If you have school- age children, you likely have heard about the new Common Core State Standards. Already adopted by forty-three states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity, the Common Core focuses on developing the critical-thinking, problem-solving and analytical skills students will need to be successful in college and the workforce. What does this mean for your children and their education?
With these new standards in place, parents may need to offer their students extra support. How can you help your young scholars be better prepared to meet the new challenges of the classroom?
English Language Arts:
Vocabulary development is a major component of the new standards for English Language Arts. Encourage your children to build their vocabulary organically by supplementing their required reading with a wide range of choices, such as classical myths, historical documents and seminal literature.
Analysis and comprehension of reading is also important. So consider reading the same articles as your children and discussing what you both learned.
Mathematics:
Supplement classroom learning with free online resources. For example, Casio Education offers in-depth information about standardized tests, including sample questions from various state exams. They also offer webinars and reference guides to help both students and teachers make better use of technology in math class, including topical calculator instruction. Free education resources and information can be found at www.CasioEducation.com.
Math is all around us — from sports statistics to creating a family budget to investing for college. Parents can leverage real-life events and circumstances to both illustrate the importance of math comprehension, as well as help students further understand the Common Core curriculum.
“Mathematics education is most meaningful when it promotes abstract and quantitative reasoning skills and appeals to innate human curiosity,” says Yuji Sasajima, vice president of Casio’s education division. “
Students will need to adjust the way they learn to keep up with changes in the classroom. By learning more about the Common Core standards, parents can help ease the transition.
