Math

How can parents help their children to be successful in math? (Go to More-Math Tab above if you would like more math information.

1. Encourage children to play math puzzles and games. … Puzzles and games – anything with dice, really – will help kids enjoy math, and develop number sense, which is critically important.

2. Always be encouraging and never tell kids they are wrong when they are working on math problems. Instead find the logic in their thinking … .

3. Never associate math with speed. It is not important to work quickly, and we now know that forcing kids to work quickly on math is the best way to start math anxiety for children, especially girls. It is important that your child knows their math facts.

4. Never share with your children the idea that you were bad at math at school or you dislike it – especially if you are a mother. Researchers found that as soon as mothers shared that idea with their daughters, their daughters’ achievement went down.

5. Encourage number sense … having an idea of the size of numbers and being able to separate and combine numbers flexibly … .

6. Perhaps most important of all – encourage a “growth mindset” – let students know that they have unlimited math potential and that being good at math is all about working hard… use growth praise such as “It is great that you have learned that;” “I really like your thinking about that;” “You have worked really hard to learn that.”

Dear Parents,

We will be working on Math Facts as we begin the year even though it is a 3rd & 4th grade standard. We have found that students who know their facts have an easier time understanding the 5th grade concepts.

Here are some more fun sites that may help your child become more fluent with his/her facts.

Math Facts Practice

Greg Tang Site

Multiplication Strategie

Spin to multiply

BLOCK IT

Multiplication Resources

Logic Puzzles:

Math Curious Puzzles

COMMON CORE STANDARDS

Math homework will be given every Monday-Thursday, with the exception of days of unit tests. I do not regularly collect math homework; it will be done on a random basis. The purpose of homework is for the student to practice the concepts and skills independently. I will know if your child understands the nightly homework by his or her performance on a daily Exit Ticket. Exit tickets contain 2-3 problems based on the previous day's concepts and are given as mini quizzes, though not entered in the grade book. It is through these mini quizzes that I am able to pull students in small groups, or one-on-one, to meet the children's individual needs, whether remediation or acceleration of the content.

It is my expectation that students attempt all of the problems on the nightly homework, though some may be beyond your child's level. I want students to learn to persevere in problem solving. Students should demonstrate that they have attempted every problem, and when not able to find a solution, students should explain their thinking, noting where they got stuck. This process will help your child to be a more reflective learner, while giving me important information needed to help your child break through the road block. Students should consult their math journal notes nightly when completing homework. On occasion, a parent signature may be required in the journal; this usually occurs when we are beginning a new concept.