From a parent’s perspective, students working in math under the new Common Core State Standards might not look that different from students working under the previous standards. They will still come home with homework. They will still be asked to master certain skills.

Inside the classroom, however, things are working very differently.

The Common Core is as much about how students learn as what they learn. Successfully teaching under the Common Core means providing more critical thinking practice and experiential learning.

Here are some easy ways to bring those concepts into your home life so you child can be better prepared for Common Core math.

Collaboration and Perseverance

The first standard under the Common Core’s Mathematics Practice Standards (general guidelines for how students should work in math at any grade) reads “Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.” It goes on to describe a collaborative environment where students not only work to get questions right, but work to get better.

At home, adopt the same approach. We were raised that math problems are either solved correctly or incorrectly, and to move on either way. It will take a little more patience to help your child persevere in finding the right answer, mastery the process along the way.

Engage in Math Discourse

For the first time, math standards require students to be able not only to do math, but also to explain how they did it and be able to defend their method of thinking. In the classroom, this will take the form of your child at the board working a problem or simply discussing with another classmate how they got to their solution.

Again, for parents of the right/wrong generation, this is a little different. It might be possible that your student can justify an answer that might appear wrong. Perhaps they try to justify, but see the error in their ways. Either way, talking about math is now an important part of the Common Core process.

Real-world modeling

“Modeling” is a term educators use that mean to use your own life to show students how to do something. The real world is full of ways to use math on a daily basis, and now the Common Core wants to see students be able to use their math knowledge in their daily lives.

You use math every day as well, from calculating when you’re going to need to fill up the gas tank again to cooking a meal. Let the kids help in that process, while explaining the mathematical reasoning behind what you’re doing. As the new Common Core tests are more performance-based, having real-world practice can only help that performance.

The Next Level

What has your child’s school been telling you about their transition to the Common Core? Educate us in the comments below.

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And if you feel your child needs a little more help preparing for this rigorous new curriculum, please find out more about Athena’s services and how they can help you using this link.