1. Math Parent Night September 2016
Welcome
Math Parent Night
September 2016

2. Background of CPM
As a non-profit company, CPM has developed curriculum for over 25 years and has been adopted by schools nation wide.
Written with the help of classroom teachers based on their experience of what effectively develops both procedural skills and conceptual understanding.
CPM provides extensive ongoing professional development for teachers
Supported by research in methodology and studies of student results, available at:
10 min power point

3. Ways Parents Can Support Their Child
CPM Parent Guide
Homework Help
Review background math skills
Instill in them the idea that they can learn mathematics.
Encourage your children to study and take notes.
Ask questions about what they are doing in class.
Check Canvas and PowerSchool

4. Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practices
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
Model with mathematics
Use appropriate tools strategically.
Attend to precision.
Look for and make use of structure.
Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning
A heavy focus in mathematics classrooms this school year revolves around students being able to effectively communicate and justify their thought processes. These processes are outlined in the CCSS as the 8 Standards for Mathematical Practices. One of the resources we have begun using across the district is a set of questioning cards. Each card provides questions a teacher could ask students to assist them in increasing their critical thinking skills as they relate to these specific mathematical practices.
Students often state, “I don’t get it” in math class. In previous years, the common response a teacher would provide was to solve the problem for the student. This school year, we are working with our students to increase their problem solving abilities; therefore, a response the teacher may give a student may come in the form of a question such as “What is the problem asking you to do?” or “Describe what you have already tried. What might you change?”. Students often see additional questioning as the teacher not teaching; however, it is just the opposite.
The purpose of this questioning technique is to assist the student in understanding math while also holding them accountable for thinking through the process gone over in class.
On our class web pages, you can find sample questions teachers are using in their classrooms regularly. Feel free to use these questions with your child as they are working on their math work at home.

5. What does a typical day look like?
Previous Years
This Year
Bell Work – Students enter and begin working review problems.
Homework Review – Teacher checks homework and reviews any questions.
Homework Review – Teacher checks homework for completion and reviews any questions.
Lesson – Teacher goes to the board and gives notes with examples of how to work the problem.
Exploration – Students work in teams to solve a problem that is designed to highlight a pattern in problem solving. This problem is usually based on the lesson the day before.
I am sure what you really want to know is what a typical day looks like In your chlid’s classroom. Here is a comparison of what a typical day looked like in previous years as compared to this year.

6. What does a typical day look like?
Previous Years
This Year
Guided Practice – Multiple problems are solved together as a class using the same rules.
Lesson – The teacher may go to the board to help students make the connection in the problem. Notes happen here as well.
Independent Practice – Students are given an assignment to work on by themselves to practice the skill.
Student Practice – Additional problems are given to the class to work on collectively to ensure understanding. While students are working, the teacher is continuously walking around questioning and evaluating student progress.
Homework – Usually 10 – 20 problems on that lesson.
Homework – Usually 5 – 7 problems. Skills repeat over and over to ensure students do not forget what they have learned.
What does a typical day look like?

7. Canvas
While Canvas is just now getting up and running, the Math Department has all intentions of using it for the quizzes and tests your children will take this year. The plan is to design quizzes and tests that will prepare your children for the State Assessments they will take in March and at the end of the year. Let me show you an example of how those will look.
We will also use Canvas for discussion boards and written assignments.
This is very new and we will be training after school for the next few weeks to get it all of the course materials built and available to students as soon as possible, so please be patient with us as we make this new and exciting transition.

8. CPM College Preparatory Mathematics
College Preparatory Mathematics is an educational non-profit organization. They began as a grant-funded mathematics project in 1989 with the purpose of writing textbooks to help students better understand mathematics. CPM, now a non-profit educational consortium managed and staffed by middle school and high school teachers, offers a complete mathematics programs for grades six through 12 that are used in 35 states. I say this to let you know that while this company has done a great job of lining up this curriculum with the Common Core State Standards, CPM is not a company that popped up overnight to earn money on materials for the standards. CPM’s original Connections series ( ) predates the CCSS Standards for Mathematical Practice by several years, yet the practices advocated by the Standards are naturally integrated as a core foundation throughout the entire CPM curriculum.
The series we will be using, the Core Connections series (2013), is the second edition of the original Connections series that was prepared to meet the CCSS content standards sequence.
Your student will use this same program through graduation at Clinton High School.

9. Thank you so much for coming!!
Mrs. Gibbs
Ms. Levy
Mrs. Myers
Mrs. Hall
Mrs. Mardis
Thank you so much for coming tonight. We hope we have answered some of the questions you might have had. If you have questions that we didn’t cover, please call Ms. Karl, the school counselor, to schedule a conference. You are always welcome to us. Our addresses are listed above, and can also be found on our class webpages. Again, thank you for coming, and thank you for entrusting us with your most priced possessions, your children. We appreciate your support!
Thank you so much for coming!!