By Peggy Gisler, Ed.S. and Marge Eberts, Ed.S
Mastering Math
Mastering mathematics is absolutely essential for future opportunities in school and careers. Your children will need to reach a certain level of competency in math to take many advanced high-school courses, to be admitted to college, and to have a wide variety of career choices. Here's how you can help them maximize their math-smarts.
Make sure your children understand
mathematical concepts.
Otherwise, math becomes a meaningless mental exercise of just
memorizing rules and doing rote drills. Have your children manipulate
objects to figure out basic concepts. For addition, they could add
one, two, or more blocks to a pile of blocks and then tell you how
many blocks are in the pile.
Help them master the basic facts.
Mastery of a basic fact means that children can give an answer in
less than three seconds. Considerable drill is required for children
to give quick responses. Use flash cards to help your children learn
the basic facts. When they don't know an answer, have them lay out
objects to solve the problem.
Teach them to write their numbers neatly.
Twenty-five percent of all errors in solving math problems can be
traced back to sloppy number writing. Improve your children's
number-writing skills by having them trace over numbers that you have
written. Suggest they use graph paper to keep the numbers in problems
neatly aligned.
Provide help immediately when your children
need it.
Math is one subject in which everything builds upon what has been
previously learned. For example, a failure to understand the concept
of percent leads to problems with decimals. If a teacher is unable to
help your children, provide the help yourself or use a tutor or
learning center.
Show them how to handle their math homework.
Doing math homework reinforces the skills your children are
learning in class. Teach them to begin every assignment by studying
the textbook or worksheet examples. Then have them redo the examples
before beginning the assignment to make sure they understand the
lesson.
Encourage your children to do more than the
assigned problems.
Considerable practice is necessary for your children to hone their
math skills. If the teacher only assigns the even problems, having
them do some of the odd ones will strengthen their skills. The more
time your children spend practicing their skills, the sooner they will
develop confidence in their abilities.
Explain how to solve word problems.
Mathematicians have an expression: To learn to solve problems, you
must solve problems. Teach your children to read a word problem
several times. Also, have them draw a picture or diagram to describe
it. Make it easier for them to understand the steps in a problem by
teaching them to substitute smaller numbers for larger ones.
Help your children learn the vocabulary of
mathematics.
They will never get a real feeling for math nor learn more
advanced concepts without an understanding of its vocabulary. Check
that your children can define new terms. If not, have them use models
and simple problems to show you they understand how the term is used.
Teach them how to do math "in their head."
One of the major ways to solve problems is by using mental math.
Kids should use this method frequently instead of using pencil and
paper or a calculator. When helping your children with a problem, help
them determine when it would be appropriate to use mental math.
Make mathematics part of your children's daily
life.
Mathematics will become more meaningful when your kids see how
important it is in so many real-life situations. Encourage them to use
math in practical ways. For example, ask them to space new plants a
certain distance apart, double a recipe, and pay bills in stores.
Source: Family Education Network
