New Washington State Math StandardsStill expect Kindergarteners to do multiplication and geometry problems

New Washington State Math StandardsStill expect Kindergarteners to do multiplication and geometry problems

http://www.k12.wa.us/CurriculumInstruct/Mathematics/RevisedStandards/k8-processes.pdf
Performance Expectations Explanatory Comments and ExamplesStudents are expected to:K.5.A Identify the question(s) asked in a problem.K.5.B Identify the given information that can beused to solve a problem.K.5.C Recognize when additional information isrequired to solve a problem.K.5.D Select from a variety of problem-solvingstrategies and use one or more strategies tosolve a problem.K.5.E Answer the question(s) asked in a problem.K.5.F Describe how a problem was solved.K.5.G Determine whether a solution to a problem isreasonable.Descriptions of solution processes andexplanations can include numbers, words(including mathematical language), pictures, orphysical objects. Students should be able to useall of these representations as needed. For aparticular solution, students should be able toexplain or show their work using at least one ofthese representations and verify that their answeris reasonable.

Examples: Grandma went to visit her two grandchildrenand discovered that the gloves they were each wearing had holes in every finger, even the thumbs. She will fix their gloves. How many glove fingers (including thumbs) need tobe fixed?(this 2 x 5 x 10, 3rd or 4th grade level)

Students are given drinking straws or coffeestirrers cut to a variety of different lengths: 6″,5″, 4″, 3″, and 2″. They are to figure out whichsets of three lengths, when joined at theirends, will form triangles and which sets ofthree will not.(this is a problem that is not even solveable at a high school geometry level. Kindergarteners don't even know how to measure in inches)