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Help your Child with Math
Welcome, Parents!
This page is designed to help you meet the needs of your developing
mathematician. I hope it can serve as a terrific resource for you in supporting your child. As you think about your child and how to help, please keep the following in mind:
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Every child is unique. These suggestions are general and not meant to be a one-size-fits-all solution. You know your child best!
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Your child has a team of teachers working for their success. This website is not meant to replace them or your communication with them in any way.
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Your involvement makes a difference! There is a huge body of research supporting parental involvement.
Please follow this link for specific research.
This site is divided into five sections:
Number Sense and Operations; Algebra; Geometry and Measurement; Data
Analysis and Probability; and Problem Solving. Below, you will find some General Suggestions and
information about each of the five sections.
General Suggestions
These suggestions will help you support your child in school, as well as specific support for literacy development.
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Provide a quiet place for your child to complete homework (no TV, radio, or other distractions).
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Ask your child what they learned in school today.
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Be sure your child eats a healthy breakfast every day.
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Let your children hear you solve problems - even
problems that don't seem math-related. For example, deciding where to go
out to dinner or how much juice to buy for the soccer team are great
real-life problem solving opportunities. Talk through the process as you do this. Children need to hear us thinking out loud.
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Don't make it okay for your child to not do
well in math by saying things like, "Well, I was never good at math
either" or "I can't even balance my checkbook." Hold your child to a
high standard in math, just as you would in reading.
Number Sense and Operations
Number sense is a comfort with numbers and a sense of
how numbers work. This includes understanding how numbers increase or
decrease, how they compare, and estimation. Operations include addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and division. Children can learn number
sense and operations as they relate to whole numbers, money, decimals,
fractions, and integers (positive and negative numbers).
Suggestions for Improving Number Sense and
Operations.
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Play games that involve calculations, such as Yahtzee,
Cribbage, or Monopoly.
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Ask your child to help you estimate the grocery bill
as you go through the store.
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Ask your child to help you compare two grocery store
items to figure out which is the best deal by comparing the unit price.
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Cook with your child. Try doubling or halving a
recipe. This can be especially helpful with fractions.
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Count in multiples (e.g. 3, 6, 9, ...) while bouncing
a ball back and forth. The rhythm and physical activity will help your
child learn and remember.
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Practice with flashcards. Short daily practices (5-10
minutes) are better than longer sessions. Triangle flashcards will help
your child see the relationship between inverse operations (addition and
subtraction; multiplication and division). You can purchase them
here or
print
your own.
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Play What's My Number? This is like 20
Questions, except the answer will always be a number. You can choose the
range of numbers and limit it to whole numbers or include decimals and
fractions, depending on the skill level of your child. Encourage them to
ask thoughtful questions, such as, "Is it greater/less than ... ?", "Is
it a multiple of ___?", and "Is it odd/even?" This is a great game for
the car.
A Special Note about Algorithms (methods)
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Some teachers may teach alternate algorithms for solving
math problems. These alternate algorithms will probably look differently
than how you did math when you were in school. And it's best not to try
teaching these to your child on your own without talking to their teacher
first, but I'm providing these links because they may provide you with a
good explanation if you encounter them. Remember, that while they are
different, a child who learns these well can achieve at as high a level
mathematically as a child who learns the traditional algorithms. Click
here to learn about alternative algorithms.
Links on Number Sense and Operations
Algebra
Suggestions for Improving Algebra
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Play What's My Rule?
This game is best played with pencil and paper to help children see the
patterns. Choose a rule such as +3 or x5, but keep it a secret from your
child. Create a two column chart. On the left write down a number your
child gives you; in the right column, write the answer after you've
applied your rule. After several numbers, have your child guess the
rule. As your child becomes better, you can make a rule with two steps
such as x2+1. A chart with a rule of +3 might look like this:
Links on Algebra
Geometry and Measurement
Coming Soon
Geometry and Measurement Links
Data Analysis and Probability
Coming Soon
Problem Solving
http://www.figurethis.org/index.html - problems designed to solve as
a family
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