The Investigations in Number, Data, and Space curriculum (1998, 2004, and 2006 editions) was designed with the needs of teachers, students, and their families in mind. The resources described below are included in order to help teachers communicate important information to parents and families about mathematics, about what students are learning and doing in math, and about how they can help their children become powerful mathematical thinkers.
Family Letters
Every unit in the Investigations curriculum includes a Family Letter that briefly describes and discusses the mathematical ideas children are working on in class, and suggests some ways to explore mathematics at home. (These letters are available in English (PDF), Spanish (PDF), Hmong (PDF), Cantonese (PDF), Cambodian (PDF), and Vietnamese (PDF).)
Investigations At Home Booklets
An Investigations At Home Booklet is available for every unit in the Investigations curriculum, grades 1 through 5. There is one booklet for the entire Kindergarten year. The At Home Booklets give families a detailed sense of what's happening in math class and what they can do at home to help.
Each booklet begins with a Family Letter and then describes the activities and mathematical ideas students are working on in class. Homework Notes (PDF) alert families to potential assignments, and explain how parents can support their child. Related Activities present suggestions for exploring mathematics together at home, and Practice Pages encourage practice with important topics by providing activities and games (along with materials and instructions) that families can use together.
Homework
In order to accommodate the wide range of school and district policies, enough homework is embedded in the Investigations curriculum to assign homework every other night. Practice Pages, located in the back of each unit, enable those who need to assign homework every night to do so. Also, each Ten-Minute Math activity in third through fifth grade, and some of the K-2 routines, includes related homework options. (This kind of homework support is provided with the acknowledgment that teachers must make their own choices, and need to adapt and adjust assignments in order to meet the needs of all students.)
To help foster communication with parents and families, blackline masters of Student Sheets that are designed to be homework include a short Note to Families (PDF).
Student Activity Booklets
Student Activity Booklets -- booklets that assemble all the necessary blackline masters for one student to complete a particular unit -- contain more detailed information for families. Because these booklets are designed so that individual sheets can be ripped out, longer notes to families are provided on the back of sheets that are suggested as homework.
Investigations Games
Investigations includes many games as an integral part of the elementary mathematics curriculum. These games -- which explore mathematical content as varied as whole number computation, fractions, sorting, probability, and geometry -- are played repeatedly, allowing children to develop efficiency and fluency over time. They also offer a wonderful opportunity for connecting with families. Many teachers make copies of games for students to keep at home, or make several copies to outfit a class game library.
These games can provide families with a sense of the mathematical topics being investigated in class, offer an image of the ways mathematical ideas are developed, and initiate practice with important topics at home. (Many teachers point out the ways these games offer practice with the "traditional" content (i.e. "math facts") that many parents are looking for in a math program.) Playing these games also gives parents the opportunity to see the math curriculum in action, to explore mathematical ideas with their children, and to see their child's thinking change and develop over time.
Image Used with Permission of Pearson Education, Inc.
