Why You Should Teach the Standards

When sitting down to plan out the week, the month, or even the year, there are so many possibilities. As you are looking through your curriculum and textbooks I'm sure there are SO MANY fun ideas popping into your head. You probably hop on to Pinterest or TPT and quickly go down the rabbit hole of cute, fun activities and lessons. It is easy to get lost in all of the options. This is where standards come into play. After many years of experience, I'm going to share why you should teach the standards (even in non-testing years.)

Teaching the standards is important in all grade levels. Even the years that aren't testing years. Learn all about why here.

Understanding Standards

Standards are goals for what students should know and be able to do by the end of the academic year. Standards influence many parts of the educational system as a whole. Think about it. Standards are the basis for standardized testing, developing curriculum, professional development, and so much more. Although they tell us what we should teach, they don't necessarily tell us how to teach. It is up to us (or our district) to decide which curriculum and assessments to implement.

Why They're Important

There are many benefits of teaching the standards in your classroom:

Clear and Measurable Goals: Standards give teachers a clear idea of exactly what should be taught and when. They also serve as a great guide for what teachers and students should be working towards.
Measurable Achievement: Standards provide an easy way to measure teacher and student achievement.
Planning: They set the tone for instruction. Once you are familiar with which standards need to be taught, you can easily begin to map out your year.

Teach the standards with this Mega Math Practice Bundle.

How to Use Standards in Your Classroom

This can be a tricky dance. You have to learn the balance of teaching the standards without teaching directly to a standardized test. Here are a few ways to do this:

Encourage Questioning: When your students learn to ask questions, great conversations can begin to take place. This is where the magic happens.
Be Flexible and Open: There is always more than one way to solve a problem. Encourage students to think outside of the box and teach several different methods and strategies in order to meet the needs of all of your students.
Focus on Interest and Engagement: Figure out how to make the standards fit into what your students want to learn.

Learn how to use standards in your classroom. Even when it's not a testing year.

Developing Curriculum That Meets Standards

You are more than capable of creating your own curriculum to meet your content standards. But let's be honest. What teacher actually has time for that? On top of the 200,000 other jobs you need to do, curriculum development might not be at the top of your list. And for good reason.

Good news! There's no reason to reinvent the wheel. I have created a year-long Mega Math Practice Bundle that reviews ALL of the first-grade math standards. Yep! You read that right! All standards are included in this amazing bundle that serves as the perfect spiral review for your kiddos.

It includes tons of no-prep print AND digital activities that your students need for the ENTIRE YEAR!

Mega Math Practice Bundle

Mega Math Practice is a comprehensive math resource that includes every first-grade CCSS math standard in all four strands:

Numbers and Base Ten
Operations and Algebraic Thinking
Geometry
Measurement and Data

Grab this Mega Math Practice Bundle which included all of the standards for the entire year.

There are over 50 resources including worksheets and digital activities that are sure to have your students mastering the standards all year long. They are no-prep and easy to use, giving tons of options on how to implement them. They are great for:

Morning Work
Math Centers
Small-Group Instruction
Homework
Extra Practice
Distance Learning
Guided Practice
Independent Practice
Intervention

Mega Math Practice is full of engaging and fun activities that teach all of the math standards.

There are almost 2,000 pages of number sense activities that are fun and engaging at the same time. You won't have to worry about a thing for the entire year. All of your student's needs can be met with this Mega Math Practice Bundle.

I hope you now have a better grasp of why you should teach the standards in your classroom. I know you and your students will love implementing Mega Math Practice into your daily routines.

Try It Free On Me!

Once you start using Mega Math Practice in your classroom, you will see just how much it will benefit your students. I want you to have the chance to try it out for FREE! Try out one or all of these free standards-based resources. You are sure to find something that you can use in your classroom starting today. There are sets for all different types of skills. Grab them HERE!

Try this free Mega Math Practice activity and learn what's to love about the year long bundle.

Ready to make Mega Math Practice part of your daily routine? You can grab the bundle on Teacher's Pay Teacher's.

This mega bundle includes all of the standards for the entire first grade year. Grab this fun and engaging activities.

Save This for Later!

Be sure to pin this image to your favorite spiral review board and be ready to take on the year.