Exploring Creation with Mathematics, Level 1 Teaching Guide & Answer Key

Offering a systematic presentation of skills, Apologia's new math program provides a creation based, hands-on approach to math education. Through the lessons, children are pointed to the Creator and shown the connections between math and science. Each lesson is presented in a 4-step progression: Project and/or problem, pictorial presentation, abstract presentation, and application. Levels are theme based following the same topical themes found in the Apologia Young Explorer's series. While the programs are independent of one another, 1st graders studying astronomy may enjoy the space icons and occasional space-themed activities in the first level of Exploring Creation with Math. Lessons are highly interactive and will take 30-45 minutes to complete.

Lessons are formatted similarly: Introduce the concept with a hands-on activity and apply the new concept through a practice worksheet. Lessons often end with an additional challenge that may be a game or other project. Daily lessons are interactive and will take 30-45 minutes per day, including 5-10 minutes of review. Most activities use household or easily found items, although a few math manipulatives are necessary. For your convenience, Activity Packages and Add-On Packages are available. Activity Packages include supplies to complete most activities. Users will still need to supply a few household items. We also offer Add-On Activity Kits for families who purchased the previous level kit and only need supplies for the next level. Currently, grade levels 1 - 5 are available, with grade 6 in the works.

Required for the program are the soft cover teaching guide & answer key, and the spiral bound all-in-one student text and workbook. The Teaching Guide and Answer Key include a suggested daily schedule (4 days per week), lesson overviews and teaching suggestions for struggling students, ideas for further exploration, tear out activity pages that will be used throughout the year (you may wish to laminate for durability), project and manipulative supply list, and reduced student pages with answers to all problems. The hefty All-in-One Student Text and Workbook provides the lessons, activities, and consumable worksheets. It also includes a weblink and password to Book Extras, offering a variety of helpful links and additional practice sheets if needed. Optional Tests Begin in Level 5. Student mastery is evaluated through the projects. If teaching more than one child, each will need their own copy. Core components are available separately or as a set.

This exciting new curriculum offers homeschool families an engaging, hands-on program that focuses on mastery of math concepts. Parents will be pleasantly surprised at how manageable the interactive lessons are to teach, and children are sure to be won over by the projects and the application of math to the world around them. ~ Deanne

Grade 1: Begins with a review of Kindergarten math skills, as children learn addition and subtraction through 20; the addition/subtraction relationship; place value; number comparison and math symbols for equal, greater, and less than; adding 2 digit numbers with regrouping using base ten blocks; measurement and time (hour and half-hour); data and graphs; 3D/2D shapes, and are introduced to fourths and halves.