The CCSS for Mathematics consist of Standards for Content and Mathematical Practices. By playing the games and solving the puzzles in Smart Moves and Pirate Math, students will practice the skills described in the CCSS.

The Standards for Mathematical Practices identify eight mathematical habits that mathematics educators should develop in their students. The Standards for Mathematical Practices are:

• Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them (solve problems without giving up)

• Reason abstractly and quantitatively (think about numbers in many different ways)

• Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others (explain your thinking and try to understand others)

• Model with mathematics (show your work in many ways)

• Use appropriate tools strategically (use tools and explain why you chose them)

• Attend to precision (work carefully and check your work)

• Look for and make use of structure (use what you know to solve new problems)

• Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning (solve problems by knowing certain rules and looking for patterns)

Making sense of the puzzles, persevering in solving them, constructing viable arguments, and attending to precision are essential tools for the puzzle solver. Using appropriate tools strategically, making use of structure, and looking for regularity in repeated reasoning are useful life skills taught while playing the games and puzzles.