Unit Descriptions
(1998, 2004 and 2006 editions)
The Investigations curriculum is presented through a series of resource books called curriculum units. These curriculum units provide the information and resources teachers and administrators need to implement the complete K-5 mathematics program. The curriculum units involve students in the exploration of major mathematical ideas, and may revolve around two or three related areas, for example, addition and subtraction or geometry and fractions.
Each unit provides lesson plans, notes to the teacher about the mathematics students are encountering, opportunities for skill and practice, assessment activities, examples of classroom dialogues, materials lists, reproducible Student Sheets for activities and games, a letter to families, and homework suggestions. Some units include the use of software programs to extend students' experience with the mathematics being explored.
An important feature of Investigations is the amount of support included in each unit for teachers to use to learn more about the mathematical content and the way students learn about that content. Investigations is infused with teachers' practical suggestions and strategies, based on the extensive field-testing of the curriculum in diverse classrooms. As a result, each Investigations unit is a guide to student activities and a guide to the teacher who wants to learn more about the teaching and learning of mathematics.
The following Unit Descriptions provide detailed information about the mathematics in each curriculum unit at each grade level.
