Amanda,
I am a 4th grade teacher who has been teaching math from EM for the last 4 years. The first year was really rough - but I am sold! The students come in knowing so much more than they used to. It moves very quickly from subject to subject though and students who struggle with math get frustrated quite quickly. I have really enjoyed teaching EM, but as I said, it was a pretty steep learning curve for both teachers and students in the beginning.

Hi!

You may be interested in this:

Southern York County Podcast - EM

- Jason

Was scrolling through and saw your question about Everyday Math. I also teach first grade. Our school adopted it K-5 so initially it was overwhelming for the upper grades. I questioned some things that first year, but once we got through it, it made sense. I do think that the program teaches higher level thinking skills. It helps develop strong number sense. I like the spiral but it is hard for me to let go and move on if a student doesn't get it the first time. I love that students learn there are many ways to solve problems. Our students were working with time, money... much earlier. I love the games. I don't like that it uses the symbols for the coins instead of real coins most of the time. Students need to recognize the coins in real life. I teach the touchpoints on the coins (another program) which helps my students be more successful. I do believe students are not as strong in knowing the basic math facts. Now that you have been using it, what do you think about it?