“When mathematics is taught as a connected, inquiry-based subject, inequities disappear, and achievement is increased overall.” - Jo Boaler

Mathematics teaching at Blanchard is rooted in the belief that students should engage in learning experiences that both strengthen their understanding of math concepts and allow them to reason with their ideas. 

Kindergarten through fifth grades use the Investigations program. Sixth grade uses the Illustrative/Open Up program. All teachers utilize a range of instructional tools and strategies including: math workshop, three-act tasks, number talks, and enrichment projects. All grade levels provide tiered interventions and supports, based on students’ skills and academic needs. 
As shared with the school committee in May, the district is moving towards a single, consistent mathematics program from grades K through 8. This process began in the 19-20 school year in Grade 6, when many teachers in the elementary schools adopted a program called “Illustrative Mathematics”. Illustrative Mathematics (“IM” for short), is a top-ranked, evidence-based, high-quality math curriculum designed to provide rigorous math instruction for all students. In the 20-21 school year, AB will continue this rollout by participating in the beta pilot of IM for grades K-5, all grade 6 teachers will be using IM.

Here is a link to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ executive summary of Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success For All, which teachers use as a guide post for designing rigorous, meaningful lessons, units, and projects.




- Represent, relate, and operate on whole numbers, initially with sets of objects.

- Use geometric ideas and vocabulary to describe shapes and space.


- Demonstrate an understanding of addition and subtraction.

- Use strategies to add and subtract within 20

- Demonstrate an understanding of whole number relationships and place value within 100, including grouping in tens and ones.

- Demonstrate an understanding of linear measurement and measure

lengths as iterating length units.

- Reason about attributes of, and compose and decompose two- and three-

dimensional shapes.


- Demonstrate extended understanding of the base-ten system to 1000.

- Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction within 1000.

- Fluently add and subtract within 20.

- Measure and estimate lengths, time, and money using standard units.

- Describe and reason with shapes and their attributes.


- Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division and understand the relationship between multiplication and division.

- Multiply and divide within 100.

- Solve problems involving the four operations and identify and explain patterns in arithmetic.

- Demonstrate understanding of fractions as numbers, especially unit fractions (fractions with numerator 1).

- Demonstrate understanding of the structure of rectangular arrays and of area.

- Describe and analyze two-dimensional shapes.



- Use place value understanding and properties of operations to demonstrate understanding and fluency with multi-digit multiplication and division involving multi-digit dividends.

- Use the four operations to solve problems, including problems involving measurement and conversion of measurements from a larger unit to a smaller unit.

- Demonstrate place value understanding for multi-digit whole numbers.

- Demonstrate an understanding of fraction equivalence and ordering.

- Apply and extend previous understandings of operations on whole numbers to add and subtract fractions with like denominators and multiply fractions by whole numbers.

- Demonstrate understanding of decimal notation for fractions and compare decimal fractions.

- Analyze and classify geometric figures based on their properties, such as having parallel sides, perpendicular sides, particular angle measurements, and symmetry.


- Demonstrate fluency with addition and subtraction of fractions.

- Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division to multiply and divide fractions (unit fractions divided by whole numbers and whole numbers divided by unit fractions).

- Demonstrate understanding of the place value system, including decimals and decimal fractions.

- Divide with 2-digit divisors.

- Compute fluently with multi-digit whole numbers and with decimals to


- Demonstrate understanding of volume as an attribute of three-dimensional shapes.


- Connect ratio and rate to whole number multiplication and division.

- Use concepts of ratio and rate to solve problems.

- Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division to divide fractions by fractions.

- Extend the notion of number to the system of rational numbers, which includes negative numbers.

- Apply and extend previous understandings of arithmetic to write, interpret, and use algebraic expressions and equations.

- Reason about and solve one-variable equations and inequalities.

- Represent and analyze quantitative relationships between dependent and independent variables.

- Demonstrate understanding of statistical thinking.

- Reason about relationships among shapes to solve problems involving area, surface area, and volume.


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From the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
