Before the Standards . . .

 

 

 

Before there was the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (the Standards), there was a set of three documents whose sole purpose were to provide a set of national standards in the areas of curriculum, assessment, and the profession of mathematics education. The first of these standards, Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics, was Òthe first contemporary set of subject matter standards in the United StatesÓ (Ferrini-Mundy, p. 869). From these three documents arose the Standards which was written to Òbuild upon the foundationÓ and Òintegrate the classroom-related portionsÓ of the original standards (Ferrini-Mundy, p. 869). This is evident especially in the Geometry Standard where ideas such as understanding two- and three-dimensional geometry are prevalent. The Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics stresses many geometric skills, including spatial reasoning and ability that school age children should acquire in the course of their learning that are still important ideas resonating throughout the Standards. 

 

 

K – 4

 

 

 

5 – 8

ÒStudents discover relationships and develop spatial sense by constructing, drawing, measuring, visualizing, comparing, transforming, and classifying geometric figures.Ó NCTM, p. 112

 

ÒGeometry also has a vocabulary of its own, including terms like rhombus, trapezoid, and dodecahedron, and students need ample time to develop confidence in their use of this new and unique language. Definitions should evolve from experiences in constructing, visualizing, drawing, and measuring two- and three-dimensional figures, relating properties to figures, and contrasting and classifying figures according to their properties.Ó NCTM, p. 113

 

ÒComputer software allows students to construct two- and three-dimensional shapes on a screen and then flip, turn, or slide them to view them from a new perspective. Observing and learning to represent two- and three-dimensional figures in various positions by drawing and construction also helps students develop spatial sense.Ó NCTM, p. 114

 

ÒInvestigations of two- and three-dimensional models foster an understanding of the different growth rates for linear measures, areas, and volumes of similar figures. These ideas are fundamental to measurement and critical to scientific applications . . .

 

Symmetry in two and three dimensions provides rich opportunities for students to see geometry in the world of art, nature, construction, and so on.Ó NCTM, p. 115

 

 

 

9 – 12

 

 

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