Building Blocks Math From Pre-K to Grade 2

"Why did you do that?" Lisa Adkins asked. "I'm six and a half," he told his teacher. He did not know how to write one-half, he said, so he wrote the symbol for plus, because he knows that means more.

This is the kind of conversation that Adkins likes to have in class. Rather than asking students only to memorize and record facts, she wants them to explain how they come up with answers.

"There is more of an emphasis on the thinking about the math," she said.

In some classrooms, students use journals to record math thoughts.

What Second-Graders Should Know

Virginia second-graders are expected to master 22 standards in the math curriculum. Here are a few examples provided by the Virginia Department of Education ( http://www.doe.virginia.gov/go/Sols/home.shtml):

Number and Number Sense

The student will compare two whole numbers between 0 and 999, using symbols (>, <, or =) and words (greater than, less than, or equal to).

Computation and Estimation

The student, given a simple addition or subtraction fact, will recognize and describe the related facts which represent and describe the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction (e.g., 3 + __ = 7, ___ + 3 = 7; 7 -- 3 = __, and 7 -- __ = 3).

Measurement

The student will:

a) Count and compare a collection of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters whose total value is $2.00 or less; and