Tag: Illustrative Mathematics 6–8 Math

Respecting the Intellectual Work of the Grade

By Kate Nowak

A thing that I think we did really well in Illustrative Mathematics 6–8 Math was attend carefully to really deep, important things that adults that already know math can easily overlook. For example, what does an equation mean? What does it mean for a number to be a solution to an equation? What does it mean for two expressions to be equivalent? (This is an example of the crucially important foundational understanding that gets short shrift when we rush kids through middle school math.) Continue reading “Respecting the Intellectual Work of the Grade” →

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Assessment Principles in Illustrative Mathematics 6-8 Math

By Bowen Kerins

A wide-ranging team worked together to develop the Illustrative Mathematics Grades 6-8 Math curriculum. As Assessment Lead, it was my responsibility to write and curate the Shared Understandings document about assessments we used throughout the writing process, and I thought you might be interested to read some of the key features.

This quote drives a lot of the ideas about assessment:

“You want students to get the question right for the right reasons and get the question wrong for the right reasons.” – Sendhil Revuluri Continue reading “Assessment Principles in Illustrative Mathematics 6-8 Math” →

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Reflection & Discussions in Grade 8, Part 1

By Ashli Black

Woo, blogging! As I start work on high school curriculum, I thought I would go back and revisit the grade 8 units that I’ve spent the past 18 months working on and share some of my favorite things. This gives me a chance to think about what sorts of things I really want to keep in mind as I write new stuff and gives folks a way to take a peek “under the hood” at how some activities came about. A new curriculum can be a daunting thing to jump into, so hopefully this is a friendly way to dip toes in. Let’s start in grade 8, unit 1, shall we? Oh, and some of the links are going to be to the online curriculum, which you’ll need to sign up for. Signing up is free and you can do that here.

Continue reading “Reflection & Discussions in Grade 8, Part 1” →

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