Watch this space for an evolving set of resources designed to support teachers and educators in thinking about issues of equity, access, identity, and agency in the Investigations classroom. The Investigations staff is collaborating with consultants whose work focuses on these issues.

Developing an Equitable Math Learning Community in Unit 1

Establishing and maintaining an equitable learning community requires explicit attention and planning, starting at the very beginning of the school year. The documents below offer suggestions for how three key structures—whole class discussions, Math Workshop, and partner work—can develop and support identity and agency in all students, particularly those who have been historically marginalized in mathematics.

There are two documents/grade that offer ways to begin this work in Unit 1. One presents equity opportunities by Session. The other organizes the same information (also by session) in three separate sections—focused on Discussions, Math Workshop, and partner work.

• K Unit 1 by Session, K Unit 1 by Topic
• 1 Unit 1 by Session, 1 Unit 1 by Topic
• 2 Unit 1 by Session, 2 Unit 1 by Topic
• 3 Unit 1 by Session, 3 Unit 1 by Topic
• 4 Unit 1 by Session, 4 Unit 1 by Topic
• 5 Unit 1 by Session, 5 Unit 1 by Topic

Blogs about Issues of Equity

The Investigations 3 team has been writing blogs about issues of equity, access, identity, and agency in the Investigations classroom.

• Teacher Reflection Fosters Equitable Learning Communities (2/18/22)
• What Do Students Think about Math? Ask Them and Find Out! (1/21/22)
• A Space for All of Us: Setting Up the Classroom Environment (11/5/21)
• Developing Classroom Agreements in the Inv3 Classroom (10/25/21)
• Classroom Agreements: Creating and Sustaining an Equitable Learning Community (10/11/21)
• Establishing an Equitable Learning Community (10/4/21)
• A Framework for Reflecting about Equity (9/27/21)

Gender-Specific Language

As part of our commitment to supporting the development of equitable learning communities, and to recognizing the diverse learners in Investigations classrooms, our staff examined the curriculum to identify instances of gender-specific language. Those places, along with suggested adaptations, are detailed in the attached table. Edits in grades 1-5 will appear in the digital assets (e.g., e-text, digital student pages etc.) on Savvas Realize by late fall 2021 and will be reflected in the print materials in future printings. All Kindergarten edits are currently pending.

A Framework for Reflecting about Equity in the Investigations Mathematics Classroom

This framework lays out the territory for potential action, as our staff takes up questions about how Investigations can be a tool for anti-racist work and better support students who have been historically marginalized, especially Black and brown students, to be doers of mathematics. We offer it as a resource for reflecting on issues of equity, identity, and agency in mathematics learning and teaching, both for ourselves and for school-based educators.