The collection of articles from Teaching Children Mathematics, along with selected tasks, are
intended to help teachers, parents, and childcare workers create a culture of
mathematical thinking and positive dispositions in their classrooms, homes, and
childcare centers. While the collection of articles can help educators envision
how to support early learning, there is no “right” way or “best” way to support
young children’s early learning of mathematics. For that reason the articles
provide a wide array of contexts for learning. Children learn through
open-ended play at a water table, by engaging in regular classroom routines
like taking attendance and lining up for recess, by playing games with rules,
and through structured tasks. Children learn mathematics through integrated
activities such as songs, movement, science, and literature, through focused
opportunities to learn properties of number and shape, or through
problem-solving tasks. Opportunities to learn mathematics exist in both child-initiated
activities and adult-initiated and adult-directed activities. Children learn by
using structured materials like blocks, puzzles, and counters and unstructured
materials like feathers, shells, and paper. Regardless of the learning context,
the collection of articles and activities all portray young children to be
curious, confident, and capable learners.
The
collection of articles and activities is organized into two parts: part I,
“Mathematics Everyday and Everywhere,” and part II, “Mathematics Content for
Young Children.” Each chapter includes an introduction, selected Teaching Children Mathematics articles,
and tasks based on the articles or created for this book and tested with
prekindergarten and kindergarten children to illustrate the mathematics and
pedagogy appropriate for prekindergarten and kindergarten.
There are four chapters in part I. Chapter 1, “Curriculum for the
Curious,” and chapter 2, “Learning Alongside Children,” include introductions
and selected articles describing curriculum content, mathematical practices,
and pedagogy supportive of young children’s mathematical learning. Chapter 3,
“In the Classroom,” which focuses on articles and activities for circle time, exploratory play, and classroom
routines, and chapter 4, “Connections to Home,” include introductions, articles
illustrating opportunities to integrate mathematical
thinking in everyday activities at school and in the home, and selected task
menus.
The four chapters in part II, “Mathematics Content for
Young Children,” provide focused introductions to the mathematical processes,
practices, and concepts that young children should have opportunities to learn.
Current research along with Curriculum Focal Points (NCTM 2006) at the
prekindergarten and kindergarten levels and the Common Core State Standards for kindergarten were used to determine
content appropriate for young children. Chapter 5, “Mathematical Processes and
Practices,” chapter 6, “Number and Quantitative Reasoning,” chapter 7,
“Geometry and Spatial Reasoning,” and chapter 8, “Measurement and Data,”
include the key mathematical topics in each of these areas, as well as selected
articles and tasks illustrating the mathematical content and practices for
prekindergarten and kindergarten children.