First Grade Math

FAMILY MATH

Family Math lessons are for the entire family so you strengthen family ties while learning together!  These activities help your child to see math as more than just a worksheet by using a growth mindset and incorporates the importance of play and exploration. Engaging questions and open-ended tasks will get your child excited about mathematics. Family Math activities will promote deeper understanding, number sense, problem-solving, logic, and reasoning.  Based upon Jo Boaler’s work in Mathematical Mindsets, our Family Math activities help you realize you (and your whole family) CAN understand and enjoy mathematics.

Open, creative, and visual math tasks have been shown to improve student test scores, but more importantly,  they can change a student’s relationship with mathematics so they start believing in their own potential. The tasks in CGA Family Math reflect the lessons from Mindset Mathematics. Brain science shows us the following:

  • Mistakes, struggles, and challenges are the most important times for brain growth. 
  • Speed is unimportant in mathematics.
  • Mathematics is a visual and beautiful subject, and our brains want to think visually about mathematics.
  • There is no such thing as a math person – anyone can learn mathematics to high levels. –Jo Boaler

Family Math, combined with an additional paper/pencil or online curriculum and fluency practice, creates a comprehensive math plan. This develops individual progression in skills at your student’s ability level while encouraging depth of knowledge with a user-friendly math experience your family can enjoy together. 

Families can access each week’s pacing guide, fluency practice information, and the Mathematical Mindsets activity in the Family Math document linked in Ally. 

COMPLETE MATH PROGRAMS

  • Family Math + Fluency Practice + Zearn + Zearn Workbook
  • Family Math + Fluency Practice + Zearn + Zearn Workbook + ST Math (supplemental)
  • Family Math + Fluency Practice + Paper Curriculum (i.e. Saxon, Math Mammoth, Math U See)
  • Family Math + Fluency Practice + Paper Curriculum (i.e. Saxon, Math Mammoth, Math U See)  + Zearn (supplemental)
  • Family Math + Fluency Practice + Paper Curriculum (i.e. Saxon, Math Mammoth, Math U See)  + Other Online Math Subscription (STMath, Dreambox, Math Seeds, etc.) (supplemental)

Zearn(online)

CGA TOP CHOICE – Zearn Math is a top-rated program that uses video direct instruction, including visual representations of math concepts, making it engaging for all students and reaching their various learning needs no matter their current skill level. All CGA K-6th grade students will be provided access to Zearn for the 2020-2021 school year so that enjoy the benefits of this program. Students must be placed at the appropriate entry point for their current skill level so be certain to talk to your ES when they begin. Parents can print the workbook at home or request a copy from the school. (Please order a workbook if you are using Zearn as your main, stand-alone program). Zearn is a complete math program because students enter some of the answers from the workbook or scratch paper directly into the program which greatly simplifies the accountability process. 

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Notes: An effective and effective way to learn math. CGA top choice

Saxon Math

Start your child off the right way in math with a clearly designed, hands-on program already proven by thousands of homeschoolers across the country. Math K helps you teach the foundational skills that children require, including oral counting; recognizing and sequencing numbers; acting out addition and subtraction stories; counting with one-to-one correspondence; identifying and counting pennies, nickels, and dimes; sorting; telling time to the hour, and using a calendar. Learn More

Needs: Teachers Manual, Meeting Book, Student Workbooks, and flashcards.

Notes: Saxon Math has a very dry presentation. The pages are devoid of color, but it has lots of reviews and is a well-respected curriculum.   Placement Test

Math Mammoth

  • focuses on the understanding of mathematical concepts
  • uses clear explanations, lots of visual exercises and pattern exercises
  • mastery oriented: concentrates fairly long on a topic, with fairly few topics per grade
  • emphasizes mental math and developing number sense
  • very little teacher preparation needed

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Needs: Worktext A & B

Notes: A great curriculum that covers all skills really well.   Crammed full of information so page layout can seem a little overwhelming.  No color.  A great fit for the student that gets Math. Placement Test

Math-U-See

Alpha focuses on teaching the concepts of single digit addition and subtraction. We use systematic teaching strategies to help students commit the addition and subtraction facts to memory. Learn More

Needs:  Student Workbook, Teacher Manual & Instructional DVD, Integer Block Set.

Notes:  Math-U-See is great for hands on learners.  It can be quite repetitive and doesn’t contain much review.  Placement Test

Singapore Primary Math

Concrete-to-pictorial-to-abstract approach to teaching. Concrete illustrations are incorporated heavily in the early grades, gradually giving way to more abstract representations so that math is learned meaningfully. The program builds strong problem solving, critical thinking, and computational skills through well-chosen practice problems. Learn More

Needs: Semester One – Workbook A, Textbook A, Home Instructor Guide A.  Semester two – Workbook B, Textbook B, Home Instructor Guide B.

Notes: Colorful kid friendly pages.   Placement Test

Right Start Math

This unique, award-winninghands-on program de-emphasizes counting, uses visualization of quantities, and provides strategies and visual pictures for learning the facts. Understanding and problem solving are emphasized throughout the curriculum.  The primary learning tool is the AL Abacus, a specially designed two-sided abacus that is both kinesthetic and visual. The AL Abacus is grouped in fives and tens for quick recognition of quantities. The second side of the AL Abacus teaches place value to the thousands. Children develop visual strategies as they use this manipulative.  Practice is provided with math card games, minimizing review worksheets and eliminating stressful flash cards. These games provide interesting and varied repetition that is needed for the automatic responses to the facts. More importantly, these games provide an application for new information and create hours of fun learning math facts and concepts. Learn More

Needs: Kit (Lessons, Worksheets, Yellow is the Sun book, Appendix pages ), Manipulatives Kit (AL Abacus Standard Math Card Games book Place Value Cards Base 10 Picture Cards Abacus Tiles Cards for Math Games Fraction Charts Drawing Board Set Geoboards Geometric Solids Plastic Coins Geometry Panels Colored Tiles Geometry Reflector Casio Calculator 450 Geared Clock Math Balance Tangrams Centimeter Cubes 4-in-1 Ruler Folding Meter Stick Goniometer Tally Sticks Yellow Is The Sun CD).

Notes: A great Math especially for struggling learners, but is very parent intensive.  Lots of games and manipulatives. AL Abacus is primary manipulative.   Placement Test

ST Math (online)

Don’t settle for mere digitized math drills. ST Math is a visual instructional program that builds a deep conceptual understanding of math through rigorous learning and creative problem solving to engage, motivate and challenge PreK-8 students toward higher achievement. Every student deserves his or her own personal journey toward math mastery. With ST Math, students progress at their own pace and engage with a unique series of animated puzzles. Students use the immediate and informative feedback to adjust their thinking while solving a problem. Parents have access to a simple-yet-powerful, built-in reporting system to monitor learning and quickly identify the instructional needs of each student.

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Notes: A fun and effective way to learn math.

Dreambox (online)

Dreambox is an adaptive, personalized instruction.  Learn More

Notes: Not a complete curriculum, but a fun supplement.  Lots of games.  Can be difficult to transfer skills to paper.

Mathseeds (Online)

Mathseeds teaches kids aged 3-9 the core math and problem-solving skills needed to be successful at school with fun, highly interactive and rewarding lessons. Mathseeds combines highly structured lessons with fun motivational elements that keep children engaged and keen to learn. Your kids can start learning with Mathseeds anytime and anywhere there is a computer or tablet. Learn More

Notes: Best when used with a paper curriculum.