Helping Your Child with their Math Homework

1. Take an interest in their homework

• • Read word problems together and discuss them.

  • Use different words to explain a problem.

  • Check their math binder for examples from class.

2. Watch videos with them

• • Khan Academy, Math Antics have great video resources.

3. Be positive and supportive

• • Try not to show negative opinion of math

  • Have an enthusiastic attitude

  • Believe in your child's success

4. Play Games

• • Monopoly, Yahtzee and Uno are all great games that include math

  • Check out the Math games linked to my website.

  • Ask me for math games to take home!

5. Practice, Practice, Practice

• • Let your child practice math skills on the computer or any other way!

Why in today’s day and age – with calculators and computers – do our kids really need to rote learn their basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division? Isn’t this just ‘old school’? There are many important reasons why students still need to learn their basic facts. The following will provide you with information you can use to support the development of these vital skills with your child. Research has shown that long-term success in mathematics is closely tied to strong number sense, including fluency with basic facts. The sooner your child becomes fluent with her or his facts, the better!

What do we mean by math fact fluency?

Math facts fluency refers to the ability to recall the basic facts in all four operations accurately, quickly and effortlessly. When students achieve automaticity with these facts, they have attained a level of mastery that enables them to retrieve them for long-term memory without conscious effort or attention. Brain imaging studies have shown how the progression from effortful processes, such as finger counting, to automatic retrieval is associated with actual changes in the regions of the brain involved in mathematical computation (Rivera, Reiss, Eckert and Menon, 2005).

So why focus on math facts?

- Math facts fluency leads to higher order mathematics

Through automaticity students free up their working memory and can devote it to problem solving and learning new concepts and skills (Geary, 1994). Quite simply, a lack of fluency in basic math fact recall significantly hinders a child’s subsequent progress with problem-solving, algebra and higher-order math concept. Instant knowledge of these facts is key as your child moves on in mathematics and learns multi step-computation, fractions, and decimals.

- Fluent math facts mean less confusion

Math facts are important because they form the building blocks for higher-level math concepts. When a child masters his/her math facts, these concepts will be significantly easier and the student will be better equipped to solve them faster. If the child spends a lot of time doing the basic facts, he/she is more likely to be confused with the processes and get lost in their calculations.

- Math fact automaticity affects performance in all subjects

In later elementary and middle school, students have longer and more complicated computations to complete to check their understanding of various concepts. At this stage, if a student does not have his/her math facts committed to memory, he/she will spend a disproportionate amount of time figuring out the smaller calculations and risk not completing tasks. This not only affects their performance in math class, but will also in other subjects, such as science and geography.

- Less math anxiety

Math can be compared to languages in some ways. Just like you have to learn to combine letters into words and words into sentences – and we have strategies like phonics and sight words to help kids to learn to read - math facts are the foundation blocks for learning the next level of mathematics. There is rote learning involved in both language and math mastery. Math anxiety starts when children fall behind and can’t keep up. To avoid these anxieties, students’ early elementary years should focus on learning the foundation math skills needed for later years – math facts are among those important math skills.

How can you help your child become fluent?

Support their instruction

- Your child will receive instruction on math facts that are grade level appropriate in school. By ensuring your child practices their facts regularly, you will support the development of these critical skills.

Build on what they already know

- Your child does not need to memorize hundreds of facts! If he/she knows 3 + 4, then he also knows 4 + 3. If he knows 3 x 4, then he also knows 4 x 3. Talk with your child about the relationship between facts

Provide the supplies needed for your child to practice saying and writing facts

- Paper and pencils, chalk, wipe-off boards, or even electronic devices can all be used for your child to practice writing their facts. Writing them repeatedly is just a start. It is important that they say each fact they write out loud for it to become automatic.

Put Facts in A Visible Place

- Post a fact of the week on your refrigerator. Find times during the day to ask your child that fact. Challenge your child by sometimes asking: What fact is on the refrigerator this week?

Practice Facts as You Do Everyday Things

- Help your child to see math facts in the world around them. "There are 4 things in our grocery basket. We need to buy 3 more things. How many things do we need to buy?"

Make Flash Cards

- Buy as set of flash cards at a dollar store, or use index cards or sticky notes to review facts and identify the ones that need additional work. Make a separate pile of the facts your child cannot recall and work with him to devise strategies to remember those facts.

Play Games

- There are many games that are age/grade appropriate for your child that involve numbers. Card games and dice games are excellent ways for students to practice number facts.

With your help, your child will learn their facts and be able to soar through acquiring important math skills throughout their school years