Module Family and Caregiver Guides

The primary purpose of the Family and Caregiver Guides is to bridge student learning in the classroom to student learning at home. The goal is to empower families and caregivers to understand the concepts and skills learned in the classroom and provide them with multiple strategies to reinforce the understanding of these concepts at home. Through visual representations, process standard connections, and real-world applications, families and caregivers will experience doing math together, which is a great way for them to support their students.

Content

The content for the Family and Caregiver Guides was selected to help families and caregivers understand the mathematical content introduced throughout a module. Families and caregivers will also learn more about their student’s experiences in their math classrooms. The majority of the content focuses on specific key concepts and skills that students learn in each topic with the goal that families can review, discuss, and solidify the understanding of these key concepts together.

Module Introduction & the Mathematics Glossary

The Module Introduction provides a brief summary of the key concepts learned throughout the module. The intent is to give families a snapshot of the overall purpose and learning goals of the module. The Mathematics Glossary highlights a different academic term in each module. This section works to help students, families, and caregivers understand important terms and encourages them to use these terms to communicate their ideas. The identified term is the same throughout all modules in a course, but specific, course-related questions are given in this section for families to use throughout the guide to reinforce the academic term.

Math Process Standards

The Math Process Standards are highlighted to support families and caregivers in developing their students to be mathematical thinkers. One or two process standards are called out for each module in this section. Families and caregivers are given examples of “I can…” statements that describe ways in which students are expected to engage with the content. The specified process standard(s) is/are highlighted throughout the topic summaries for families to make connections between the process standards and the content of the topic.

The Carnegie Learning Way

The Carnegie Learning Way is a section designed for families to understand how their student engages with the content in their math classroom. This section will highlight our approach to math instruction, the lesson structure students experience in their classrooms, and the different problem types that are presented to students throughout the lessons. The goal is for families and caregivers to understand how students engage with and experience math content in their classrooms and connect that same language and structure to their learning at home.

Module Overview

The Module Overview provides a look at the content and pacing for each topic within a module. This overview is intended to be one opportunity for families to do math together. Families can discuss and think through a highlighted concept or skill from each topic. These skills allow students to recall information learned in the classroom and make connections to the concepts in real-world situations.

Topic Summaries

The Topic Summaries provide the most extensive content support. Each section focuses on key terms found throughout the topic, with visual representations connected to selected terms. The key terms are highlighted to emphasize the importance of using math vocabulary at home, and the visual representations are provided to assist families in their understanding of the terms. This section also includes a highlight of key concepts and skills learned throughout the topic. Each concept or skill is presented alongside visual representations to support understanding. Topic Summaries may also include differentiation strategies to support families and caregivers in meeting the individual learning needs of their student(s). To extend the learning, each Topic Summary includes links to instructional videos that provide the support necessary for families, caregivers, and students to engage in the math together.

Support Center

The final section lists direct links and QR codes that lead to different components of our Family and Caregiver Guide section of the Support Center. The Support Center will provide the following resources for at-home learning:

• Printable versions of the Family and Caregiver Guides
• Topic-level videos highlighting key concepts and skills
• Supporting documents to reinforce learning, including:
  • Student Glossraries
  • Suggested Differentiation Strategies