How to Write Elementary Math Objectives

State what you want your students to be able to do with well-written objectives.

When guiding students through the basic building blocks of math in elementary school, teachers must take care to ensure that their students acquire the basic math skills they will need for later in life success. By writing carefully crafted objectives, teachers create measures against which to place student performance. These statements indicate what a student should be able to do at the conclusion of a math lesson, allowing the teacher to determine effectively whether students are performing at the appropriate levels and modify lessons as necessary.

Instructions

1. Consult the content standards for grade-appropriate math content. Select a standard upon which to focus when planning your lesson and writing your objectives. In some states, standards are designed to be completed in order, with each building upon the next, while in others you can complete these standards in any order you wish.

2. Choose a specific math focus. Select a topic to teach. This topic will determine what you are expecting students to do in your objective. For example, if your topic is addition of two-digit numbers, your objective will pertain to the ability to perform this math skill.

3. Pick an observable behavior. Avoid words like "understand" or "learn" as these terms are not observable. Select terms that you can visibly witness students doing, as this is the only way you can truly measure students' achievement of standards.

4. Make your objectives measurable. Include numbers in your objective to make it specific and measurable. For example, if writing an objective that relates to students' abilities to multiply numbers, your objective could include, "multiply 10 pairs of numbers with 90 percent accuracy." Because of the inclusion of numbers and the specificity of this objective, you can easily determine whether students have accomplished this task.

5. Write your objective in a "students will be able to..." format. Start all of your objectives with this standard phrase, finishing with what you specifically want them to be able to do.

References

• Hawaii Department of Education: Writing Performance Objectives
• Northern Illinois University: Writing Annual Goals and Short Term Behavior Objectives for IEP's