Use this framework to examine the characteristics of EMLs and the challenges they face.

Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All (NCTM 2014) recognizes the need to find a way to leverage assessment opportunities to improve teaching and learning at the classroom and school level. And although we know a lot about the importance and potential impact of formative assessment done right and well (NMAP 2008; Black and Wiliam 2010), a disconnect continues to exist among planning, teaching, and assessment—and thus, between teaching and learning—in too many classrooms. Assessment must be linked to the planning and instruction of a lesson—every day—ensuring that lesson activities inform teaching and learning for all students. Principles to Actions's eighth Mathematics Teaching Practice directs teachers to “elicit and use evidence of student thinking” (NCTM 2014, p. 53, emphasis added), but what are some ways to elicit this evidence?

Student understanding of fractions as numbers, a foundational element of fraction sense and a critical prerequisite of work with operations, is explored through real-world connections.

The IDEAS section for this month presents activities that involve measurement as it relates to the Olympic Games. Activities involve nonstandard units of measure, linear measure, and time measurement. An at-home activity related to the Oiympic Games is also furnished. These activities should help heighten awareness of mathematics related to the forthcoming summer Olympic Games.

The IDEAS section for this month emphasizes number sense. Number sense is an important component of any contemporary mathematics program. Number sense is the basic skill of the decade. It is the intuition for knowing when an answer is close or correct. Number sense involves the development of number meaning, a feel for magnitude of numbers, and operation sense. Students with number sense also use estimation and mental mathematics with proficiency. This month's kite theme allows students to use their number sense as they involve comparison and ordering, magnitude of numbers, and operation sense in completing the IDEAS activities. The first activity sheet suggests games that parents and their children can play at home to develop number sense.