During Tuesday's class, we had the opportunity to go from table to table, looking at each grade level's mathematics resources. Our group started off with grade one, where there was an abundance of resources which included a curriculum guide, a huge teacher's guide, and multiple big lap books with corresponding smaller books. I really liked the resources for this grade level, as the teacher's guide was very thorough and easy to follow and the books were fun and engaging. When we moved to grade two, the only difference I noticed was that the lettering in the small books was noticeably bigger and the word choice was more difficult than that of grade one. Also, there were no lap books available for grade two.
Notable Differences
I noticed a big difference in the resources between grades two and three. Once we got to the grade three table, there were no lap books or smaller books, just a curriculum guide and a big teacher's guide. The language used was obviously more sophisticated and the lettering a lot bigger than the younger grades, but the pictures were still colored and engaging for the students. The major differences I saw were in the elementary grades. There was no longer any color in the images, there seemed to be little difference in difficulty level throughout the curriculum, and the difficulty levels were not consistent throughout--the students may be shading in a portion of a pie chart in one section, then dividing by 100's in the next section.
What Surprised Me?
The main difference I was surprised by was definitely the fact that the "fun" element of color and engaging activities sort of dwindled away in the elementary grade resources. This makes me think that this can be a contributing factor as to why many students prefer the arts over mathematics, especially those in the elementary grades. There must be a way for us to keep the sophistication and difficulty level of mathematics in the elementary grades without compromising the fun and engaging elements that the students enjoy.
