{"id":3113,"date":"2013-02-21T09:22:53","date_gmt":"2013-02-21T17:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kidnexions.com\/blog\/?p=3113"},"modified":"2013-02-21T09:43:34","modified_gmt":"2013-02-21T17:43:34","slug":"common-core-mathematics-standards-focus-commutative-property-of-addition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.familymathnight.com\/blog\/?p=3113","title":{"rendered":"Common Core Mathematics Standards Focus – Commutative Property of Addition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Making sense of and understanding mathematics is the foundation of the new Common Core State Standards in Mathematics.\u00a0 It is not enough that kids can compute with numbers – they must understand why those computations work.\u00a0 Enter Number Theory, the part of math that explores numbers and how they relate to each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the heart of Number Theory are the properties of number.\u00a0 One of the first ones students will encounter is the Commutative Property of Addition.\u00a0 It states that a + b = b + a.\u00a0 In other words, 2 + 3 = 3 + 2.\u00a0 And since the Standards emphasize the equal sign to mean is the same as<\/em>, then students will soon become comfortable with the Commutative Property.\u00a0 (BTW, we don’t need to use the words ‘commutative property’ in the primary grades; the concept is what’s important.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The photo illustrates a simple way to get students to physically see the commutative property in action.\u00a0 I was doing a similar activity in kindergarten a number of years ago and one of the students blurted out, “Hey, it’s the same.\u00a0 They’re just opposite!”\u00a0 It’s fun to see that lightbulb go on.<\/p>\n

So why is it important to focus on the commutative property?\u00a0 For one, it represents turnaround facts: 4 + 6 = 6 + 4 means we only have to learn one, 4 + 6, to know the other, 6 + 4.\u00a0 This becomes increasingly important as students begin to study multiplication and can tap into the Commutative Property of Multiplication to learn all their facts:\u00a0 4 x 6 = 6 x 4.<\/p>\n

But understanding the properties (I’ll be sharing more in upcoming blogs)\u00a0also shows how numbers relate to each other and how they can be “manipulated” to make working with them easier.\u00a0 In other words, numbers should make sense.\u00a0 And they make sense in different ways depending on the student.\u00a0 The beauty of that is that we will all arrive at the same place, we just may take a different route.\u00a0 And there’s nothing wrong with that.<\/p>\n

So as your students\/children are learning their number facts, ask them questions like, “Hey, is 5 + 4 the same as 4 + 5? How do you know?” Providing them with concrete objects to use as counters can help them verbalize and solidify what they’re sorting through in their heads.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Making sense of and understanding mathematics is the foundation of the new Common Core State Standards in Mathematics.\u00a0 It is not enough that kids can compute with numbers – they must understand why those computations work.\u00a0 Enter Number Theory, the part of math that explores numbers and how they relate to each other.\u00a0 At the heart of Number Theory are the properties of number.\u00a0 One of the first ones students will encounter is the Commutative Property of Addition.\u00a0 It states…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[123,56,47,76,51,44,45,52,57,58],"tags":[101,102,165,81,88,67,21,22,61],"class_list":["post-3113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activities","category-algebra-kids-and-math-3-5","category-algebra","category-family-math-night-2","category-kids-and-math-3-5","category-kids-and-math","category-number-sense","category-number-and-operations","category-problem-solving","category-problem-solving-kids-and-math","tag-ccss","tag-common-core-state-standards","tag-commutative-property-of-addition","tag-family-math-night-activities","tag-hands-on-math","tag-k-5-math","tag-karyn-hodgens","tag-kidnexions","tag-number-sense-2"],"yoast_head":"\nCommon Core Mathematics Standards Focus - Commutative Property of Addition - Karyn's Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.familymathnight.com\/blog\/?p=3113\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Common Core Mathematics Standards Focus - Commutative Property of Addition - Karyn's Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Making sense of and understanding mathematics is the foundation of the new Common Core State Standards in Mathematics.\u00a0 It is not enough that kids can compute with numbers – they must understand why those computations work.\u00a0 Enter Number Theory, the part of math that explores numbers and how they relate to each other.\u00a0 At the heart of Number Theory are the properties of number.\u00a0 One of the first ones students will encounter is the Commutative Property of Addition.\u00a0 It states... 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