Major Work

of the

CCSS-M

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics: Grade Level Emphases North Carolina Department of Public nstruction

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Math Content Emphases

Content Emphases b! Cluster describes content emphases in the standards at the cluster level for each grade or course" #hese are provided because curriculum$ instruction and assessment at each grade must reflect the focus and emphasis of the standards" Not all of the content in a given grade or course is emphasi%ed e&uall! in the standards" #he list of content standards for each grade or course is not a flat$ one'dimensional chec(list) this is b! design" #here are sometimes strong differences of emphasis even *ithin a single domain" Some clusters re&uire greater emphasis than others based on the depth of the ideas$ the time the! ta(e to master$ and+or their importance to future mathematics or the demands of college and career readiness" ,n intense focus on the most critical material at each grade allo*s depth in learning$ *hich is carried out through the Standards for Mathematical Practice" -ithout such focus$ attention to the practices *ould be difficult and unrealistic$ as *ould best practices such as formative assessment" Sa!ing that some things have greater emphasis is not to sa! that an!thing in the standards can safel! be neglected in instruction" Neglecting material *ill leave gaps in student s(ill and understanding and ma! leave students unprepared for the challenges of a later grade" ,ssessments *ill be designed *ith a much greater proportion dra*n from clusters designated as ma.or and the remainder dra*n from clusters designated as additional+supporting$ *ith these items placing emphasis on the ma.or *or( of the grade or course" #herefore$ to ma(e relative emphases in the standards more transparent and useful$ this document designates clusters as Ma.or or Supporting+,dditional for the grade or course in &uestion" #he follo*ing are some recommendations for using the cluster'level emphases: Do /se the identified *or( to inform instructional decisions regarding time and other resources spent on clusters of var!ing degrees of emphasis" Evaluate instructional materials ta(ing the cluster'level emphases into account" #he ma.or *or( of the grade must be presented *ith the highest possible &ualit!) the supporting and additional *or( of the grade should support the ma.or focus$ not detract from it" ,llo* the focus on the ma.or *or( of the grade to open up the time and space to bring the Standards for Mathematical Practice to life in mathematics instruction through sense'ma(ing$ reasoning$ arguing and criti&uing$ modeling$ etc" Set priorities for other implementation efforts ta(ing the emphases into account$ such as staff development) ne* curriculum development) or revision of e0isting district or school level assessments" Dont Neglect an! material in the standards" 1 nstead$ connect the Supporting+,dditional Clusters to the other *or( of the grade or course"2 Sort clusters from Ma.or to Supporting+,dditional$ and then teach them in that order" #o do so *ould strip the coherence and progressiveness of the mathematical ideas and miss the opportunit! to enhance the ma.or *or( of the grade *ith the supporting+additional clusters" /se the cluster headings as a replacement for the standards or use the standards *ithout the cluster heading" ,ll features of the standards matter because a focus is given at the cluster level as a *a! to tal( about the content *ith the necessar! specificit!$ *ithout going so far into detail as to compromise the coherence of the standards"

,dapted from: http:++engagen!"org+resource+math'content'emphases+

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics: Grade Level Emphases North Carolina Department of Public nstruction

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Major Work of the Grade

First Grade
Major Clusters Operations and Algebraic Thinking Represent and solve problems
involving addition and subtraction. Understand and apply properties of operations and the relationship between addition and subtraction. Add and subtract within 20.

Supporting/Additional Clusters Measure ent and "ata #ell and write time. Represent and interpret data. Geo etr# Reason with shapes and their
attributes.

Work with addition and subtraction

equations.

Nu ber and Operations in !ase Ten !tend the counting sequence. Understand place value. Use place value understanding and
properties of operations to add and subtract.

Measure ent and "ata "easure lengths indirectly and by

iterating length units.

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics: Grade Level Emphases North Carolina Department of Public nstruction

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