs and equations and to show/explain their thinking. Teachers encourage students to use an area of strength to initially approach a problem, to generate an algorithm that expresses their process, and to develop several strategies to arrive at a solution. Teachers also ask students to show their thinking in more than one way.
3-4-5 Math Vitamins may take several days to complete and teachers extend the problem each day based on the students’ responses. Expectations for recording the math vitamin process increase over time as students restate the problem, label drawings, create charts, record equations and explain their thinking. We expect students at this level to produce work that can be read and understood by others.
