If you are a math teacher looking for some great, investigative, Common Core content for instruction, look no further than Illustrative Mathematics. The Illustrative Mathematics website recently underwent a transformation, simplifying the navigation process and expanding the free materials that encourage students to perform investigations around various mathematics principles.

What educators love most about the tasks on Illustrative Mathematics is their ability to provide students with application for the topics they are learning in class. The tasks are not just about teaching students process, but rather, asking them to choose a process that will aid in problem solving with real-world application.  As we know, this is at the heart of Common Core education. Illustrative Mathematics makes it easy for teachers and students to reach these educational goals in the classroom with a wide variety of sample activities.

The website’s new look makes it easy to navigate into the Content Standards for grades kindergarten through high school. Within each grade, teachers can navigate through a clickable menu of domains, clusters, and standards to locate tasks to assign to students. Within the task page, teachers can print student sheets and obtain commentary, supporting materials, or solutions for the given problem. Visit this sample assignment for grade 8 mathematics to see what the site has to offer.

Illustrative Mathematics also provides videos, story problems, and resources for each of the eight Standards for Mathematical Practice. These are described as processes and levels of expertise that educators of all grades should seek to develop in their students. Here is a sample of activities that encourage students to reach one of these standards titled “Construct Viable Arguments and Critique the Reasoning of Others.”

Take some time to check out what the new Illustrative Mathematics site has to offer. Providing tasks and materials offered through the program can help increase student awareness of mathematics in the world around them. It is also a great way to enhance problem-solving skills and have students look at problem solving from a new perspective with an achievable goal. Enjoy exploring!