1. NUMERACY “Well hey that’s just knowing numbers right.” NOT EXACTLY

2. Numeracy is essentially the mirror image of literacy. Numeracy Defined - The composition of mathematical skills that enable an individual to cope with the practical demands of everyday life.

3. Key components 1. Being comfortable with dimensions of mathematics that help a person deal with everyday life. 2. The ability to understand problems represented in mathematical terms.

4. Check out Numeracy in Action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfiUYjr9okc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MbALTOJZIg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1PthTS4KVA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsT6qSh6FaE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeEzjuxooZI

5. Knowing the increasing demands within our society for proficient numeracy skills upon leaving the school system it is critical that we stress the importance to students on building mathematical literacy in order to become numerate citizens. So how is the United States stacking up against the competition?

6. Education StatisticsEducation Statistics > Mathematical literacy (most recent) by country VIEW DATA: Totals Definition Source Printable version Bar Graph Map Correlations Showing latest available data. Rank Countries AmountDefinitionSourcePrintable versionMapCorrelationsCountriesAmount # 1 Japan: 557 Japan # 2 Korea, South: 547 Korea, South # 3 New Zealand: 537 New Zealand # 4 Finland: 536 Finland = 5 Australia: 533 Australia = 5 Canada: 533 Canada = 7 United Kingdom: 529 United Kingdom = 7 Switzerland: 529 Switzerland # 9 Belgium: 520 Belgium # 10 France: 517 France # 11 Austria: 515 Austria = 12 Denmark: 514 Denmark = 12 Iceland: 514 Iceland # 14 Sweden: 510 Sweden # 15 Ireland: 503 Ireland # 16 Norway: 499 Norway # 17 Czech Republic: 498 Czech Republic # 18 United States: 493 United States # 19 Germany: 490 Germany # 20 Hungary: 488 Hungary # 21 Spain: 476 Spain # 22 Poland: 470 Poland # 23 Italy: 457 Italy # 24 Portugal: 454 Portugal # 25 Greece: 447 Greece # 26 Luxembourg: 446 Luxembourg # 27 Mexico: 387 Mexico Weighted average: 500.0 (Click the name of each individual country to see more statistics)

7. So with that in mind what can we do as future educators to combat the problem of getting students to be mathematically literate and numerate? According to the NCTM there are six principles and standards for teaching mathematics. They are equity, curriculum, teaching, learning, assessment, and technology.

8. Equity – Set high expectations and strong support for all students. Curriculum – Ideas and content should be presented with their interconnectedness not as isolated facts. Good curricula provides expectations for students at each level. Teaching – Know the math AND know your students. Provide activities that are intriguing and challenging in a scaffolded environment. Learning – Factual knowledge (2x3), procedural proficiency (order of operations), and real world content create conceptual understanding when used together. Assessment – Inform students why math is important. Make it a regular event in the classroom both formal and informal. Have problems that a variety of approaches can be used to solve each problem. Technology – Helps students become more engaged with math. Students benefit from the ease of generating multiple representations to explore.

9. Test Your Skills + = Click the link and take the numeracy test. http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/tests/mathstest.htm

10. Check out this great site for Numeracy Activities http://www.st-thomas- tean.staffs.sch.uk/Numeracy%20Ac tivities.htmhttp://www.st-thomas- tean.staffs.sch.uk/Numeracy%20Ac tivities.htm